Chapter Xb: The Final Years of King Karl Knutsson Bonde
The reasons behind the First War of Danish Conquest have always been unclear. In later years attempts have been made to put the war in a context with the later Wars of Danish Conquest, but this is most probably yet another example of later day historians trying to apply the ideas and ideals of their own time upon an entirely different era. But while the reasoning behind the war remains shrouded in mystery, one thing is clear: The war would be the longest and bloodiest conflict in Scandinavian history.
The disposition of the southern armies soon after the outbreak of war. 10,000 men stand ready to invade unguarded Sjælland while 10,000 more led by the ageing King prepares to move into Norway.
The northern forces. Only small militia units are available so a force of cavalry is being sent from Finland.
The war started out poorly for Sweden, as the Danish fleet arrived just in time to stop a Swedish seaborne assault on Copenhagen. Danish forces invaded Bergslagen and Swedish attacks failed to dislodge them, and bands of Danish marauders fell upon the unprotected towns of northern Norway.
But in October of the same year the tide turned as the combined might of King Karl’s army and the force-marched army from Finland drove the Danish army out of Bergslagen. Only the next day the Swedish fleet arrived outside Sjælland and succeeded in beating its large Danish counterpart. The victories on were reversed for a short while as a hasty attack on Jämtland failed and Bergslagen was again put under siege. But in April 1467 Bergslagen was relieved and Jämtland was pillaged, though not actually put under siege.
After a year of campaigning with nothing to show for it, the Swedish army spent several months rebuilding their lost strength, and then in August marched south, towards Østlandet. Meanwhile, the King had married one of his close female relatives to the prince of Muscowy in a shrewd diplomatic move to secure his neutrality in the conflict.
With the eastern border thus secure the campaign in southern Norway could begin in earnest. Østlandet was kept under siege while the other half of the army marched into Bergenshus, were they remained for the winter. In spring 1468, the occupation of Norway was completed by offensives into Jämtland and Trøndelag.
In November the same year, Østlandet was first to fall, but the other Norwegian forts held out with incredible valour, despite the overwhelming odds. Trøndelag fell in late October 1469, and the aged and now sick King Karl was starting to become desperate to finish the campaign before his death. This was not to be.
The 16th of May 1470, King Karl Knutsson Bonde, the eighth King to bear the name, died in his sleep in his tent outside the besieged city of Oslo. His reign had been one of the longest in Swedish history, but as he had left no known heirs, no clear successor could be found. Some feared that this would cause a political crisis, but despite the war the happiness of the peasantry and stability of the realm had steadily been rising, and several new tariffs imposed to increase revenues had kept the state finances afloat. With the war going well, the stage was well set for a new King…
20th of May, 1470
The Royal tent, sans royalty. Swedish army camp outside Oslo.
Advisor, in despair: Oh, woe is me! I have to find a new King quickly, before the nobles get up to their old tricks again!
Olof: Who are you talking to?
Advisor: Oh, hmm. *cough* No-one, naturally. Anyway, Olof! What are you doing here? And where have you been hiding all this time?
Olof: Oh, I’ve survived. I just couldn’t stand the court with that nincompoop Bonde running around. But now I hear that he’s dead, thank God.
Advisor: It is true, and a bit of a shame, too. He was really getting into his duty of providing an outside face while we advisors would run the country as we pleased…
Olof: Well, then you’ll be happy to know that I’ve brought the next King of Sweden with me!
Advisor: And why are you so sure that he is going to be next King of Sweden, if I may be so bold as to ask?
Olof: Because the nobles have accepted him as their King and the plans for the crowning are well underway.
Advisor: Well D’oh! I WAS wondering why they had moved all the Royal regalia to that huge, new tent… Oh, well. I hope you had the sense to pick a suitable man for the job, seeing as how we are going to have to keep up with him for a while…
Chapter XI: Sten Sture the Elder
Only four days after the death of King Karl Knutsson Bonde, an unanimous Swedish nobility raised one of their own to the honour of Kingship. Sten Sture was crowned a few days later as King Sten I, and his first action was to abolish the newly imposed tariffs, which had caused some grief amongst merchants and peasants alike. This move was hard on the Royal treasury, but made him popular with his subjects, and marked out the direction the rest of his reign would follow.
But the main issue at hand was of course the ongoing war with Denmark. In October the last fort in Bergenshus fell, leaving only Jämtland in Dano-Norwegian hands. King Sten moved there to personally oversee the siege, and after almost three years of gruelling siege work Jämtland was finally in Swedish hands in January 1473.
The situation (those tiny flags in Norway are Swedish, you see). Now I just need to get by those Danish fleets…
King Sten had not been idle during this time, however. He kept a keen eye on the diplomatic developments in the area. Brandenburg had been busy expanding their Black Sea Empire and in 1472 they took Dobrudja from the Ottoman Empire. Lithuania entered a turbulent period and Wallachia took the opportunity to liberate itself while Muscowy invaded and took Byelorussia.
An incident on the Russian border indicated that the Prince of Muscowy, not content with his Lithuanian conquests, might not consider the marriage-alliance with Sten’s predecessor valid after his passing away. So as an extra precaution Sten made overtures of alliance to Sweden’s old friends in northern Germany and the Baltic.
Denmark's situation was looking rather bleak...
Brandenburg is at it again, those wacky krauts!
A somewhat abrupt ending, but I wanted to finish this segment today. It’s still today, isn’t it?
When is Sweden going to start picking up some more Baltic provinces?
