Andreas Samuel Krebs (10 March 1766 – 28 March 1818) was a Danish-Norwegian army officer.

Early years

Born on 10 March 1766 at

Tønder Tønder (; ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,477 (as of 1 January 2025), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might have been in th ...

Sønderjylland Southern Jutland (; ) is the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Midd ...

, Krebs was the son of vicar Peter Ditlev Krebs and Birgitte Marie Lutz. Originally, he was to follow in his father's footsteps and study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, but when he showed good understanding within

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, he got a desire for a career within the military. In order to study and prepare for his officer exam, Krebs was sent to his uncle, Professor John Heinrich Krebs. After he passed his exam, he was accepted as a cadet in 1779 and later joined the Jäger Corps in

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

as a second lieutenant. During the

Theater War The Theatre War (), Cowberry War, Cranberry War or Lingonberry War (, ), was a brief war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, starting on 24 September 1788, formally lasting until 9 July 1789. Although the decision to launch the attack was taken ...

in 1788, Krebs was sent to Norway and took part in the advance against

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

and the victory over the Swedes at Kvistrum bridge. After the war was over Krebs joined the Norwegian jäger corps, and married Else Thyrholm Gude on 12 February 1798. In 1806 he was also promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Military career

When war once again broke out between

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1808 to 1809, Krebs was put in direct command over the jäger corps. During the war, he distinguished himself during skirmishes at

Høland Høland is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. History Høland was created in 1837 as a formannskapsdistrikt, a Norwegian local self-government district. The district Setskog was separated from Høland to form a separate municipality ...

Rødenes Rødenes is a former municipality in the former Østfold county, Norway. The parish of ''Rødenæs'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The district of Rømskog was separated from Rødenes as a municip ...

and Berby, and was for his efforts awarded with the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. After the war, Krebs was appointed interim commander at

Kongsvinger Fortress Kongsvinger Fortress () is located in the city of Kongsvinger which is located within Kongsvinger Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Roa ...

, while he became regimental commander of the newly formed

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

sharpshooter regiment, where he advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the Swedish campaign against Norway in 1814, Krebs was appointed head of a division in the district around Kongsvinger. Here he successfully led the defense of Lier entrenchment, and the counter-attack that drove the Swedes back across the border at

Matrand Matrand is a village in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located approximately south of the Kongsvinger (town), town of Kongsvinger and about north of the village of Skotterud. Matrand is approximately northwest ...

. The Norwegian victories at Lier and Matrand strengthened the morale among the Norwegian population and King Christian Frederik was sure that the fortunes of war had turned in favor of Norwegians. Although the war ended with a Swedish victory after the

Convention of Moss The Convention of Moss (''Mossekonvensjonen'') was a ceasefire agreement signed on 14 August 1814 between the King of Sweden and the Norwegian government. It followed the Swedish-Norwegian War due to Norway's claim to sovereignty. It also beca ...

, Krebs was hailed as the "hero from Lier and Matrand", and was considered to have saved Norway's pride in an otherwise despondently campaign. After the union between Norway and Sweden was signed, Krebs was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and became adjutant to

Charles XIII Charles XIII or Carl XIII (; 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818) was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa ...

in 1816. In 1818 Krebs was appointed commander of the 1st

Brigade, but died the same year.

Legacy

Krebs' street () in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

was named after him in 1874, the same time as he has streets named after him in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

and

Skotterud Skotterud is the administrative centre of Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian National Road 2 and the Kongsvingerbanen railway line. Skotterud sits about south of the town of Kongsvinge ...

. In 1879 a memorial to Andreas Samuel Krebs was unveiled at Christ Cemetery in Oslo. On every 17 May (

Norwegian Constitution Day Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnl ...

) a garland is laid on the memorial by

Hans Majestet Kongens Garde His Majesty The King's Guard () is a royal guard battalion of the Norwegian Army. The battalion has two main roles; it serves as the Norwegian King's bodyguards, guarding the royal residences (the Royal Palace in Oslo, Bygdøy Royal Estate, Bygdøy ...

. This is one of the few 17 May events in the capital that has directly to do with the events that took place in 1814.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, Andreas Samuel 1766 births 1818 deaths Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars