The siege of Stralsund was a siege laid on Stralsund by Albrecht von Wallenstein's Imperial Army during the Thirty Years' War, from 13 May 1628 to 4 August 1628. [3]Stralsund was aided by Denmark and Sweden, with considerable Scottish participation. The lifting of the siege ended Wallenstein's series of victories,[4] and contributed to his downfall.[5] The Swedish garrison in Stralsund was the first on German soil in history.[6] The battle marked the de facto entrance of Sweden into the war.[4]
Christian IV's army staff heavily relied on Scottish expertise: with 300 Scottish officers in his service, Scottish officers outnumbered Danish and Norwegian officers combined by 3:1.[12] Also, Christian IV had issued patents to raise 9,000 Scottish troops in 1627, adding to 2,000-3,000 Scottish troops raised by Donald Mackay for Ernst von Mansfeld's army, but who had been deployed to Denmark instead.
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was since 1626 involved in the Polish-Swedish War, with Poland allied to the Holy Roman Empire.[13] In this war, Scotsman Alexander Leslie started his career in Swedish service as commandant and governor of Pillau in East Prussia.[13] Gustavus Adolphus had made plans to intervene in the Holy Roman Empire, of which the Riksdag commission approved in the winter of 1627/28.[14]
The Capitulation of Franzburg required all towns except for ducal residences to take in imperial troops,[6] and Wallenstein had ordered Arnim to occupy the Pomeranian ports and seize their vessels already in October.[15] Stralsund however was unwilling to give in,[16] as its status as a Hanseatic town had provided for considerable self-determination and independence from the Pomeranian dukes.[17] Thus, Stralsund ignored Bogislaw's order to adhere to the capitulation, issued since February 1628,[4] and instead turned first to Denmark and then to Sweden for support.[18]
Siege
Starting in May 1628, siege was laid on Stralsund by Albrecht von Wallenstein's troops,[19] commanded by Hans Georg von Arnim.[20] By then, the town with its 20,000 inhabitants was defended by a citizen force of 2,500, a levy of 1,500, and another 1,000 enlisted men.[20] The first major imperial assault on the city took place between 16 and 24 May.[20]
A 1628 map of Stralsund.
Christian IV of Denmark had reacted positively to Stralsund's call and deployed a force including 900[21] of Mackay's Scotsmen, organized in seven companies, and a company of Germans in her defence.[20] Though dispatched already on 8 May, they only landed on 24 May.[20] Initially, the Danish-German mercenary Heinrich Holk was appointed governor.[22][23] When Holk retired to seek reinforcements, he was succeeded by Scotsman Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Seaton of Mackay's Regiment.[2]
The Imperial army renewed its assault on 26 and 27 May.[20] When checked, Arnim resorted to bombardment awaiting Wallenstein's personal appearance.[20]
On 20 June, a Swedish auxiliary expedition, dispatched already on 2 June, arrived with 600 men commanded by Colonel Fretz, Colonel James MacDougall, and Major Semple.[24]
On 23[25] or 25[19] June, Stralsund concluded an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, scheduled to last twenty years.[19][25] Gustavus Adolphus then stationed a garrison in the town, the first such on German soil in history.[6] This event marked the starting point of Swedish engagement in the Thirty Years' War.[26] Robert Monro recorded that Semple was killed almost upon arrival and Macdougall temporarily captured. However he noted that this Swedish contingent "did come voluntarily come to succour and help our Nation" indicating the sheer number of Scots from both the standing Danish garrison and the Swedish relief force.[27]
On 27 June, Wallenstein took command of the besieging forces, and renewed the assaults starting the very same night.[20] The Scottish troops, entrusted with the defence of a crucial section of Stralsund's fortifications, distinguished themselves by an extremely fierce way of fighting.[21] The main assault was on the eastern district of Franken, commanded by major Robert Monro.[28] Of 900 Scots, 500 were killed and 300 wounded, including Monro.[21] Rosladin was able to relieve Monro's force and re-take lost ground.[20] An overall 2,000 defenders were killed and captured in this assault.[20] Monro later recalled that "we were not suffered to come off our posts for our ordinary recreation, nor yet to sleepe" - for a period of six weeks.[21]
The siege, contemporary engraving.
The following night, on 28 and 29 June, Wallenstein succeeded in taking the outer works of the fortifications.[20] Rosladin was wounded and governor Seaton took over his command.[20]
On 29 June, Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania sent two of his high-ranking nobles, the count von Putbus and his chancellor von Horn, to persuade Stralsund to adhere to the Capitulation of Franzburg and surrender to Wallenstein.[19] On 30 June, Rosladin persuaded the city not to enter into negotiations with Wallenstein, who had resorted to bombardment again.[20] The same day, ten Swedish vessels reinforced Stralsund with 600 troops, while under heavy fire by Wallenstein's forces.[19] Soon after, Christian ordered another Scottish regiment, that of Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie, to help with the defence of the town.[29] These troops arrived around 4 July and suffered huge casualties (being reduced from a regiment to four companies) in the ensuing assaults, many led by Wallenstein in person.[4] On 10 July, Wallenstein and Stralsund negotiated a treaty in the Hainholz woods northwest of the town,[lower-alpha 3] requiring Stralsund to take in Pomeranian troops.[19] The treaty was signed by Wallenstein and Bogislaw XIV on 21 July, but not by Stralsund.[19] Though Bogislaw vouched for the town, the treaty did not come into effect.[19]
Already on 2 July, Stralsund had been reinforced by 400 Danish troops, and by 1,100 troops of the Danish-Scottish regiments of Donald Mackay and Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie in the following week.[31] By the 17 July Scotsman Alexander Leslie, arrived with 1,100 troops, including more Scottish volunteers, and succeeded Seaton as Stralsund's governor.[22][32] Leslie commanded a total of 4,000 to 5,000 troops.[33] The Danish support amounted to 2,650 troops deployed during the siege.[25] One of Leslie's first actions was an audacious all-out assault on the besieging troops which Robert Monro described as follows:
Sir Alexander Leslie being made governour, he resolved for the credit of his countrymen to make an out-fall upon the Enemy, and desirous to conferre the credit on his own Nation alone, being his first Essay in that Citie[34]
Heavy rainfall between 21 and 24 July turned the battlefield into a marsh.[20] On 4 August, Wallenstein lifted the siege,[19] acknowledging his first misfortune in the Thirty Years' War.[4]
Aftermath
After the unsuccessful siege, Wallenstein headed to nearby Wolgast, to fight a final battle with Christian IV:[4] Danish troops had landed in the area and occupied the island of Usedom, and had taken the town of Wolgast on 14 August without fighting.[19] On 22 August, Wallenstein retook the town.[19]
Also in August, Swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna came to Stralsund, and offered negotiations to Wallenstein.[35] The latter however refused.[35] The inability to take Stralsund was to become one of the obstacles which led to Wallenstein's temporary dismissal in 1630.[5]
When Gustavus Adolphus' invaded Pomerania in June 1630,[19] he used his bridgehead in Stralsund to clear the flanks of his landing forces.[36] Bogislaw XIV concluded an alliance with the Swedish king in the Treaty of Stettin in July.[37] Wallenstein's forces were subsequently driven out of the Duchy of Pomerania, and Swedish forces had taken complete control of the duchy when Wallenstein's forces in Greifswald surrendered in June 1631.[38]
Part of Wallenstein's forces were infected with the Black Death.[39] During the siege, the epidemics swept into the town, killing 2,000 in the months of August and September alone.[39]
The battle of Stralsund entered Pomeranian folklore.[40] The population of Stralsund commemorates the siege of 1628 with an annual festival, "Wallensteintage" ("Wallenstein Days").[41]
↑ All the Scottish regiments in Danish service refused to fight under Danish flag and insisted on the Saltire. Monro mentions this in the opening pages of his memoir and the compromise as reached that a Saltire would be flown with a Dannerbrog in the top right corner.[1]
↑ Leslie's Swedes were actually mostly Scottish volunteers who desired to help their countrymen.[2]
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War.
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland became Lord General in command of the Army of the Covenanters, a privy councillor, captain of Edinburgh Castle, Lord Balgonie and Earl of Leven. In England he commanded the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant and was senior commander of the Army of Both Kingdoms (1642–1647). Leslie served in the Thirty Years' War, the Bishops' Wars, and most of the English Civil War, fighting primarily in the First English Civil War. Leslie would live a long life, dying roughly at the age of 80 or 81.
Swedish Pomerania was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts of Livonia and Prussia.
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, also von Waldstein, was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War.
Robert Monro, was a famous Scottish General, from the Clan Munro of Ross-shire, Scotland. He held command in the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus during Thirty Years' War. He also fought for the Scottish Covenanters during the Bishop's Wars in Scotland and commanded the Scottish Covenanter army during the Irish Confederate Wars. He was the author of a diary recounting his military experiences during the Thirty Years' War, published as Monro, His Expedition With the Worthy Scots Regiment Called Mac-Keys.
Sir John Hepburn was a Scottish soldier who fought in wars in continental Europe achieving the rank and status of Maréchal de France.
Treaty or Peace of Lübeck ended the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War. It was signed in Lübeck on 22 May 1629 by Albrecht von Wallenstein and Christian IV of Denmark, and on 7 June by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Catholic League was formally included as a party. It restored to Denmark–Norway its pre-war territory at the cost of final disengagement from imperial affairs.
Colonel Robert Munro of Foulis, also known as the Black Baron, was traditionally the 18th Baron of Foulis in Scotland. He was a soldier of fortune, who served in Germany under the banners of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. It is not certain how he got his epithet of the 'Black Baron', but quite possibly it was from the colour of his hair rather than any perceived martial ferocity. Although this Robert Munro is traditionally 18th Baron and 21st overall chief of the Clan Munro, he is only the 11th Munro chief that can be proved by contemporary evidence.
The Battle of Wolgast was an engagement in the Thirty Years' War, fought on 22 August (O.S.) or 2 September (N.S.) 1628 near Wolgast, Duchy of Pomerania, Germany.
The Treaty of Stettin or Alliance of Stettin was the legal framework for the occupation of the Duchy of Pomerania by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Concluded on 25 August (O.S.) or 4 September 1630 (N.S.), it was predated to 10 July (O.S.) or 20 July 1630 (N.S.), the date of the Swedish Landing. Sweden assumed military control, and used the Pomeranian bridgehead for campaigns into Central and Southern Germany. After the death of the last Pomeranian duke in 1637, forces of the Holy Roman Empire invaded Pomerania to enforce Brandenburg's claims on succession, but they were defeated by Sweden in the ensuing battles. Some of the Pomeranian nobility had changed sides and supported Brandenburg. By the end of the war, the treaty was superseded by the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the subsequent Treaty of Stettin (1653), when Pomerania was partitioned into a western, Swedish part, and an eastern, Brandenburgian part.
The capitulation of Franzburg was a treaty providing for the capitulation of the Duchy of Pomerania to the forces of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. It was signed on 10 November (O.S.) or 20 November (N.S.) 1627 by Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania and Hans Georg von Arnim, commander in chief of an occupation force belonging to the army of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, led by Albrecht von Wallenstein. While the terms of the capitulation were unfavourable for the Duchy of Pomerania already, occupation became even more burdensome when the occupation force did not adhere to the restrictions outlined in Franzburg. Stralsund resisted with Danish, Swedish and Scottish support, another Danish intervention failed. Imperial occupation lasted until Swedish forces invaded in 1630, and subsequently cleared all of the Duchy of Pomerania of imperial forces until 1631.
Heinrich Holk was a Danish-German mercenary in both Christian IV of Denmark's and Albrecht von Wallenstein's service during the Thirty Years' War.
Alexander Seaton or Seton was a Scottish soldier in Danish service during the Thirty Years' War. He briefly served as a governor in the Battle of Stralsund and as an admiral in the Torstenson War.
The Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder on 13 April 1631 was a battle of the Thirty Years' War. It was fought between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire for the strategically important, fortified Oder crossing Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg, Germany.
Torquato Conti (1591–1636) was an Italian military commander who served as a General-Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. His barbarous treatment of defenceless villagers earned him the nickname, The Devil. He later became a nobleman and was made Duke of Guadagnolo and Gonfalonier of the Church by Pope Urban VIII.
Philipp von Mansfeld, was Graf von Mansfeld, Vorderort and Bornstedt who commanded troops during the Thirty Years' War. He first fought on the side of the Swedish Empire under his second cousin, was captured, changed allegiance and raised a navy for General Albrecht von Wallenstein. Later, he commanded troops as Feldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire.
Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg was a prince of Saxe-Lauenburg and a general during the Thirty Years' War.
Sir James Spens was a Scottish adventurer, soldier and diplomat, much concerned with Scandinavian and Baltic affairs, and an important figure in recruiting Scottish and English soldiers for the Thirty Years' War. Raised to Swedish peerage as friherre Jacob Spens.
There was a complicated involvement between Scotland and the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. Scotland and the Scots were heavily entangled in both the diplomatic and military events which centred on the Holy Roman Empire. There were a number of reasons for this participation.
Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie was a Scottish nobleman and soldier of fortune.
Langer, Herbert (2003). "Die Anfänge des Garnisionswesens in Pommern". In Asmus, Ivo; Droste, Heiko; Olesen, Jens E. (eds.). Gemeinsame Bekannte: Schweden und Deutschland in der Frühen Neuzeit (in German). Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN3-8258-7150-9.
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Murdoch, Steve; Grosjean, Alexia (2014). Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648. London. pp.47–51.
Nicklas, Thomas (2002). Macht oder Recht: frühneuzeitliche Politik im Obersächsischen Reichskreis (in German). Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN3-515-07939-4.
Olesen, Jens E (2003). "Christian IV og dansk Pommernpolitik". In Asmus, Ivo; Droste, Heiko; Olesen, Jens E. (eds.). Gemeinsame Bekannte: Schweden und Deutschland in der Frühen Neuzeit (in Danish). Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN3-8258-7150-9.
Parker, Geoffrey; Adams, Simon (1997). The Thirty Years' War (2ed.). Routledge. ISBN0-415-12883-8.
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