Montecuccoli's landing on Funen occurred on 26 June 1659 when an allied force, six Dutch ships and 9,000 troops attempted to land on Swedish-occupied

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. The Dutch ships initially bombarded the Swedish positions and the Allied troops managed to land unopposed. These were later repulsed by the 4,000 Swedish troops under the command of

Carl Gustaf Wrangel ''Fältmarskalk'' Carl Gustaf Wrangel (also Carl Gustav von Wrangel; 23 December 1613 – 5 July 1676) was a Swedish statesman and military commander who commanded the Swedish forces in the Thirty Years' War, as well as the Torstenson, Bremen, ...

. The allies suffered heavy casualties with 5 of the Dutch warships being damaged.

Background

After the capture of

Fredriksodde Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 1 ...

in 1659, all of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

was under the control of the anti-Swedish coalition. However, they would not stay for long as their goal was to go to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and they assembled a force of 9,000 men at

Stenderup Sundeved (German language, German: ''Sundewitt'') is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The wes ...

in southern Jutland to land on Funen. Before doing so, they captured the island of Fanö to defend their flank.

Landing

On 26 June, the allies shipped over their troops under the command of

Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier, ...

on around 60 boats, which were defended by six Dutch warships. After bombarding what they believed to be the Swedish positions on the island, the allies landed without any resistance at

Middelfart Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16,749 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen (). Etymology The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Census Book ...

. Carl Gustaf Wrangel, who led the some 4,000 Swedish troops present on the island, had pulled his troops away from the bombardment area and soon bombarded the advancing Danes once they had made it further up on the beach. The nearby Dutch Admiral ship that was supporting the landing was severely damaged. Additionally, the transport fleet had earlier been disrupted by storms and several boats had been driven towards the coast and soon sunk by the Swedes. The affair lasted around 4 hours.

Aftermath

After the failed landing, the Swedes hadn't suffered any casualties, while the allies had suffered heavy casualties. Additionally, five of the six Dutch ships were more or less damaged, and Montecuccoli had been wounded by flying shrapnel. The Elector of Brandenburg,

Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty: * Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688) * Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713) * Frederick William I of ...

, now suggested attacking Funen with three assault groups. One would attack from

, the other from

, and the third from

Ebeltoft Ebeltoft is an old port town on the central east coast of Denmark with a population of 7,287 (1 January 2025).battle of Ebeltoft.

References

Works cited

* * {{Cite book , last=Bonnesen , first=Sten , author-link=:sv:Sten Bonnesen , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxooAQAAMAAJ , title=Karl X Gustav , publisher=Gleerups , year=1924 , language=sv , trans-title=Charles X Gustav Battles involving the Swedish Empire Battles involving Denmark–Norway Battles involving the Dutch Republic Conflicts in 1659 Funen

Background

Landing

Aftermath

See also

References

Works cited