Battle of Fredrikstad

Overview

Fredrikstad Fortress, under the command of Nils Christian Frederik Hals, was captured by the Swedish armed forces on 4 August 1814. 207 men remained in the fortress as the Norwegian surrendered to the Swedes; the rest had evacuated earlier. The Swedish casualties were few, 7 men killed and 12 wounded from the army, navy and Archipelago fleet combined.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The capture of Fredrikstad Fortress on 4 August 1814 represented a concrete Swedish military gain during the brief Swedish-Norwegian War. With Norway fielding only 1,100 men against a Swedish force of 6,000, the fortress fell with minimal Swedish casualties — 7 killed and 12 wounded across army, navy, and Archipelago fleet combined. Only 207 Norwegian defenders remained at the time of surrender, the bulk of the garrison having evacuated beforehand. The fall of the fortress demonstrated Sweden's overwhelming numerical and combined-arms advantage in the campaign, and contributed to the pressure that brought the short war to a close, ending with Norway's entry into union with Sweden.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)