Friherre Rutger Fuchs (2 April 1682 – 10 April 1753) was a Swedish army officer, Politician and Governor of Stockholm from 1739 until his death in 1753.
Biography
editRutger Fuchs was born on 2 April 1682 in Malmö. His parents were Christian Fuchs and Susanna Eleonora Leijonsten.[1]
At the age of seventeen, Fuchs joined the army in 1699 as a volunteer in the Swedish Life Regiment of Foot. The following year, he served as an ensign in the Västgöta Three-Männing Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and then to the rank of captain in 1704. That same year Fuchs was apart of a Västgöta battalion that was sent to help relieve the city of Narva, which was once again besieged by the Russians. The relief force failed to reach Narva and had to travel by sea to Reval. Fuchs participated in Admiral Cornelius Anckarstjerna's failed attack on Kotlin Island – which was planned to be used as a staging point for an attack on Saint Petersburg – and was wounded. The Battalion would returned to Sweden in 1707, though Fuchs would remain in Livonia until 1708.[1][2]
In 1709, he helped reorganise the Dalarna Regiment following its loss at Poltava was given the rank of major the very next year. At the onset of Magnus Stenbock's expedition to Pomerania and Mecklenberg in late 1712, Fuchs was given to the rank of lieutenant colonel after the previous officer who held that rank died.[2] During the Battle of Gadebusch in December 1712, Fuchs and the Dalarnas engaged the Danish Royal Life Guards where Fuchs reportedly fought the Life Guards commander in hand-to-hand combat.[3] Though Fuchs would kill his opponent, the fight left him badly wounded, and he had to be taken to Wismar to get them treated. One of his legs was also crushed during the engagement, forcing him to walk on crutches for a year.[4]
After recovering from his injuries, Fuchs was stationed along the coastal areas of the province of Uppland from 1714 to 1715 to safeguard it from Russians attacks.[1] He then participated in the 1716 invasion of Norway. Fuchs served with distinction during the campaign, and was promoted to colonel and given command of the Södermanlands Regiment after its previous commander, C. R. von Schlippenbach was mortally wounded during an assualt on the Fredriksten Fortress.[2] Fuchs also participated in the 1718 invasion of Norway.
References
edit- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Bengt. "Rutger Fuchs". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Fuchs, Rutger". www.dalregementetsmuseer.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "Livgarden under Store Nordiske Krig". www.garderforeningerne.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Mellin 1849, p. 499.
Bibliography
edit- Mellin, Gustaf Henrik (1849). Sveriges store män, snillen, statsmän, hjeltar och fosterlandsvänner samt märkvärdigaste fruntimmer [Sweden's great men, geniuses, statesmen, heroes and friends of the fatherland and most remarkable women]. H. R. Looströms förlag.