Carl Henrik Wrangel,

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 ...

Wrangel af Adinal (28 January 1681 – 23 March 1755) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

, attaining the rank of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Biography

He was born in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

Swedish Estonia Estonia under Swedish rule signifies the period of time between 1561 and 1710, when present-day Estonia was under the rule of the Swedish Empire. In the wake of the breakup of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Baltic German Baltic nobility, ...

as the son of Reinhold Wrangel. Wrangel entered military service at the age of 15 and participated in several of the

Charles XII 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 ...

's campaigns during 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 ...

, in the process of which he was promoted to captain of

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards (), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Troops (''Kungl. Maj: ...

and Lieutenant Colonel of Skånska ståndsdragonerna, but was captured in 1709 after the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

. After returning from

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

in 1722, he 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 ...

of the Nyland cavalry regiment, and in 1727 was made colonel of Tavastehus regiment and in 1729 för Nyland dragoon regiment, in 1732 major-general and in 1739 colonel of Skaraborg Regiment. The same year, he offered the position of

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

, but demurred in favour of remaining with the Army. At the outbreak of the Russo-Swedish War in 1741, he led one of the two divisions of the Swedish Army in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, with a strength of 4,000 men. In 1741 at the Battle of Villmanstrand, he was ordered by General Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock to lead his force into battle against the superior forces of General Peter Lacy. The numerarily superior Russians won the battle and took Villmarstrand, whereupon Wrangel, who lost his right arm during the battle, was captured. Upon his return from captivity in 1742, he received gifts from the king and the burghers of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and was made

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in 1743 and colonel with the

Närke-Värmland Regiment The Närke-Värmland Regiment () was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was split into two new regiments in 1812. The regiment's soldiers were recruited from the provinces of Närke and Värmland ...

. In 1754, he was promoted to field marshal. During the Dalecarlian Rebellion in 1743, he was assigned the task of dissuading or diverting the march of the Dalecarlians on Stockholm, but despite his popularity he achieved neither. In 1748 he bought the estate Sperlingsholm outside

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

where he died in 1755.

References

1681 births 1755 deaths People from Haapsalu Field marshals of Sweden Carl Henrik Caroleans People of the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War Battle of Poltava Swedish prisoners of war Prisoners of war held by Russia Carl Henrik People from the Duchy of Estonia (1561–1721) {{Sweden-mil-bio-stub