Battle of Møn
Battle of Møn | |||||||
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Part of Scanian War | |||||||
Battle of Møns Klint by Christian Mølsted | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Sweden |
Denmark-Norway | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Erik Sjöblad | Niels Juel | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
3 men of war 5 armed merchants 4 minor vessels 394 guns |
13 men of war 670 guns | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
8 ships at least 1,500 dead, wounded or missing | negligible |
The Battle of Møn, also known as the Battle of Fehmarn, took place 31 May–1 June 1677, as part of the
The victory prevented the
Prelude
The Danish force was superior in numbers, armament and quality of equipment. Sjöblad's force had nine ships to Juel's 13, eight of which had 50 or more guns. The Danish ships were also dedicated warships while the Swedish vessels were armed merchants and less suited for battle. In total, the Swedes had 394 guns while the Danes had nearly 670, and the heaviest guns on the Swedish sides were merely 12-pounders, a relatively light caliber for naval artillery.[3]
Battle
Juel had taken up a position between the Swedish squadron and the outlet between the German mainland and the island of Falster. After a war council on 30 May, the Swedish force decided to attempt to sail around the Danish force and set a course for east-northeast on 31 May. The wind abated once more that day and both sides began towing their ships to make headway. The Swedish force tried to stay in formation by setting the pace by the slowest ships, and later that afternoon, the first Danish ships came within firing range. Before night fell, Drejer of Enigheden managed to overtake and capture Wrangel Palats. During the night, the wind picked up once more, which was to Juel's benefit.[4]
On the morning of 1 June, the Danish force had the wind at their backs (the
One after the other, the Swedish ships came under attack: Havsfrun and Ängeln Gabriel were both overtaken while the rest of the fleet managed to escape. Rosen and five smaller ships tried to turn back to Gothenburg through
Aftermath
The captured Swedish ships and the prisoners were brought to Copenhagen. Sjöblad was exchanged for Danish prisoners on 15 August and was given command of Gothenburg's defenses.
The Danish-Norwegian victory had thwarted the Swedish attempt to concentrate their forces. Juel avoided having to fight a much larger Swedish fleet and managed to give the Danish navy a welcome addition of ships. The Swedish losses, on the other hand, were over 1,500 wounded, injured or captured.[10] The defeat weakened the Swedish fleet while strengthening the Danes. Exactly one month later, the two main fleets met at the Battle of Køge Bay, an engagement which would become the greatest Danish victory at sea and which would raise Niel Juel to hero status.[11]
Ships
The numbers in parentheses indicates the number of guns for each ship.[12]
Danish fleet
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Swedish fleet
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Notes
- ^ Zettersten (1903), p. 490
- ^ Barfod (1977), p. 174
- ^ Zetterstenv, p. 489
- ^ Barfod (1977), pp. 174–175; Zettersten (1903), p. 490
- ^ Original quote "icke ville gå tillbaka och låta sig slagta som får"; Zettersten (1903), p. 491
- ^ Barfod (1977), p. 175; Zettersten (1903), pp. 490–91
- ^ Barfod (1977), p. 176; Zettersten (1903), p. 491
- ^ Zettersten (1903), p. 491
- ^ Barfod (1997), p. 63
- ^ Åselius (2003), p. 240
- ^ Barfod (1997), p. 73; Ericson Wolke (2009), p. 120; Åselius (2003), pp. 244-45
- ^ Lists based on Barfod (1997), pp. 59–60 and Zettersten (1903), p. 490
References
- Barfod, Jørgen H. (1977) Niels Juel: Liv og gerning i den danske søetat. Universitetsforlaget, Aarhus. ISBN 87-504-0386-9
- Barfod, Jørgen H (1997) Niels Juels flåde. Gyldendal, Copenhagen. ISBN 87-00-30226-0
- Bjerg, Hans Christian (editor, 1977), Slaget i Køge bugt 1. juli 1677: forudsætninger, forløb og følger. Søe-lieutenant-selskabet, København/Köpenhamn/Copenhagen.
- Ericsson [Wolke], Hårdstedt, Iko, Sjöblom & Åselius (2003) Svenska slagfält. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm. 2003. ISBN 91-46-20225-0
- Sjöblom, Ingvar (2003) "Slaget vid Öland 1676: Kronan går under"
- Åselius, Gunnar (2003) "Köge bukt 1676: Danmarks största sjöseger"; pp. 238–46
- Ericsson Wolke, Lars, "En helt ny flotta – sjökrigen under 1600-talets sista årtionden" in Ericson Wolke & Hårdstedt (2009) Svenska sjöslag. Medströms förlag, Stockholm. 2009. ISBN 978-91-7329-030-2
- Rystad, Göran (editor, 2005), Kampen om Skåne Historiska media, Lund. ISBN 91-85057-05-3
- Zettersten, Axel (1903) Svenska flottans historia åren 1635-1680 Norrtälje tidnings boktryckeri, Norrtälje.