Siege of Wolgast
| Siege of Wolgast | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Swedish invasion of Brandenburg of the Scanian War | |||||||||
 View of Wolgast in 1652, from the Deutsche Fotothek | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Brandenburg |
 Swedish Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Frederick William |
Blix  | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Unknown |
Wolgast garrison | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 820 or more | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Siege of Wolgast (German: Belagerung von Wolgast, Swedish: Belägringen av Wolgast) was a siege on the Swedish city of Wolgast from 1–10 November 1675 initiated by Frederick William of Brandenburg during the Swedish invasion of Brandenburg. The siege was successful for the German army and the Swedish garrison marched off Wolgast after a ten-day siege.
Background
In 1674, Sweden invaded Brandenburg as France's ally. Denmark–Norway, who wanted to regain its territories lost in 1658, supported Brandenburg-Prussia and invaded the Swedish possessions in Germany in 1675.[1] In autumn, the Swedes had already been pushed back to the North German Coast, and the Brandenburgians, under Elector Frederick William, subsequently launched a siege on one of the Swedish Empire's last continental holdings, Wolgast.[2] Wolgast was of great importance for both parties because of its location within the mouth of the Peene.[3]
Siege
On November 1, the elector arrived at Wolgast and began a siege on the castle. [2] To set up artillery batteries was difficult. There were attacks from the castle and attacks from ships. [4] On the ninth day of the siege, the batteries were set up and opened fire on the Swedish garrison.[2][5] It did not take long before two of the castle's bastions were completely destroyed[5] and a bomb that fell into the gunpowder cellar blew up half of the castle's floors.[2][4] At the same time, the elector made a bridgehead to the castle island, an attack could be initiated.[2] However, the Swedish commander, Major Blix, did not want to wait for that and subsequently negotiated with the Brandenburgians.[2] The accord allowed him and his 820 men free departure to the Swedish garrison in Stralsund.[2][4]
Aftermath
According to Jensen, any German-born Swedish soldiers were forcibly enlisted by Frederick William,[6] while Wimarson asserts that, despite Imperial letters prohibiting Germans to fight for Sweden, the Wolgast-accord allowed for an exception; they could, however, join the Bandenburg-Prussian Army if they so wished.[5] After this conquest, Frederick William turned his attention to Anklam, which he sought to seize in order to better approach Stettin.[6]
References
- ^ "Skånske krig 1675- 1679". Nationalmuseet (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jensen 1900, p. 59.
- ^ Müsebeck 1897, p. 40.
- ^ a b c Müsebeck 1897, p. 41.
- ^ a b c Wimarson 1897, p. 224.
- ^ a b Jensen 1900, p. 60.
Works cited
- Jensen, N.P (1900). Den Skaanske Krig [The Scanian War] (PDF) (in Danish). DET NORDISKE FORLAG.
- Müsebeck, Ernst Friedrich Christian (1897). Die feldzüge des groszen kurfürsten in Pommern, 1675-1677 ... (in German). Druck von Herrcke & Lebeling in Stettin.
- Wimarson, Nils (1897). Sveriges krig i Tyskland 1675-1679 (in Swedish). Distribuent: Gleerupska universitetsbokhandeln.