Battle of the Sound
Battle of the Sound | |||||||
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Part of the Second Northern War | |||||||
The Battle of the Sound, by Peter van de Velde. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Dutch Republic | Sweden | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jacob Obdam Witte de With † Pieter Floriszoon † |
Carl Wrangel Klas Bjelkenstjerna | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
41 warships | 45 warships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,400 killed, wounded and captured 1 warship sunk[2][1] |
1,200 killed, wounded and captured 4 warships captured 1 warship destroyed[2][1] |
The Battle of the Sound was a naval engagement which took place on 8 November 1658 (29 October
The Dutch, under the command of Lieutenant-Admiral
The Swedes lost five ships in the action compared to one Dutch ship, however, the remaining allied ships were more damaged. Also, considering the slightly fewer losses of men in the Swedish navy, 1,200 compared to 1,400 (439 killed, 269 captured and slightly more than 650 wounded allies), the battle is considered a tactical draw. Strategically, however, it was a major allied victory.[1]
Background
The peace in
The Dutch acted quickly. On October 7, 1658, the large Dutch fleet set sail and nineteen days later, anchors were lowered north of the Sound, at a base called "Lappen". From Kullaberg in northwestern Scania, the Swedes reported the number of enemy ships; 39 warships and 8 transport ships with soldiers and provisions to the trapped Copenhagen. A fleet of 1,278 guns, 4,501 sailors and 1,000 soldiers were waiting for the right weather. Down in the Sound, by the island of Ven, the Swedish fleet consisted of 31 warships, 14 armored merchant ships, 1,838 guns and 6,649 men.
Battle
At dawn on October 29, the Dutch eased anchor. A favorable and strong northwesterly wind was blowing. The Dutch Admiral Jacob Obdam's order was to reach the closed Copenhagen. Jacob Obdam, however, had personal problems. Paralyzed by gout, sitting on an armchair on deck, he was allowed to lead the battle from his admiral ship Eendracht.
Charles X stood with his staff on the ramparts of Kronborg Castle. In the end, the king hoped that the Dutch would side with the Swedes and greet Kronborg with a salute. That did not happen. The Dutch ships sailed along the Scanian coast. Helsingborg's lake bastions opened fire and in response received heavy fire. At eight o'clock in the morning, the two admiral ships closed in on each other. On board the Swedish Victoria was the Swedish Admiral Wrangel. Before the battle, Admiral Obdam had ordered the Swedes' masts, tackles and trains to be aimed at. Victoria soon became unmanageable in this way:
"The admiral's ship Victoria was in a heavy fencing to such an extent disgraced and tormented that it could not go forward, backward, or overstays, preferably while its mezzanine rod was fired at in the middle." Wrangel was forced to interrupt the battle and the ship drifted helplessly across the strait towards Elsinore.
The battle took place over the entire water surface north of the island of Ven. The Swedes suffered heavy losses. Some Swedish ships ran aground on the Scanian coast. The Dutch had boarded and captured the ships Rose, Delmenhorst and Pelikanen with blank weapons. Svenska Morgonstiernan sank after being pierced by Dutch fire. On the Swedish Leopard, almost the entire crew of 153 men were unable to fight. Captain Anders Crabath stranded the ship off the coast of Ven.
The Dutch also suffered losses. Swedish Admiral Klas Hansson Bjelkenstjerna on the 60-gun ship Draken met the Dutch Vice Admiral Witte de With on the 54-gun ship Brederode. Fire broke out on both ships. "Eventually the Swedish ship Wismar also came to it, lay down in front of the bow and thus the Dutchman was overpowered since the vice admiral with quite a lot of people up there was shot dead, the flag on it was taken down and it finally sank under the landside of Zealand."
Admiral Obdam's ship Eendracht threatened to sink. The Admiral's flag had to therefore be transferred to another ship. Unable to move from his chair, the admiral was hoisted over to another ship.
South of Ven, several ships sank. In Swedish diary entries, it is noted that in the days after the battle, several flagpoles from masts could be seen sticking out above the water surface.
Aftermath
The Dutch broke through the Swedish blockade and were able to unite with the trapped Danish fleet in Copenhagen. The Danes had tried to reach the battle, but the strong headwind had prevented this. While ringing all the church bells in Copenhagen, the badly damaged Dutch ships slid towards the city. With the naval victory, the end was approaching for Charles X's claim to power in Denmark.
Charles X had seen the whole battle from land. Afterwards, the king personally boarded the badly wounded admiral's ship. In the morning, the day after the battle, orders were given that the damaged Swedish fleet would soon seek refuge in the deep channel next to Landskrona's fortress.
From Elsinore they set sail for Landskrona. Outside Ven it became windless. Admiral Wrangel then ordered that the ships be towed by hand into the protection of the fortress' cannons. In the morning of October 31, most of the ships had reached safety in this way. At the same time, a strong southerly wind began to blow. The Danes lightened sails and some Swedish ships were forced to flee north into the strait. Captain Speck on Swedish Amaranth turned on the enemy; with his 36 cannons he managed to delay the Danish ships Hannibal and Graa Ulff by a total of 86 cannons.
When anchored in Landskrona, the Swedish Sword ran aground. The ship capsized and sank, full of sick and wounded, many of whom drowned.
Ship lists
Dutch Republic
| ||
Ship name | Guns | Notes |
Van (Vice Admiral Witte de With) | ||
Brederode (de With) | 59 | Ran aground, captured by Wismar and sank; de With killed |
Landman | 40 | |
Zeeridder | 22 | |
Princesse Louise | 32 | |
Cogge | 40 | |
Windhont | 23 | |
Prins Willem | 28 | |
Wapen van Medemblick | 36 | |
Groningen | 36 | |
Center (Lt. Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam) | ||
Eendracht (Obdam)
|
72 | |
Rotterdam | 52 | |
Zon | 40 | |
Wapen van Rotterdam | 40 | |
Wapen van Dordrecht | 40 | |
Halve Maen | 40 | |
Duyvenvoorde | 40 | |
Stavoren | 40 | |
Deutecom | 24 | |
Waegh | 40 | |
Gouden Leeuw | 38 | |
Hoorn | 28 | |
Princes Albertina | 36 | |
Rear (Vice Admiral Pieter Floriszoon) | ||
Jozua (Floriszoon) | 50 | Pieter Floriszoon killed |
Breda | 28 | Captured but abandoned and recaptured |
Jupiter | 32 | |
Alkmaar | 36 | |
Westfriesland | 28 | |
Wapen van Holland | 38 | |
Eendracht | 38 | |
Caleb | 40 | |
Jonge Prins | 30 | |
Wapen van Monnickendam | 26 | |
Transports | ||
Judith | 24 | |
Vergulden Haen | 16 | |
Liefde | 24 | |
Medea | 24 | |
Perel | 23 | |
Fruytboom | 23 | |
Denmark | ||
Ship name | Guns | Notes |
Danish Squadron (Bjelke) | ||
Trefoldighed (Bjelke) | 66 | |
Tre Løver | 60 | |
Norske Løve | 48 | |
Hannibal | 44 | |
Graa Ulv | 36 | |
Johannes | 20 | |
Hojenhald | 8 | |
Sweden | ||
Ship name | Guns | Notes |
1st squadron (Sjohjelm) | ||
Cesar (Sjohjelm) | 54 | |
Amarant | 46 | |
Apollo | 46 | |
Wismar | 44 | |
Vestervik | 40 | |
Fides | 36 | |
Hjort | 36 | |
Södermanland | 38 | |
Svan | 38 | |
Östergötland | 36 | |
Halfmåne | 28 | |
2nd squadron (Carl Gustaf Wrangel and Strussflycht) | ||
Victoria (C.G. Wrangel) | 74 | |
Måne | 46 | |
Merkurius | 46 | |
Mars | 44 | |
Svärd | 44 | |
Pelican | 40 | Captured by Wapen van Rotterdam |
Örn | 38 | |
Samson | 32 | |
Morgonstjerna (merchantman) | 48 | Captured by Eendracht |
Goteborgsfalk (merchantman) | 24 | |
Krona | 68 | |
3rd squadron (Bjelkenstjerna) | ||
Drake (Bjelkenstjerna) | 66 | |
Carolus | 54 | |
Falk | 40 | |
Nordstjerna | 40 | |
Delmenhorst | 36 | Captured by Hollandia and Wapen van Medemblik |
Leopard | 36 | Damaged by Brederode; burnt after action |
Rafael | 36 | |
Samson | 36 | |
Jägare | 26 | |
Konung David (merchantman) | 42 | |
St Johannes (merchantman) | 36 | |
Kalmarkastell (merchantman) | 32 | |
4th squadron (G. Wrangel) | ||
Hercules (G. Wrangel) | 58 | |
Maria | 46 | |
Småland | 46 | |
Svenska Lejon | 40 | |
Svan | 36 | |
Fenix | 30 | |
Fortuna | 30 | |
Salvator | 30 | |
Hök | 28 | |
Rose (merchantman) | 40 | Captured by Landman |
Ångermanland (merchantman) | 20 |
References
- Naval Wars in the Baltic 1522-1850 (1910) - R. C. Anderson
- Svenska slagfält (2003) - Lars Ericson, Martin Hårdstedt, Per Iko, Ingvar Sjöblom, Gunnar Åselius