Battles of Usedom

The Battles of Usedom were fought on 21–27 April and 31 July–22 August 1715, between Swedish and Prussian–Saxon forces. In 1711, the Great Northern War spread to Germany as anti-Swedish forces invaded Swedish Pomerania, capturing the islands of Wolin and Usedom, and Stettin (Szczecin) in 1713. In hope of gaining an ally, Sweden's enemies offered neutral Prussia guardianship over the conquests; Frederick William I of Prussia, eager to expand his territories on Sweden's expense, accepted. On 21 April 1715, Charles XII of Sweden launched a preemptive strike on Usedom to deny the allies from using its vital waterways for a Stralsund offensive; the Prussians were forcibly removed and the island captured by the 27th, resulting in a Prussian declaration of war. In July, Prussia, Denmark–Norway, and Saxony initiated a blockade of Stralsund.

Battles of Usedom
Part of the Great Northern War
Fighting in Swedish Pomerania 1715, with the allied invasion of Usedom depicted (lower-right)
Date 21–27 April / 31 July–22 August 1715 Location Usedom, Swedish Pomerania (Germany) Result 21–27 April: Swedish victory 31 July–22 August: Allied victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Kingdom of Prussia Electorate of Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Charles XII Christian Grothusen Johan Kuse	Georg von Arnim von Jeetze Frederick Louis
Strength
3,000 (April) 600–800 (July–August)	300–400 (April) 4,200 (July–August)
Casualties and losses
Minor (April) 500–600 (July–August)	Minor (April) 700 (July–August)

To effectively ship equipment to the blockading army, and capture Rügen to cut Stralsund off from Sweden proper, an invasion of Usedom was deemed necessary. On 31 July 1715, a Prussian–Saxon army crossed the Swine (Świna) river from Wolin, compelling Charles XII to withdraw his army to the last strong-point on the island, Peenemünde Sconce; a small rearguard which was left behind to cover the retreat was cut down. Charles XII quit the sconce the next day, instructing its commander to fight to the end. The allies stormed the sconce on 22 August; after a valiant defense, the entire garrison was cut down or captured, having inflicted heavy losses upon their enemies.

The loss of Usedom weakened the Swedish defense of Greifswald Bodden, of which bay protected the island of Rügen from an allied invasion. A Danish fleet forced an entry into the bay on 25 September. A formal siege of Stralsund began on 19 October, as the allies advanced their trenches and the artillery opened fire. On 15 November, with the Swedes occupied in the front, they landed on Rügen; Charles XII counterattacked but was repulsed, resulting in the loss of the island and the inevitable fall of Stralsund. Charles XII escaped the encirclement on 22 December, and Stralsund surrendered the next day. The city was returned to Sweden by the treaties of Stockholm and Frederiksborg, but Usedom, Wolin and Stettin were ceded to Prussia.

Prelude

Main article: Great Northern War

Island of Usedom within Swedish Pomerania

In August 1711, two years after the disastrous Swedish defeat at Poltava, Augustus the Strong of Poland and Saxony invaded Swedish Pomerania from the south with 20,000 Poles, Saxons and Russians. His numerically superior army forced the Swedish commander Carl Gustaf Dücker to retreat, leaving Wolin, Usedom and nearby territories open for occupation. On 6 October 1713, the besieged Swedish city of Stettin (Szczecin) likewise fell when the commander Johan August Meijerfeldt signed a sequestration treaty with the enemies. This resulted in neutral Holstein-Gottorpian and Prussian guardianship over the town until a peace was signed, or when Sweden could pay a sum of 400,000 riksdaler to cover the siege cost. Charles XII of Sweden, who had not authorized the treaty, deemed it illegal and made fruitless demands for Prussia to return the city. By the treaty, Frederick William I of Prussia was also given the occupied Swedish ferry-town of Wolgast and island of Usedom in 1714 by Sweden's enemies.

Rising tensions

Charles XII arrived at Stralsund in November 1714 after several years of exile in the Ottoman Empire. Recognizing neither Usedom or Wolgast as part of the treaty, he sent a Swedish detachment to retake the latter on 23 February 1715; the Prussian garrison was forcibly removed and shipped to Usedom. Charles XII was aware of the ongoing negotiations between Prussia and his enemies, and Frederick William I's ambitions to permanently keep the occupied territory. As further diplomacy stalled, and war against Prussia seemed inevitable, Charles XII decided on a preemptive strike against Usedom before the Prussians consolidated their position. The island was essential in the defense of Stralsund as it protected vital waterways leading to the city. He assembled about 3,000 men for the task. Prussian lieutenant colonel von Jeetze commanded more than 300 men on the island.

Swedish invasion of Usedom

Plan of attack

Charles XII planned for 300–400 men to land on the eastern side of Peenemünde and dislodge any Prussians along the main road over Pudagla to the town of Usedom, and deny reinforcements from that direction. Additional troops would be shipped over along the Peenestrom coast near Wolgast, to enclose Wolgaster Fähre (opposite Wolgast) and the Peenemünde sconce, before advancing upon Swine Sconce further east. Charles XII estimated that 14 days would be enough to starve them out. Violence would only be used if necessary – the two nations were not at war.

Preemptive strike

Map of Usedom in present time

Accordingly, a Swedish fleet, consisting of 500 men onboard three frigates and seven or eight smaller ships under vice admiral Mikael Henck, sailed to Peenemünde where the small force landed on the Easter of 21 April. Some 100 Prussians standing as reserve within the municipality were captured as the Swedes advanced. Meanwhile, the fleet proceeded along the Peenestrom to Wolgast and shipped over the land forces under Dücker the following day, which had marched from Stralsund. The Swedish activity was observed by Rohr, the Prussian captain of Peenemünde Sconce, who notified major general Schwendi at Wolin. At Wolgaster Fähre, the Swedes initially ignored the 19-man redoubt and captured the captain and 76 men lying outside. Rohr with his 123-man garrison was after some time also enclosed.

The Swedes proceeded further into the island towards the last strong-point Swine Sconce, near today's Świnoujście, which guarded the mouth of the river Swine (Świna) and crossing over to Wolin. Its nominal strength was 40 men. In support, the fleet simultaneously sailed into the Swine. The Swedish infantry arrived at the sconce on 23 April and requested its surrender but was ignored by the commander, sub-lieutenant von Plotho, who opened fire. Charles XII then commenced a storm, which cost five or six killed and 20 wounded on both sides together, including mortally wounded von Plotho. Three 3-pounder guns were also captured. The Swedish conquest of the island was concluded on the 27th when Rohr surrendered Peenemünde Sconce due to inadequate provisions, as anticipated by Charles XII.

The Prussians made no attempts to send reinforcements to Usedom during the action; 500 infantry and some cavalry came marching from Stettin after receiving reports from major general Schwendi, but they limited themselves to securing Wolin. This force gradually increased to nine battalions and ten squadrons as the Prussians erroneously assumed Charles XII would continue his offensive into Poland. Since Sweden and Prussia were not formally at war, most captured Prussians were sent over to their comrades at Wolin with all their firearms and equipment. The ones captured at Wolgaster Fähre were instead escorted to Anklam, with their firearms being sent right after. The conquest of Usedom made the Swedes masters of the Stettiner Haff (Szczecin Lagoon) and the imminent waterways. Eight small Swedish Privateers began harassing the Prussians, preventing them from transporting artillery by water to Stralsund, via Anklam and the Greifswald harbor.

Intermediate phase

Charles XII of Sweden, by Axel Sparre in 1712–1715

Frederick William I of Prussia, by Antoine Pesne after 1733

Prussian declaration of war

In response, Frederick William I expelled the Swedish ambassador in Berlin and declared war on 1 May 1715. The Holstein-Gottorp troops in Stettin, whom Frederick William I considered to be auxiliaries to Charles XII, were imprisoned. The Prussian king assembled his army at Stettin, with a defensive line behind the Peene river, and awaited the results of the negotiations with his allies before going on the offensive against Stralsund.

Skirmishes began on 16 June as the Prussians crossed the Peene between Loitz and Demmin and overwhelmed a small Swedish outpost of 30 men. Charles XII arrived at Loitz the following day and sent lieutenant colonel Johan Segersten (later Stenflycht) to retaliate; on 18 June, with 200 cavalry and 200 infantry, he drove the Prussians away from their redoubt. The outposts at Jarmen, Gützkow and Stolpe were also destroyed as Segersten continued south-east along the river before heading back with 100 POWs. Charles XII was almost captured at this instance as he got separated from the rest. With 100 cavalry-reinforcements, Segersten once again crossed the river with 300 cavalry and advanced towards Neubrandenburg, capturing 130 Prussians. 200–270 Prussians were made POWs at the Peene, of whom 161 were exchanged with troops imprisoned in Stettin.

Stralsund offensive

Negotiations finalized by the month's end and the offensive began. The allies had 50,000 men, against 12,000–13,000 Swedes. The Danes broke into Swedish Pomerania on 8 July. The Prussian–Saxon army crossed the Peene the next day, following a small skirmish. The allies met only sporadic resistance by the retreating Swedes, who abandoned Greifswald to the Prussians. The allies reached Stralsund on the 14th, and began the construction of a contravallation line two days later. To take Stralsund, it was necessary to cut the city off by capturing the Rügen island, which required naval supremacy over the Greifswalder Bodden bay; with the approach of the winter freeze, time was of the essence.

To safely transport the Prussian siege artillery and to capture Rügen, Christen Sehested's Danish fleet had to beat the Swedish Stralsund Fleet (Stralsundska eskadern) cruising the waters around Usedom. After some fighting – which got Sehested's fleet trapped in southeastern Greifswalder Bodden – this was deemed impossible whilst Sweden controlled both Usedom and Ruden. Sehested could only get fresh water from Usedom, of which attempts were prevented by the Swedish cavalry. On 24 July, Frederick William I ordered the invasion. In preparation, the Prussians captured Wolgast and its castle on 27–29 July, after some resistance, allowing them to be shipped over Peenestrom.

Allied invasion of Usedom

At dawn on 31 July 1715, a Prussian–Saxon force of 2,000 infantry and 800 cavalry under general Georg von Arnim began crossing the Swine from Wolin; the main column under von Arnim crossed just north of Swine Sconce, and a second column under Saxon major Frederick Louis of Württemberg-Winnental further south. On Usedom, Swedish general Christian Grothusen commanded between 600 and 800 men. He stood ready to receive them above Swine Sconce, opposite the main crossing, with 400 infantry and some cavalry, or 600 men in total. When Charles XII arrived to discover Grothusen's vulnerable position, he ordered him to withdraw; this was also done to avoid being cut off in the rear in case of an allied attack over Wolgast. As the Swedish force withdrew, 13 dragoons remained to observe the enemy.

Swedish retreat

Swine Sconce, at the mouth of the Swine (Świna) river

When the first allied cavalry landed an hour later to secure a beachhead, the Swedish dragoons were routed in a brief skirmish; with Prussian cavalry in pursuit, the dragoons ran into a forest grove where Charles XII rode at the end of the column with but a few companions – including Stanisław Poniatowski, father of future Polish king Stanisław II August. His horse was shot under him in the ensuing tumult. One of his companions, Gustaf Fredrik von Rosen, then gave his horse to Charles XII which allowed him to reform with the infantry in the rearguard; the Prussians retired after two accurate volleys.

To buy time for Charles XII to retreat through Koserow to Peenemünde Sconce with the army, Jönköping major Holzapfel with about 200 men stayed behind. The Prussians restored order and attacked anew, forcing Holzapfel into infantry square. The formation shattered in a fierce scuffle, costing the allies 60–70 cavalry (including a major); Holzapfel with about 90 Swedes were killed and 50–60 captured. Swine Sconce with its 20-man garrison, possibly including survivors of Holzapfel's force, was captured that same day. The Prussian cavalry, whose original objective was to cut off the Swedish force, was now too exhausted to pursue Charles XII, who reached safety within Peenemünde Sconce in the evening. The infantry seized this task, but their march went directly along the beach and was harassed by enemy warships. At Pudagla, they seized three Swedish guns, all their tents and Grothusen's entire baggage which had been abandoned in the retreat. Another Swedish column of 100 men under Captain Waseburg, withdrawing from Kaseburg (Karsibór), was also cut off in the open and forced to surrender.

The allies controlled the whole island the next day, except for Peenemünde Sconce. In total, the Swedes lost seven guns, and 200 to 300 men (including Waseburg's force). Another source admits to only 100 Swedish losses. The allies are estimated to have lost about 100 killed and wounded, with another source mentioning up to 300 losses. Following 2 August, the allies began shipping troops over from Wolgast, with some 1,000 infantry and 400 cavalry arriving.

Fighting over Stettiner Haff

Altwarp, facing northeast, where the fighting on 8 August took place

The Swedish retreat and loss of Swine Scone gave the allies access to the Swine; on 4 August, Sehested sent Captain Boysen there with one frigate, one pram, two snows and eight sloops to cut off Captain Unbehaven's privateers at Stettiner Haff. Sehested was still being trapped by the Swedes in Greifswalder Bodden with most of his fleet. Boysen arrived at the lagoon two days later and anchored just south of Lubin, but the frigate had run aground and was scuttled. For four hours, the two fleets clashed outside Altwarp on the 8th, resulting in a Danish withdrawal with eleven killed. Unbehaven's pursuit was stopped only by the Prussian batteries on the Lubin mountains.

The Battle of Rügen was fought the same day between the Danish and Swedish navies, of which outcome freed up Sehested's fleet which shifted focus to Stettiner Haff. On 11 August, with reinforcements of three ships as well as Prussian and Saxon infantry embarking his ships, Boysen attacked; Unbehaven quickly withdrew before the overwhelming forces, reaching safety the next day as he sailed out of Peenestrom and rendezvoused with parts of the Stralsund Fleet operating in Greifswalder Bodden. He lost more than half of his crew to the allied land batteries which had been constructed on both sides of the river, but no ships; Unbehaven's fleet would have been trapped in Peenestrom, had Peenemünde Sconce been lost at this time.

Storming of Peenemünde Sconce

Peenemünde Sconce, sometime following the capture

Charles XII quit Peenemünde Sconce for Ruden on 1 August along with the cavalry, leaving lieutenant-colonel Johan Kuse with 263–269 men and 13 cannons. It was rumored that he intended to return at the head of 6,000 men. The stone-built sconce was rectangle-shaped – 73 m × 66 m × 6 m (240 ft × 217 ft × 20 ft) – enclosed by a two meter deep inner-moat, a star-shaped covertway and glacis, and an outer-moat protected by stakes. Situated on the northwestern tip of Usedom, the sea covered its west side, from where it could be supported, and swampland the east side.

On 4 August, as von Arnim arrived with the main force, a formal siege was deemed necessary; but the advanced season and necessity of securing Peenestrom, of which mouth the sconce protected, restricted time. On the night of the 18th, the allies began digging trenches and constructing batteries. Later that day, 17 cannons, two mortars and two howitzers arrived from Stralsund, allowing for a heavy bombardment the next day. Swedish privateers lying outside the sconce returned fire. On the 21st, as the trench system reached 200 paces in two parallels and a forward battery of 30 hand mortars was constructed, a storm was prepared; majors von Behr and Erlach would lead the right and left columns respectively, while lieutenant colonel von Winterfeldt and colonel von der Lieppen would lead the center column and reserve.

Hold your fire until the enemy is at the edge of the moat; defend yourselves until the last drop of your blood; I wish you the best of luck.

— Charles XII.

About 300 grenadiers formed the first wave in a right, center and left column, with 350 fusiliers divided behind them in a second wave, and 400 fusiliers in reserve; there were seven officers and 18 engineers with axes in addition on every 100 men. Early on 22 August, the sconce was heavily bombarded until the signal to storm was given at 3 a.m. The first wave reaching the outer-moat was thrown back by a disciplined volley of musket- and canister shot. The second wave restored order and the allies pressed on over the water- and stake filled moat to the glacis. Despite a few detonating land mines and mounting losses, the allies reached the inner-moat. The Swedes withdrew into the sconce itself, which was quickly pelted with grenades. The attack stalled once again; but when the reserve arrived, the allies crossed the inner-moat and climbed the ramparts, engaging the Swedes in fierce hand-to-hand combat. After a while, commander Kuse assembled his surviving troops for a last stand in a small bastion, where they could not be surrounded. He soon fell, and his successor Johan Beckenström was quickly wounded, at which point the defense collapsed.

Allied siege and storm of Peenemünde Sconce

During the three hours of fighting, Kuse with 57 men were killed, 68 severely wounded, and some 130 captured. The allies lost von der Lieppen, von Winterfeldt, von Behr and 151 men killed, while Erlach and 454 others were wounded. The Prussians claimed that Kuse, driving his men on too fiercely, was struck down by one of his own; but Defoe considered this dubious.

For Peenemünde Sconce, the enemy has lost more men than such a sconce is worth, and with less effort can be regained.

— Charles XII.

Aftermath

Further information: Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715) and Battle of Stresow

The loss of Usedom gave the allies full access to its imminent waterways, while Sweden's defense capabilities of Greifswald Bodden weakened. To use Peenestrom for shipments to Greifswald, and on to Stralsund by land, Greifswald Bodden had to be secured; however, because the enterprise was delayed with the prolonged siege and capture of Peenemünde Sconce, the Prussians instead escorted their artillery by land. Sehested's Danish fleet nevertheless forced an entry into the bay on 25 September, gaining naval supremacy. This allowed for shipments of equipment, ammunition and transporting-vessels, and opened up for the crucial invasion of Rugen. On 19 October, the allied artillery opened fire against Stralsund while the infantry began digging trenches towards its outer works.

Fall of Stralsund

Allied Siege of Stralsund 1715, with Usedom in the imbedded picture (top-left) and Rügen (top-right)

Due to miscalculations and heavy storms, the Rügen-operation was not undertaken until 15 November, when 17,219–20,000 allies in 438–640 transporting vessels began landing at Gross Stresow. On Rügen, Charles XII commanded about 4,000–5,000 men. The allies fortified their beachhead in case of a Swedish counterattack. Charles XII attacked Stresow at night with 2,000 men, but was repulsed. The allied conquest of Rügen was cemented by the Swedish surrender of Altefähr Sconce two days later; Charles XII with his garrison were thus cut off from Sweden proper, and the fall of Stralsund became inevitable. The Swedish force on Ruden quit the island on 21 November and sailed for Sweden.

What followed – and preceded the allied landing since 5 November – were several assaults on Stralsund's outer works and Swedish sorties; often under Charles XII's personal command. On 19 December, with the allies preparing for a general storm of the city, Charles XII reluctantly agreed to negotiate; on the 22nd, he escaped the allied encirclement on a galiot heading for Sweden, while Dücker surrendered the city the next day. Charles XII arrived at Trelleborg on the 24th and began preparing for new offensive actions. This resulted in two unsuccessful invasions of Norway in 1716 and 1718, the latter in which he died. The loss of Stralsund, and later Wismar on 18 April 1716, deprived Sweden of its last German possessions; both cities were returned by the peace treaties of Stockholm and Frederiksborg in 1720, while Usedom, Wolin and Stettin were ceded to Prussia.

Sources

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