Battle of Langnes

The Battle of Langnes
Part of the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814
Map of Langnes and the adjacent area. The Norwegian line and the pontoon bridge are marked
Date 9 August 1814 Location Langnes, east of Askim, Norway Result Norwegian tactical victory
Belligerents
Norway	Sweden
Commanders and leaders
Christian Frederik Diderich Hegermann	Ernst von Vegesack Bror Cederström
Units involved
2 infantry regiments 3 sharpshooter divisions	Unknown
Strength
2,000 men 8 field artilleries	3,000 men
Casualties and losses
6 dead 10 wounded	100 dead and wounded

The Battle of Langnes, or the Battle of Langnes Entrenchment, was a battle fought between Norway and Sweden as a part of the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814. The battle, even as it ended inconclusively, served as a tactical victory to the Norwegians since they now could avoid an unconditional surrender to the Swedish.

The Norwegian Army had earlier suffered several defeats against the Swedish forces in Eastern Norway, and when Fredrikstad Fortress surrendered on the 4th of August it was clear that it was only a matter of time before Sweden would win the war. At this time the Norwegian forces in Smaalenenes Amt were trying to reorganize themselves east of Askim by the Glomma river, and had built a pontoon bridge at Langnes to help speed up the withdrawal. The bridge was built so that the bridgehead would be easy to defend in case of a Swedish attack.

Colonel Diderich Hegermann placed his forces in position to defend the bridgehead while simultaneously allowing retreating Norwegian troops to cross the bridge. In addition to the two regiments from Kristians Amt and three divisions of sharpshooters from Valdres, he had eight guns available, four of which were emplaced on the small hill to fire at the Swedish attackers.

The Swedish forces consisted of several infantry regiments from Västergötland and Värmland under the leadership of General Eberhard Ernst von Vegesack Gotthard and Lieutenant Colonel Bror Cederström. The force had marched towards the Norwegian bridgehead since the 8th of August, and several armed patrols were sent out to reconnoiter. During the night to the 9th of August the first Swedish troops arrived at Langnes.

Colonel Hegermann had sent out Norwegian patrols to keep track of how far the Swedish advance had arrived, and there were several skirmishes between Norwegian and Swedish forces during the night between the 8th and 9 August. It was unusually bad weather that night, and a Norwegian Captain who came into contact with a Swedish scout survived because the flashpan powder in the Swede's flintlock musket was wet. The scout charged with his bayonet, and in a dramatic fight the Captain broke his sword, but managed to kill the Swedish soldier and capture his musket. The captured gun is still exhibited in the Norwegian Museum of Defence.

...
Wikipedia