Siege of Stralsund, 1807

Overview

The siege of Stralsund lasted from 24 July to 24 August, 1807, and saw troops from the First French Empire twice attempt to capture the port city from Lieutenant General Hans Henric von Essen's 15,000-man Swedish garrison. Early that year, Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier blockaded the city for two months before he was called elsewhere. In his absence, the Swedes drove back the inferior blockading force. After Mortier returned and pushed Essen's troops back in turn, the two sides quickly concluded an armistice. The truce was later repudiated by King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, and Marshal Guillaume Marie Anne Brune then led 40,000 French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch soldiers against the fortress. Fearfully outnumbered, the Swedes abandoned the Baltic Sea port of Stralsund to the Franco-Allies in the action during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a consequence, Sweden also lost the nearby island of Rügen.

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

Significance

The siege of Stralsund in 1807 marked the end of Swedish control over the Baltic port as part of the War of the Fourth Coalition. Two French attempts were required to reduce the position: an initial blockade under Mortier was abandoned when Swedish forces drove back the reduced besieging force, and a second, larger operation under Brune with a force of 40,000 French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch troops ultimately compelled the 15,000-man garrison under von Essen to abandon the city. An armistice concluded after Mortier's return was subsequently repudiated by King Gustav IV Adolf, which triggered Brune's overwhelming final assault. The loss of Stralsund deprived Sweden of a significant Baltic foothold and was accompanied by the loss of the nearby island of Rügen, together representing a substantial contraction of Swedish presence on the southern Baltic coast during the broader Napoleonic reorganization of northern Europe.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (5)