Siege of Malmö

A portrait of the Swedish commander, Fabian von Fersen.

The fortified city of Malmö was the only Swedish stronghold that had not fallen into the hands of the Danes during the 1676-1677 period of the Scanian War. It was used as a base for Swedish operations in the southwestern corner of Scania. To win the war, it was important for King Christian V of Denmark to capture Malmö and strike a blow against Swedish presence in the region. The siege began on June 11, with the Danish navy anchoring in the roadstead north of the town and the Danish army camping on the plain south of the town. Danish engineers soon began digging trenches leading up to the castle in the west and to the eastern and southern gates on the city wall. On June 12, the Danes brought in 28 siege guns and 27 mortars, using them to start bombarding the castle and the city walls.

The Swedish administration of Malmö was unsure of the loyalty of the local citizens, as they had only been under Swedish rule since 1658. But reports from Kristianstad about how Christian V had allowed his soldiers three hours of plunder after the capture of the town by the Danes in August 1676, convinced the local citizenry that their best option was to support the Swedes. The Swedish defense was under the command of General Fabian von Fersen, who served as the Swedish Chief Commander in the regions of Scania, Halland and Blekinge. During the siege, he suffered a head wound from Danish musket fire. Fabian died on July 30, following an unsuccessful operation.^[1]

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Malmö

Malmö

Malmö is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal population of 357,377 in 2022. The Malmö Metropolitan Region is home to over 700,000 people, and the Øresund Region, which includes Malmö and Copenhagen, is home to 4 million people.

Scanian War

Scanian War

The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish and Norway provinces along the border with Sweden, and in Northern Germany. While the latter battles are regarded as a theater of the Scanian war in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish historiography, they are seen as a separate war in German historiography, called the Swedish-Brandenburgian War.

Scania

Scania

Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne, is the southernmost of the historical provinces (landskap) of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne County, created in 1997. Like the other former provinces of Sweden, Scania still features in colloquial speech and in cultural references, and can therefore not be regarded as an archaic concept. Within Scania there are 33 municipalities that are autonomous within the Skåne Regional Council. Scania's largest city, Malmö, is the third-largest city in Sweden, as well as the fifth-largest in Scandinavia.

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.

Kristianstad

Kristianstad

Kristianstad is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a developed commercial city, today attracting visitors in the summertime mainly from Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.

Fabian von Fersen

Fabian von Fersen

Baron Fabian von Fersen was a Swedish general, freelord, field-marshal and governor general of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. He served the Swedish Empire in multiple wars and received appointments Field Marshal, and then Governor General of the Scanian lands, which included the provinces of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge in 1676.

Halland

Halland

Halland is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (landskap), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro, it was part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Its name means Land of Rocky Slabs referring to the coastal cliffs of the region.

Blekinge

Blekinge

Blekinge is one of the traditional Swedish provinces, situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest province by area, and the smallest province located on the mainland.

The bombardment became more intense on the evening of June 25, and at 1 o'clock on the morning of June 26 the battle began with a diversionary attack on the Malmö Castle (Swedish: Malmöhus slott), followed by two frontal assaults on the city, one at the southern gate (Söderport) and one at the eastern gate (Österport).^[2]

The Danes used fascines, ladders and pontoons to cross the moat. After fierce fighting Danish forces under the command of Siegfried von Bibow were able to break through the defense close to the eastern gate. However, as soon as Danish troops reached the crest of the town wall the Danish artillery ceased firing, which gave the Swedish defenders the opportunity to man their guns.

The Swedish artillery soon began firing on Danish troops making their way across the moat, which inflicted several casualties on the advancing Danish troops and made it impossible for the Danes to bring reinforcements to von Bibow. Inside the town, von Bibow didn't have enough troops to force his way to the gate and open it, and eventually he and all his men were cut down by Swedish soldiers and civilians. Another attack on the other side of the eastern gate made it to the crest of the wall before being repulsed, while the attacks at the southern gate failed to even cross the moat.

After the failed siege, on July 5 the Danish army began its retreat north to the town of Landskrona, where they would engage the Swedish at the Battle of Landskrona.

The Danes had lost the initiative in the war, as well as some of its best troops in the region and some of its most talented commanders. It has been suggested that the latter consequence may have affected the outcome of the subsequent Battle of Landskrona (Swedish: Slaget vid Landskrona) which followed on July 14. While the Danish navy had the upper hand over the Swedish, the siege was one of a number of Swedish victories on land that would, in the end, restore the status quo of Scania being under Swedish control.^{[3] [4]}