The Swedish Reconquest of Skane
December 13 1405 - May 11 1411
The Swedish Reconquest of Skane had its origins shortly after the development of the Danish alliance with Oldenburg and Pomerania. The Swedish people were vehemently opposed to any sort of alliance with the Germans for they feared the possibility of Denmark (and most undoubtedly Sweden) getting involved in German conflicts. After Eric VII refused Swedish council, the Swedes made it apparent that they would not allow Denmark to control Swedish affairs. In the months following the Swedish diplomats would constantly berate their sovereign's decisions and his court in Copenhagen. This game to a head in 1402 where the Swedes broke off all ties to the Danish state. There was a great deal of confusion regarding this decision on both sides. Whether or not Sweden agreed with Eric's objectives and his council should have been irrelevant to the fact that Eric is Sweden's King. Even though it wasn't the Swedish noblemen are decidedly torn between whether or not they should sever all ties with Eric, Denmark, and Norway. A little over 50% of the Swedish noblemen supported the separation of Sweden from the Kalmar union. These noblemen would be responsible for taking over Stockholm and ending the alliance between Denmark and Sweden.
The question of the union then came into question. Most noblemen were opposed to seeking a new monarch until after Eric VII died. He was, after all, their sovereign even if they didn't want to treat him that way. Some even believed that ties could be reestablished should Eric make it clear that he has no intentions of getting involved in the affairs of the Germans and he severs relations with Oldenburg. Some noblemen disagreed with this assessment vehemently and in the early months of 1405 declared an open revolt just outside of Stockholm. A pretender claiming to be the rightful heir to the Swedish throne laid siege to the capital. He would succeed in capturing it in June. Many Swedish noblemen would resist but by December 13th Karl, styling himself Karl VIII, had successfully taken control of the country. Before news of his "deposition" ever reached Eric's ears, Karl would declare war under the pretext of recapturing Swedish lands under Danish control (particularly Skane).
Eric VII of Denmark by himself only had 6000 troops to his name of mixed infantry and cavalry. This would make him ill prepared to go up against Sweden alone. It is almost a certainty that Denmark would have lost the engagement with Sweden should the two countries have gone at each other alone. This, however, was not destined to occur. Norway, a very happy nation under Eric's rule, would immediately assist Denmark in the conflict. The Duchy of Holstein, a subordinate Kingdom that retained its own monarch, would come to assist as well. In a stroke of irony both Pomerania and Oldenburg would come to assist Denmark. Sweden had so feared that they would be dragged into German conflicts and their actions directly lead to German intervention in the affairs of Scandinavia. What was once an uneven conflict suddenly swung in favor of the Danes.
The first armed conflict would occur just outside of Halmstad in December 26. There were reports of Swedish raiding parties throughout the borderlands with homes being razed to the ground. Eric VII would lead his 6000 man army to prevent any more of these raids, originally stationed in Skane when news came of a Swedish force attacking Halland Eric rushed to defend the province. Eric would arrive just outside of Halmstad a day before the conflict began. The raiding party, most likely suspecting no resistance, arrived at the city only to find an army six times their size waiting for them. The conflict would be brief ending with a total route of the Swedish unit just one day after the fighting began.
Encouraged by this success Eric would lead his army to Vastergotland. The Danish troops would encounter no resistance, but with this being the dead of winter Eric was faced with harsh weather that would provide a greater challenge than any raiding party ever could. News of various conflicts between the Norwegians and the Swedes became coming in to Eric's command. Because of his recent success in the siege of Skara he felt like he could not bring himself to abandon the siege of the city. In February, through a very strong winter storm, 2000 infantry (The "Armee von Holstein") would be led by Gerhard VI von Shauenburg to reinforce Eric's army. Eric contemplated leaving behind a some units to assist Gerhard while he went further north to relieve the Norwegians, but ultimately decided against it believing the siege could be accomplished far sooner now with Gerhard's aid. In March a group of 1000 volunteer infantry lead out a party break free of the seige of Halland. They would be crushed the very same day they left the city with the few survivors fleeing back into the safety of their crumbling walls.
Just a few weeks after the defeat of the volunteers, a Swedish army under Karl VIII himself would lead a force of over 10,000 soldiers to defeat Eric and relieve the siege of Skara, freeing Vastergotland from the Danish army, at least for the moment. One April 7th the two armies would clash in the countryside. The snow still lightly dusted the ground making the battle a difficult one and giving the advantage to the Danish forces. The Danes, however, were outnumbered. The conflict would begin just after Karl VIII decided to cross the river
Gota Alv. Attacking a fortified position just outside of winter by crossing the largest river in the region was a daring move to say the least. In the end, however, it would be a disastrous move for the Swedes. By the time the battle was called off completely and the Swedes retreated Smaland they had suffered tremendous casualties. Just under 3000 infantry and 1500 cavalry would be killed, captured, or scattered in every direction from Karl's army. Eric's on the other hand would have significantly less casualties. 700 cavalry and 500 infantry would be lost in the conflict. A mixture of luck, a divine hand, and Karl's daring, but foolish, attack had secured the day for the Danes.
The Battle, while devastating, would not be decisive. The Swedes would regroup in Smaland and with an even greater force would come to invade Skane, laying siege to the city for the first time since the war began. This, however, would only be a stepping stone for an even larger invasion force. The Danish navy prevented the Swedes from marching on to the Danish capital, but they could not prevent a force of over 12,000 from nearly destroying Eric's army of just over 7000. This time Karl would not come in the waning hours of winter and across the Gota Alv, this engagement would begin in the summer month of August and end on Thursday, September 15th. Eric would suffer almost complete casualties. Both he and Gerhard would lose the the majority of their infantry and all of their cavalry. The two forces, knowing that either one of them could be killed in one decisive move. Gerhard fled south into Danish territory (Halland) and Eric fled north into Norwegian territory.
By a stroke of luck unlike anything seen before in history Eric avoided being completely destroyed. With just 300 infantry with him he fled deep into Norwegian territory. Down south 3000 new soldiers were being raised for the conflict, 2000 infantry and 1000 cavarly. The conflict from there on became a waiting game between the Swedes and the Danish. Sweden would be kept busy both with sieges and Norway. Gerhard's unit would be wiped out, but Gerhard himself would escape to Holstein. There he raised a new army and entered into the fray yet again. It would take almost a full year, but by the dawn of a new September in 1407 Eric was once again ready to sally forth into Swedish territory. The Norwegians had done a fairly good job of beating back the Swedes. While Karl had been dealing with Eric, the Norwegians were busily besieging the northern borderlands. After Gerhard entered into the fray, Karl could only race back and forth to deal with these armies and these sieges. Without any time to lay siege to cities himself the conflict once again began to turn in favor of the allies. Battle with the Swedes would occur almost immediately outside of Danish territory. Gerhard's forces besieging Smaland were attacked by Karl. The battle had been going on for roughly two days by now, Eric did not wish to see Gerhard's forces wiped out and instantly made the decision to lead his host of 9000 to assist his vassal. The battle began on September 24th, Gerhard already fighting in the engagement was given complete control of the battle without any disagreement from Eric. Gerhard was, arguably, the better general anyways. October 14th would be the day where both Gerhard and Eric would have their revenge on Karl, scoring a victory.
This victory would be a decisive one as it would be a turning point. Just about 8000 Swedish soldiers were killed, captured, injured, or scattered as a result of the engagement. Gerhard's martial skill had won the day with just over 2000 causalities. Following this defeat Karl made it known that he desired peace with Eric. He would send a diplomat to discuss a "White Peace" with the Danes. With Norwegians laying siege to half of Karl's lands and Denmark and Holstein just began their siege the answer to this was a resounding "No.". The diplomat would be dismissed immediately afterward with no further comments being allowed. In December Karl would come back with a slightly reinforced army to do battle in Smaland. For reasons unknown to history Eric and Gerhard were
not in their respective units. The Danish and Holstein armies were left helpless without a general to aid them. The Danish forces fled with the help of a nameless left tenant, who died in the retreat to Copenhagen. A statue would later be made in Skane for his deeds. The engagement would not be all that devastating for the Danes nor the Holsteins. As the Danish fled they suffered 2500 casualties in the form of cavalry that guarded the retreat. Karl would lose an equal number of infantry in the actual battle.
Upon arrival in Skane they would find a Swedish regiment of 2000 cavalry laying siege to the city. Unable to avoid conflict the Danes did battle in a very disorganized fashion. Karl would quickly arrive on the wind of victory. The Danish army, with support the nameless Left Tenant and the Danish Navy, were able to retreat to Copehagen. The Danes would lose another thousand cavalry, but the Swedes would lose just under a thousand men. Most of these casualties, however, would be before Karl's arrival.
Once back in Copenhagen Eric appointed Rudolf Pil to lead the Danish armies. He was a competent general, but not of the caliber of either Eric, Gerhard, or, more importantly, Karl VIII of Sweden. Rudolf would allow the army several months rest inside of Copehagen before leading the army to Smaland where the Danes had witnessed their previous defeat. The Swedes were unable to provide resistance as Karl was busy waging war against the Norwegians in Finland. Smaland would be captured in October after one hundred and thirty-two days of siege. This would be the first province successfully captured by the Danes inside this conflict with Sweden.
Encouraged by this success Rudolf would lead the army to Ostergotland and begin siege of the province in October 31st. All Hallows Eve was given notice by the Danish troops, as would the following holiday, with a silent prayer. In November Karl would send another envoy to Eric requesting a peace between their two forces with him renouncing all claims on Skane in perpetuity. Eric once again rejected the Envoy and gave an encouraging letter to Rudolf stating that the war was nearing its end. In December, nearing the 20th, Karl had finally arrived back in Sweden proper and immediately attacked Rudolf Pil. Rudolf may not have been the better general to Karl, but Karl had been waging this war on his own for years. Inflation was severely damaging Sweden's economy and Swedish manpower had not yet recovered from Gerhard's devastating success in Smaland. January 22 would see Karl fleeing Ostergotland with another defeat, a defeat that cost him men and resources he could no longer replace without significant hardship. Both generals would see the loss of most of their force, but unlike Karl, Denmark could replace their men. Denmark had not yet begun war taxes and with Eric enjoying a comfortable income with subsidies from both Norway and the Teutonic Order he never did leaving the Danish economy intact in the every growing waste of war.
In desperation Karl would spend only a month regrouping before setting out to defeat Rudolf Pil and the Danish army. Their armies, after all, were still of similar power (with a slight advantage towards Karl) and Karl was indeed a better general. When the two forces met a late snow in April would spell doom for Karl's attempt to break the Danish siege. After just twelve days of conflict on April 20th Karl once again fled from Ostergotland, not wishing to completely destroy his own forces. He would lose over twice as much soldiers as Rudolf would in the conflict and now Sweden would be on completely even ground with Rudolf.
Karl would once again make a plea for peace, this time ensuring the hefty sum of 30 ducats as well as the renouncing of claims on all Danish territory. Those 30 ducats represented the entire Swedish treasury, exposing just how desperate Karl was for peace. Shortly after yet another rejection by Eric a peasant revolt occurred just outside of Stockholm and began to lay siege to the capital. Karl, clinging to his last vestige of martial authority, lead his battered army to relieve the siege of Stockholm. Even though he was successful it was rapidly becoming apparent even to Karl that he would lose this conflict in its entirety. Even if he won Sweden would be left bankrupt and broken for decades to come. Even so he refused to allow Sweden to once again fall victim to Eric VII's command. History recognizes Karl as a misguided patriot, but Eric would only berate the man as a fool for not coming to terms sooner. Rudolf would successfully capture Ostergotland just before the September 1, making it captured in August after 306 days of siege.
Rudolf would go on to lay siege to Stockholm with the assistance of both the Norwegians and the Holsteins. Command of the siege would ultimately fall to the time tested Holstein general Heinrich Philip. Heinrich would constantly attack Stockholm in an unending struggle to rush the fall of the city. Karl would spend his time facing off against Norwegians battling in the borderlands. Karl had little hope for victory, but as each battle provided a success against the Norwegians he began to believe it was possible to defeat the powerful alliance lead by Denmark. Heinrich Philip, on the other hand, would capture Stockholm in just over 200 days. Even at this moment Sweden refused to rejoin the union with Denmark, and with this Eric encouraged Rudolf to lay siege to even more territory. Rudolf would head off to Bergslagen to lay siege there, Rudolf was originally heading off to Sweden in order to capture many unoccupied territories there. He would, however, be stopped by the still intact Swedish navy on three occasions, forcing Rudolf to seek another avenue to expand against the Swedes. Bergslagen would seem like the perfect opportunity as it was the last unoccupied province within reach of Rudolf's army. Heinrich Philip once again led the siege of this province. Karl, in an act tantamount to nothing more than desperation, marched his forces to defeat the joint Holstein-Denmark siege of his last territories. The engagement would last only four days and it would end with Karl's retreat. Karl, now used to hit and run tactics, knew better than to fight for long engagements and ended up losing less troops than the Danes in the conflict.
The siege of Bergslagen would finally end after almost a year of fighting, being captured in May of 1411. Heinrich Philip and Rudolf Pil would then begin their trek for Finland, but this time Karl would finally come to terms.
Karl recognized now that he would never be able to win this war, he could flee to Finland and carry on the war from there, but it would be a hopeless war that would only cause the deaths of tens of thousands of more Swedish citizens. Karl had no desire to see his people suffer any longer and settled for a peace with Eric VII. He would renounce all claims to the Swedish throne, recognizing Eric VII as the rightful sovereign of Sweden. Sweden would cede the province of Vastergotland to Denmark as reparation for the conflict between the two forces. With both armies tired of the constant fighting and peace assurred the Swedish Reconquest of Skane came to an end on May 11, 1411.