The Battle of Colberger Heide (also Kolberger Heide or Colberg Heath) took place on 1 July 1644 during the

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

, off the coast of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

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 ...

. The battle was indecisive, but a minor success for the

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish language, Danish and ) was a Koine language, koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Denmark–Norway, Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1 ...

fleet commanded by Jørgen Vind, assisted by Grabow and 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 and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

, over a

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 ...

fleet commanded by Klas Fleming, assisted by Ulfsparre and Bjelkenstjerna.

Course of the battle

The Dano-Norwegian fleet consisted of 40 ships with about 927 guns, and the Swedish fleet consisted of 34 ships with 1018 guns and 7

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

s. The Dano-Norwegian fleet, coming from the east, and the Swedish fleet, coming from the west, met just north of the island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (; ; from Old Wagrian Slavic languages, Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, afte ...

(Femern). The Swedes turned and sailed south along the west side of Fehmarn, inshore of a shoal, while the Danes followed a little further offshore. The Swedes turned north and swung around before resuming their westward course alongside the Danes. As the battle progressed the fleets turned before the wind, north and then back east south of the island of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

. As they approached the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

the Swedes turned south and eventually ended up in Kiel Bay while the Danes continued south-east, anchoring to the east of Fehmarn.

Casualties

Neither side had lost a ship. Dano-Norwegian casualties were 37 killed and 170 wounded, and Swedish casualties were 32 killed and 69 wounded. Among the Dano-Norwegian casualties were commander Jørgen Vind, who died of his wounds soon after the battle, and the king, whose wounds included the loss of an eye.

Outcome

The exact result of the battle is disputed by historians. Some claim that the battle ended with a Dano-Norwegian victory, with others claiming that it ended inconclusively.

Impact

While the Dano-Norwegian fleet gained a minor success when it subsequently managed to incarcerate the Swedish fleet at the

Bay of Kiel The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay (, ; ) is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, ...

, the battle was not decisive: in a subsequent encounter, the Dano-Norwegian navy was utterly defeated off the Fehmarn coast. The significance of the battle lies rather in it being retrospectively perceived as the last Dano-Norwegian victory over her long-time adversary, Sweden, in the two countries' struggle for control of the

dominium maris baltici The establishment of a , . ("Baltic Sea dominion") was one of the primary political aims of the Kingdom of Denmark, Danish and Kingdom of Sweden, Swedish kingdoms in the Late Middle Ages, late medieval and Early Modern era, early modern eras. Th ...

, as well as the heroization of the Dano-Norwegian king's personal commitment during the battle, memorized in the famous

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histo ...

painting and the first lines of the Danish royal anthem ''

Kong Christian stod ved højen mast "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (; ), or simply "Kong Christian", is the unofficial royal anthem of Denmark that officially has equal status of national anthem together with "Der er et yndigt land". However, it is almost exclusively used ...

''.

List of ships involved

Denmark-Norway

First Squadron: *''Patientia'' 48 (1st Sq. flag) *''Oldenborg'' 42 *''Stormar'' 32 (Henrik Mund) *''Fides'' 28 *''Svan'' 26 (Lucas Henriksen) *''Prinds Christian'' (merchantman) *''Lam'' 16 *''Havhest'' 14 *''Jomfrusvend'' 6 *''Ørn'' 4 Second Squadron: *''Tre Løver'' 46 *''Lindorm'' 38 *''Kronet Fisk'' 20 *''Emanuel'' (merchantman) *''Forgyldte Stokfisk'' (merchantman) *''S. Jacob'' (merchantman) *''S. Peter'' (merchantman) *''Hvide Björn'' 14 *''Sorte Björn'' 14 *''Postillion'' 14 Third Squadron: *''Trefoldighed'' 48 (3rd Sq. flag) *''Pelican'' 36 *''Graa Ulv'' 30 *''Norske Løve'' 30 *''Neptunus'' 28 *''Sorte Rytter'' 24 *''Tvende Løver'' 22 *''Josua'' (merchantman) *''Hollandske Fregat'' 12 *''Højenhald'' 8 Fourth Squadron: *''St Sophia'' 40 (4th Sq. flag) *''Tre Kroner'' 30 (Corfits Ulfeldt) *''Delmenhorst'' 28 (Hans Knudsen) *''Nelleblad'' 24 *''Røte Gans'' (merchantman) *''Unge Ulv'' (merchantman) *''Markat'' 16 *''Gak Med'' 12 *''Samsons Gallej'' 9 *''Flyvende Hjort'' 8 The Dano-Norwegian merchant ships averaged around 20 guns each.

Sweden

Van: *''Scepter'' 58 (Van flag) *''Drake'' 40 *''Göteborg'' 36 *''Leopard'' 36 *''Rafael'' 36 *''Jupiter'' 34 *''Regina'' 34 (

Abraham Duquesne Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (; 2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and the ...

) *''Smålands Lejon'' 32 *''Katta'' 22 *''Tiger'' 18 *''Måne'' 16 *2 fireships Center: *''Krona'' 68 (Center flag) *''Nyckel'' 34 *''Stockholm'' 34 *''Samson'' 32 *''Apollo'' 26 *''Merkurius'' 26 *''Salvator'' 26 *''Vestervik'' 26 *''Vestgöta Lejon'' 26 *''Rekompens'' 22 *''Svan'' 22 *''St Jakob'' 12 *2 fireships Rear: *''Göta Ark'' 72 (Rear flag) *''Svärd'' 32 *''Mars'' 30 *''Andromeda'' 26 *''Jägare'' 26 *''Vesterviks Fortuna'' 24 *''Akilles'' 22 *''Enhorn'' 18 *''Falk'' 18 *''Gamla Fortuna'' 18 *''Papegoja'' 12 *3 fireships The fireships were named ''Meerman'', ''Caritas'', ''Meerweib'', ''Bona'', ''Jungru'', '' St Mikael'' and 1 other. 4 had previously been used as horse transports and were barely ready.

References

;Footnotes ;General reference * ''Naval wars in the Baltic 1559-1850'' (1910) - R. C. Anderson {{Authority control 1644 in Denmark Naval battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Denmark Colberger Heide Colberger Heide 1644 in the Holy Roman Empire Naval battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Sweden