The Battle of Kolding (''Slaget ved Kolding'') on January 9, 1644 was the opening engagement of the Torstenson War between the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

and Denmark-Norway. The battle was primarily a cavalry engagement between

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and Danish cavalry near the Danish seaport of

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

. The encounter was part of the wider

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, which saw heavy fighting in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. The Danish army made a defensive stand only to be overrun by the advancing Swedes. It was a decisive victory for the Swedish forces and by the end of January the

Jutland peninsula Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

was a Swedish possession.

Background

Relations between the Swedish Empire and Denmark-Norway had always been poor, but worsened in the 17th century. Since 1630, the Swedes had been at war with various German states in the Thirty Years War. Denmark-Norway had been involved in the war but had left the conflict in 1629. At that time the Dano-Norwegian government had been open to a Swedish intervention in the conflict, but as the Swedish army won victory after victory the Dano-Norwegians became increasingly concerned and antagonistic towards the Swedish Empire. In 1643, the Swedish government under Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna decided that Denmark-Norway was in a vulnerable position, and the Swedish Empire could benefit from declaring war on them. In December 1643, Swedish troops moved into the Jutland peninsula, advancing afterwards into the then Danish territories of Halland and Blekinge. The Dano-Norwegians and their King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

were completely unprepared for the war. Despite this fact, Christian IV ordered the Danish army and navy to mobilize to face the Swedish threat.

Battle

At the town of Kolding in eastern Jutland, Swedish and Danish cavalry clashed in an engagement. The goal of the Danish cavalry was to harass the Swedish forces in the Jutland peninsula. The Swedish cavalry were led by Lieutenant General Robert Douglas. The Danish cavalry were led by Frederik von Buchwald, who belonged to a noble family that owned a great deal of land in the Jutland peninsula. Von Buchwald had 6000 cavalrymen under his command, but the Dano-Norwegian army had been greatly unprepared for the war and it was many years since they had engaged in a conflict. The Swedish cavalry, on the other hand, were experienced

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

of the Thirty Year's War. The Swedish cavalry outnumbered the Danish force, and the battle lasted quite a short time. The Swedish force charged towards the Dano-Norwegian forces and engaged them in horse to horse combat. After some heavy fighting, the Dano-Norwegian cavalry began to rout and retreated from the

battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

, leaving the Swedes the victor.

Aftermath

The Dano-Norwegian force fled north to Snoghøj. There, the Dano-Norwegians capitulated on January 11. The city of Kolding was pillaged by the Swedes and the road north was open. The battle was, as mentioned, mainly a cavalry battle so most of the Dano-Norwegian soldiers escaped without injury and the

casualties A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion. In civilian usag ...

on both side were quite small.

References

Other Sources

*Guthrie, William P. (2003) ''The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia'' ( Praeger Publishers)

Background

Battle

Aftermath

References

Other Sources

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