Sweden had to encounter many enemies after the battle of Fehrbellin,
and a chain of disasters followed, nearly crushing the young king under
their weight. Holland, Austria, Brandenburg and Denmark attacked the
Swedish possessions, which were all captured, one after the other.
Charles was not able to send reinforcements, the navy being in a
miserable condition, and when rejuvenated, through strenuous effort,
defeated by the excellent admirals Juel, of the Danish, and Tromp,
of the Dutch, navy. The treasury was empty, the administration in
disorder, and mistrust and strife reigned supreme. But the young king
showed that he wanted to be obeyed, and managed, by hard work, to
establish order, the Riksdag sacrificing means to organize the defence.
The Danes were successful in their first expeditions on land also,
their army having undergone a reorganization. King Christian V. marched
into Scania, while his general, Gyldenlœve, invaded Bohuslæn and
West Gothland. The hostile fleets captured the islands of Œland and
Gothland. Charles XI., in a sinister state of mind verging on despair,
at last had his army collected, and entered Halland, where Danish
troops were encountered and defeated at Halmstad. This gave courage to
the Swedes, who soon thought themselves invincible, when commanded by
the young king himself. Charles received reinforcements through peasant
troops, and was desirous to meet Christian in open battle. But the
Danish army in Scania retreated until forced to meet the enemy near
Lund. Here a bloody and decisive battle was fought, more than 8,000 men
being killed, and resulting in a victory for the Swedes, who took 2,000
prisoners, fifty-one cannon, and the whole hostile camp, December 3,
1676.
In the following year Sweden suffered two defeats at sea, through the
hands of Juel, but won another victory on land, at Landskrona, when the
Danes lost 3,000 men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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