The Battle of Axtorna or simply Axtorna, was fought between the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a 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 country by both area ...

and Denmark-Norway 20 October 1565 at Axtorna, a small village in what is today

Falkenberg Municipality Falkenberg Municipality () is a municipality in Halland County on the Swedish west coast. The town Falkenberg is the municipal seat. The municipality was created in 1971 when the ''City of Falkenberg'' was amalgamated with six rural municipalit ...

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

in south-western

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 ...

Battle

The Danish commander

Daniel Rantzau Daniel Rantzau (1529 – 11 November 1569) was a Danish-German field marshal. He was known for his leadership during the Northern Seven Years' War. For some years, he fought in Germany and Italy, and also took part in the Danish conquest of Dithm ...

had been forced to yield the fortress Varberghus to the Swedes on 15 September 1565, after they had taken Ny Varberg, then

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

's largest city. Rantzau received the news that a Swedish army of superior strength led by Jacob Henriksson Hästesko was approaching from the east, forcing him to move his forces toward

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...

. Rantzau had decided to commit to combat since the Swedish force had just arrived from its march and hadn't rearranged into a militarily cohesive unit.

Aftermath

The Danes won as a consequence of their superior cavalry tacticSvenska Slagfält: "''Axtorna 1565: En fråga om kavalleritaktik''" (2003) pp. 69-76 and Rantzau became a renowned general after the battle and throughout the war. Despite the victory and the capture of the Swedish

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, the Danish had suffered great losses and stayed near the battlefield for a week, while large portions of the Swedish army were intact.

Notes

References

External links

The Axtorna project

{{DEFAULTSORT:Axtorna 1565 Battles of the Northern Seven Years' War Battles involving Denmark–Norway Battles of the Dano-Swedish wars 1565 in Denmark Conflicts in 1565 1560s in Sweden