Carl Gustaf Armfeldt (9 November 1666 – 24 October 1736) was a Swedish officer,

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and

friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in i ...

(baron) who took part in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

Early life

Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was born in

Swedish Ingria Swedish Ingria (, ‘land of Ingrians’) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1583 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1721 in what is now the territory of Russia. At the latter date, it was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Ny ...

to lieutenant colonel Gustaf Armfelt and Anna Elisabet Brakel. Like other members of his family, Armfelt devoted himself to war and at seventeen years' age joined Nylands kavalleri as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

. In 1685, he left this position and left for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he joined prince Ferdinand of Fürstenberg's regiment as a mere footsoldier. He campaigned in France for twelve years and returned to Sweden as a captain.

Great Northern War

Due to his military experience, he was employed in the Finnish army as a generaladjutant in 1701 and stayed with this army for most of the

. He was named commander of the Finnish army in 1713. During the long war, he distinguished himself in several occasions, especially during the defense of

Helsingfors Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

in 1713, but met an overwhelming Russian force and was defeated at the battle of Storkyro in 1714.

1718 Norwegian Campaign

In 1717, Armfeldt was promoted to lieutenant general and commanded the Swedish force which on the orders of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

was sent into

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

to take

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. Poorly equipped, Armfelt pulled out after the king fell at Fredriksten. The ensuing disaster that struck his army is known as the Carolean Death March. On

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

1718, he arrived at Norwegian

Tydalen Neadalen is a river valley in Trøndelag county, Norway. The long valley generally runs east to west through Tydal Municipality and Selbu Municipality. The valley begins at the large lake Nesjøen and it follows the Nea River to the west and it ...

, with 80 kilometers to the closest Swedish village in

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

. When the troops had marched 10 kilometers from Tydalen, a severe

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

struck from the northwest. The bitter cold killed the

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

on the very first day, and the army wandered blindly in the mountains ( Sylan mountain range). On the following nights, hundreds more perished. Of the over 5,000 men who left Tydalen, only 2,100 were found alive on arrival at Duved.

Later life

In 1719, Armfelt was named governor of

Viborg county Viborg County () is a former county ( Danish: '' amt'') in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland The Central Denmark Re ...

but never took office, as the county was under Russian control and was ceded to Russia after the

treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

. He was elevated to

on 5 July 1731 and named general of infantry in 1735. According to the Pernå parish records (cited by Hornborg, 1952) he died at

Liljendal Liljendal is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the Eastern Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 1,472 (31 December 2009) and covered an area of of which is water ...

in Nyland on 24 October 1736, and was interred at Isnäs on 3 December 1736. He was married in 1700 to Lovisa Aminoff (1685–1741), daughter of cavalry captain Johan Fredrik Aminoff.

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish-Swedish count, baron, courtier, general and diplomat who was later in Russian service. In Finland, he is considered one of the greatest Finnish statesmen. His advi ...

was his great grandson.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armfeldt, Carl Gustaf 1666 births 1736 deaths Swedish Army generals Caroleans Swedish military personnel of the Nine Years' War Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War Carl Gustaf People from Swedish Ingria