Battle of Lund

"Karl XI vid Lund" by Johan Philip Lemke, 1684

Date	December 4, 1676
Location	Lund, Sweden
Result	Decisive Swedish victory

Belligerents

Swedish Empire

Denmark–Norway

Dutch Republic

Commanders and leaders

Charles XI
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt

Christian V
Carl von Arensdorff (DOW)
Friedrich von Arensdorff

Strength

8,000:

2,000 infantry
6,000 cavalry
12 cannon

13,000:

6,300 infantry
6,000 cavalry
56 cannon

Casualties and losses

5,000:

2,500–3,000 killed
2,000 wounded
70 captured

9,000:

6,000–6,500 killed
500–1,000 wounded
2,000 captured

8,000:

13,000:

5,000:

9,000:

The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about 13,000 under the personal command of 31-year-old King Christian V of Denmark, aided by General Carl von Arensdorff. The Swedish army, which numbered about 8,000, was commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt and the 21-year-old Swedish king Charles XI. It is one of the bloodiest battles in percent of casualties on both sides ever fought on European soil.

After the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Fehrbellin and a number of Danish triumphs at sea, the Swedish military was occupied retaining their tenuous hold on dominions in Brandenburg and Pomerania.

The Danes saw this as an opportunity to regain control over the Scanian lands, which had fallen to Sweden with the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde. The Danes invaded via Helsingborg in late June 1676 with an army of 14,000 men, where they found themselves supported by the local peasantry. This made it impossible for the outnumbered Swedish troops to effectively defend the recently acquired province. After a month, only the fortified town of Malmö remained under Swedish control.

In August, a Danish detachment tried to advance north, but Swedish King Charles XI had prepared a new army in the province of Småland, and the Danish advance was halted at the Battle of Halmstad. The Swedes had gathered 14,000 men by October, of which three-fourths were mounted, and felt confident enough to march south. They slowly fought their way in an attempt to break the siege of Malmö. Swedish supply lines were thin due to frequent interceptions by local peasants under the command of Danish officers.

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Wikipedia