Swedish troops in Baltic provinces, Sept. 1677

Russian military demonstrations on the frontier in 1675-1677 (link) made Sweden to maintain a 10,500 strong forces (Sept. 1677) in Baltic provinces, most of them were Finish: 2.376 in Finland, 7.300 in Livland, 3.950 in Estland & 2.500 in Ingermanland. It was a time, when Sweden needed troops in Scone & Pomerania to oppose Danish & Brandenburg offensive. 

Я уже ранее в блоге упоминал о русских военных демонстрациях на шведской границе в 1675-1677 гг. Шведы к ним относились достаточно серьезно, и в разгар Сконской войны держали в своих прибалтийских провинциях 10,5 тыс. чел. (в основном финские полки): 2,4 тыс. в Финляндии, 7,3 тыс. в Лифляндии (Рига и Дерпт), почти 4 тыс. в Эстляндии и 2,5 тыс. в Ингрии. И это в то время, когда у шведов на счету был каждый солдат в Сконе и Померании. 

Swedish troops in Royal Prussia 1656-1660

A couple of years ago I placed here in the blog materials by M. Laidre about strength & composition of the Swedish troops in Livland in 1656-1660 (see here: summary about cavalry, summary about infantry, article about infantry in Russian & cavalry+artillery). Also I placed a data about Swedish garrisons in Poland in Spring of 1656 (link). Now it's time for a detailed account about Swedish troops in the Polish (Royal) Prussia  in 1656-1660. The source is: Augusiewicz S. Skład i liczebność stałej armii w Prusach Książęcych w latach 1656-1660 // Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie, 2004 , Numer 1. S. 27-47 (link)
Summary about strength:

Swedish reitar troops in 1656-1660:

Abraham Cronhiort's portrait

When you are searching for a portrait of Abraham Cronhiort (1634-1703), Swedish governor (Landshovdingar) of Tavastland & Nyland (1696-1703), general-major (since 3 November of 1700) & Swedish commander in Ingermanland (December 1700-1703), you may find the following image:

In fact it's a part of his farther's portrait, colonel Abraham Larsson Cronhiort (1598-1666) from Gripsholm castle's collection:

Abraham Larsson Cronhiort (1598-1666)
Gripsholm Castle, Sweden
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Original portraits of Abraham Cronhiort (1634-1703) are unknown.
So, be careful.  

Sundberg U. Swedish defensive fortress warfare in the Great Northern War 1702-1710

A new dissertaion "Swedish defensive fortress warfare in the Great Northern War 1702-1710" by Ulf Sundberg was published this year in Abo (Finland). I find it interesting, but disputable. My main concern is about limited use of the Russian sources. You may find the full text here (link)

Short remarks on Sunderg's work you may find in Bengt Nilsson's blog (link)

Swedish regimental rolls 1630-1720s are available on-line

Swedish State Archive (Riksarkivet) put in the web a large part of its collection, including the War Archive (Krigarkivet).

Lists of Swedish regimental rolls for 1630-1720s are available here (link ), the rolls are here (link - you may select a regiment & then press "Sök")

Michal "Kadrinazi" also writes about KA on-line sources (link)

Шведский Госархив выложил в свободный доступ перечень полковых списков на 1630-1720е (link ) и сами поименные полковые списки  (link ). Спасибо Сергею Иванюку за наводку. 

Swedish garrisons in Poland, Spring 1656

In Spring of 1656 Swedish garrisons stayed in 31 Polish cities. They numbered about 34.000 men, while a field army was around 15.300 men (9.600 of foot, 5.000 of cavalry & 300 dragoons)

Swedish garrisons in Poland, Spring 1656
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Source: Gennari C.A. Invasion, Insurgency & Interventions: Sweden's wars in Poland, Prussia & Denmark 1656-1658. 2010.

Famous Olaf Hoffman's drawing of the Swedish trophied colours are on-line!

Swedish King Karl XI decided in 1677 to make images of all Swedish trophied colours & standards as a sign of great Swedish victories. The work was commissioned to Olof Hoffman. He made about 2.000 of drawings in 1677-1709, which were originally grouped into 20 volumes. They were stored in Armemuseum in Stockholm. Now about a half of them is digitized & available on-line on Digital Museum site (link)!!!!  The current part includes Austrian, Bavarian, Danish, Brandenburg & Danish colours. The East-European colours (Russian, Polish-Lithuanian, Cossacks, etc.) haven't yet digitized...

Enjoy!!!

Two more Swedish standards dated 1656-60s

I found this image by occasion & don't have any info about these standards.

CGRS = Carolus Gustavus Rex Sueciae, so evidently they were lost by Swedes during the Northern war of 1656-60s.

P.S. Any additional info about these standards is welcomed. 

Swedish colours, lost in the battle of Augdov Sept 26, 1657

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Russians took 6 Swedish colours & standards at Augdov (see Swedish BO here: link). One of them was black, with a silver cloud, arm & sword. according to Khowanski's relation it belonged to one of the M. De la Gardie leib companies. Three standards were white with gold monogram CGRS (Carolus Gustavus Rex Sueciae), their regiment/owner is unknown. One red dragoon colour was decorated with with CGRS under crown, the other - CGRS and a double-headed eagle.
The descriptions are taken from Khowanski's relation. The reconstruction is done by my good friend Stanislav Lyulin.
See also other Swedish colours taken by Russians in the 1656-60 war: dragoon standard (link), light-blur reitar standards (link), foot colour dated 1655 (link) & 3 foot colours of unknown regiment (link)

Шведские знамена, захваченные в "Граф магнусовом" бою под Гдовом, 26 (16) сентября 1657 года

О составе шведской армии Магнуса Де ла Гарди я уже писал в предыдущем посту (ссылка), там есть и ссылка на работу О. Курбатова, где описываются обстоятельства этого боя (ссылка). Согласно реляции Хованского, русскими под Гдовом были захвачены 6 шведских знамен:

Swedish army under M. De la Gardie at the battle of Augdov, Sept 26, 1657

Swedish army under Generalguvernor of Livland M.G. De la Gardie in the battle of Augdov was of about 3.000 men (52 coys of reitars, 24 of dragoons & 4 of foot, see details below)

	Regiment	coys	strength
Kavalleri
1	Ov. G.V. v. Budberg, livreg.	6	180
2	Abo-Tavastehus (ov. W. Yxkull)	6	220

Karl XII:s Officerare is available on-line

Well-know work: Lewenhaupt, Adam. Karl XII:s Officerare: biografiska anteckningar. Stokholm, 1920 with biographies of the Swedish GNW officers is now available on-line in a free access! Enjoy! (link)

Swedish, French & Hessian troops in Germany in 1648

The publication dated 1648 contains a list of Swedish, French & Hessian troops presented in Germany in 1648. Plus lists of generals & garrisons. According to it the troops were the following (see details below):
- Swedish: 55 regiments of cavalry (438 coys) & 60 foot regiments (477 coys)
- French: 14 mounted (126 coys) & 11 foot (306 coys) regiments
- Hessians: 5 mounted (58 coys) & 13 foot (166 coys) regiments

Swedish troops in Germany in the beginning of the 1675

In December of 1674 Sweden declared a war on Brandenburg & its troops crossed a frontier in Pommern. By that moment Swedish troops in Germany numbered 19 725 men, 2350 of them were in Bremen-Werden, the rest 17 375 were in Pommern.
The field army under Lieutenant-General Waldemar Wranger af Lindeberg (wiki on him) was about 14,000 men strong, the rest were in garrisons. The composition of the troops is below:

Karolinska krigares dagböcker is now available on-line!

Well-known "Karolinska krigares dagböcker" (all 12 volumes) is now available on-line! Link: (click)

The table of contents for all 12 volumes is available here: (click)

Swedish army of Livland, 5 January 1657

Swedish field army of Livland under Generallojtnant Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie according to his report dated 5 Jan 1657. A couple of years ago I placed a data about Swedish troops in the Baltic provinces by M. Laidre (link). That source includes only garrison troops, not a field army.

Source: Fagerlund R. Kriget i östersjöprovinserna 1655-1661: operationer och krigsansträngningar på en bikrigsskådeplats under Carl X Gustafs krig. Helsinki, 1979. S. 300.

Swedish standard taken in 1656

This Swedish standard was taken on 27 March 1656, when a Polish detachment under rotmistrz Szandarowski made a surprise night attack on Swedes with King Carl Gustaf at a village Kopki near Rudnik. Carl Gustaf successfully escaped thanks to his horse, but Poles took the standard which was probably belonged to the King himself.

The standard is made of Italian damask, the size is 48x49,2 cm. Now it's at Wawel Castle in Kracow.    

Vellingk, Otto

Otto Velling
a portrait by unknown artist
unknown collection in Karlberg

Otto Vellingk (or Welling; 1649-1708) was one of the leading Swedish commanders at the beginning of the Great Northern war. But his profound portrait is hard to find. His well-known image (available on Wiki & other web-sources, link) was done in 1840s for Mellin's work about 427 most famous Swedes (Mellin G.H. 427 portratter af namnkunniga svenske man och fruntimmer. 1847, link). I also found a b/w photo of Velling's portrait from unknown collection in Kalberg (link). Evidently it was the source for the later engraving.
Right now the portrait is in Karlberg Castle (Swedish Military Academy). I'll be pleased for its image in a good quality.
Velling's service according to Lewenhaupt's Karl XII's officerre was the following:
- 1664 entered military service as a Lojtnant of a Swedish regiment in Bremen
- 1666 a Ryttmeister of Konigsmark cavalry regiment on French service
- 1668 a Major of the same regiment
- 1670, in one source I found that he became a colonel on French service
- 20/8 1676 received a pattern to raise an enlisted cavalry regiment on Swedish service
- Dec. 1676 distinguished in the battle of Lund, became a Friherre on 23/12
- 1678 Overste of Nylands och Tavastehus Rytters

Knorring, Henrik Johan

Henrik Johan v. Knorring, 1730-40s
unknown painter

By occasion I found a H.J. Knorring portrait. According to Lewenhaupt's Karl XIIs oficerare (s. 348-349) he was born in 1683. His military service was the following:
- since 10/5/1699 a volunteer in Narva garrison regiment
- Promoted to NCO rank in Vellings Ingermanland infantry regiment in 1700, participated in winter campaign of 1701
- 10/12/1701 lojtnant in Viborg fordubl. infantry, participated in the battle on Syster river
- 6/12/1708 kapten in Nylands fordubl. infantry
- 1709 transferred to Nylands ordinarry infantry
- 31/08/1714 a major in the same regiment (confirmed on 25/02/1717)
- 8/3/1718 a generaladjutant in the army of Jemtland
- 26/9/1721 at the army reduction became a kapten in Osterbottens infantry
- 18/3/1734 promoted to a major
- 1739 overstelojtnant
- 19/10/1741 became an overste of Bjorneborg infantry
- retired in 1749, died on 18/9/1752
I believe, the portrait is dated post-1734, or even post-1741 when he got colonel's rank (see Fredrik's initials on his gorget).

Forteckning ofver armens regementen och regements-officerare, 1 Jan 1698

List of Swedish regiments & their regimental officers dated 1 Jan 1698 from Riksarkivet

Kalle Kroon's material about Baltic troops in the Swedish army during the GNW

Kalle Kroon kindly permitted me to place in my blog his very interesting material about Baltic troops in Swedish army during the Great Northern war 1700-1721. Source: Kroon K. „As a good and faithful servant.“ Estonians and Latvians in the Carolinean Swedish army at the end of the 17th century and  the Great Northern War with the reforms of King Charles XI as background. // Revue D’Histoire Nordique. Volume 18. 2014. PP. 75-98.

„As a good and faithful servant.“ Estonians and Latvians in the Carolinean Swedish army at the end of the 17th century and  the Great Northern War with the reforms of King Charles XI as background.

Abstract: As a part of integration process, during the rule of Charles XI and Charles XII the Swedish peasants' right for free access to serve in the army as well as the commitment to do so had transferred to Swedish oversea provinces Estonia and Livonia, and during the Great Northern War conscription created the national line infantry which had similar maintenance traits to Swedish infantry allotment system. As those  troops were regulated line troops, maintained through constant flow of goodqualified recruits, the historical term “land-militia“ is not properly suitable in this context.Also, at least two units, battalions of Saaremaa and von Hüene in Tallinn, consisted of Estonian peasants, were established as permanent troops in war as peace times. This kind of national mobilization was a new aspect in local provincial societies.

Keywords: Charles XI, Charles XII, reduction, serfdom, appertainment, Estonia, Livonia, Great Northern War, land-militia, conscription,allotment,estonians, latvians.

The Swedish Empire of the 17th century has been described in historical science as a distinctive historical phenomenon of its time, influenced by some very specific international factors and supported by military forces. Its backbone included mercenary troops created through voluntary recruiting but also, for the first time in Europe, national regular troops, which were first formed through coerced conscription and later, starting with the national reforms of the 1680s, via a contract concerning soldier maintenance between the state and the peasants. The free peasantry was an immediate partner to the state powers and that made it possible for the state to use them in the military, enabling Sweden to double its armed forces despite its sparse population. At the same time, the Swedish Empire was not a unified country either nationally or administratively. As shown by a Swedish historian Th. Eng, it was a conglomerate country with a nation comprising various people of different conditions and different systems of justice.[i]In reality, though, the core of the empire had started the process of developing into a unitary state due to the force of circumstances at the beginning of the absolutist reign of Charles XI, with an aim to integrate the semi-independent “foreign provinces” (that is, the areas of Estonia and Livonia situated in the areas of the present countries of Estonia and Latvia legally, socially, administratively and militarily to Sweden proper.  These were also reforms which forced the nobility to stand back, had early bourgeois features, and which have been called revolutionary in Swedish historical science. As it had been impossible for the Swedish central power to form national military forces due to the social characteristics and feudal barriers in Estonia and Livonia, the reforms of king Charles XI opened up such opportunity. The status of the Estonian and  Latvian peasants and their service in the Swedish army in the late 17^th and early 18^th century in Estonia and Livonia under Swedish rule will be discussed in the present article.