Battle of the Sound

Battle of The Sound
Part of Second Northern War (Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660))
First Phase of the Battle of the Sound by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten
Date 29 October 1658 (O.S.) Location The Sound or Øresund Result Decisive strategic Dutch victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Dutch Republic
Commanders and leaders
Carl Gustaf Wrangel Klas Hansson Bjelkenstjerna	Witte de With † Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam Pieter Floriszoon †
Strength
43 ships (30 warships) 4,055 seamen 2,423 soldiers	45 ships (33 warships) 4,000 seamen 3,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
5 ships (3 warships) 1,200 dead, wounded and captured	1 warship 1,400 dead, wounded and captured

The naval Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658 (29 October O.S.) during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Øresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had invaded Denmark and an army under Charles X of Sweden had Copenhagen itself under siege. The Dutch fleet was sent to prevent Sweden from gaining control of both sides of the Sound and thereby controlling access to the Baltic Sea as well as of its trade.

The Dutch, under the command of Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam with Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer as his flag captain, who had sailed to the Baltic in support of Denmark, had 41 ships with 1413 guns while the Swedes, under Lord High Admiral Carl Gustaf Wrangel, had 45 ships with 1838 guns. The Dutch were grouped into three squadrons, while the Swedes separated their ships into four. The seven Danish ships with about 280 guns were unable to assist their Dutch allies because of adverse northern winds and could only watch. Obdam, who first received very complicated written instructions from the Grand Pensionary, Johan de Witt, and went so far as to request them again "in three words", summed up his mission in a single sentence: "Save Copenhagen and punch anyone in the face who tries to prevent it". This was a direct reference to the English, whose powerful fleet had recently defeated the Dutch in the First Anglo-Dutch War; in the event, however, the English did not intervene. The Swedes attacked aggressively, but failed to gain the upper hand, primarily because the approaching Dutch had the weather gage. The Dutch forced the Swedish fleet to end the blockade of the Danish capital, enabling its resupply by Dutch armed transport ships, which eventually forced Charles to abandon the siege entirely.

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