Battle of Lier (1808) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Lier |
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| Part of the Dano-Swedish War of 1808–1809 (Napoleonic Wars) | |||||||
 Battle of Lier 1808, by Andreas Bloch |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sweden |
 Denmark–Norway |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt |
Bernt Peter Kreutz |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1,250 2 guns |
1,000 8 guns |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 71 | 150–200 | ||||||
The Battle of Lier happened on April 18, 1808. It was a fight between Swedish and Norwegian soldiers. This battle was part of Sweden's plan to invade Norway. The Swedish commander, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, led his troops across the border. He wanted to capture the strong Norwegian position at Lier. His goal was to reach Kongsvinger Fortress.
The Swedes attacked the Norwegian defenses from different sides. They made some fake attacks to trick the Norwegians. The Norwegian commander, Bernt Peter Kreutz, moved his soldiers to defend these fake attacks. This allowed the Swedes to capture other parts of the Norwegian lines. The Swedes also took a key fort covering the main road. By evening, Kreutz decided to retreat. He was worried his troops would be cut off from Kongsvinger Fortress. The Swedes won the battle. However, Armfelt did not continue his attack right away. He stayed at Lier until May, then pulled his troops out of Norway.
Contents
Why the Battle of Lier Happened
This battle was part of a bigger conflict. It was called the Dano-Swedish War of 1808–09. This war was also connected to the Napoleonic Wars in Europe.
Denmark and Norway Join France
In 1807, Denmark–Norway became allies with France. This happened after the British attacked Denmark. Napoleon, the French leader, was already fighting Sweden. Sweden had lost some land to France. Sweden also refused to join Napoleon's trade blockade, called the Continental System. Because of this, Denmark–Norway declared war on Sweden on March 14, 1808.
Sweden Faces Two Enemies
At the same time, Russia also invaded Sweden. This was on behalf of Napoleon. So, Sweden was fighting a war on two fronts. They faced Russia in the east and Denmark-Norway in the west. French and Danish forces also threatened southern Sweden. In April, Sweden decided to attack Norway. They hoped to capture Norway to make up for any land they might lose in the east, like Finland.
Swedish Invasion Plans
Swedish forces crossed the border into Norway in several groups. The second group crossed on April 14. They reached the Glomma river with no problems. The third and first groups followed on April 15 and 16. Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, the Swedish commander, led the first group. This group had about 2,000 men. They marched towards Kongsvinger. The Norwegian troops had to retreat as the Swedes advanced.
Norwegian Defenses at Lier
Werner Nicolai de Seue commanded the Norwegian forces. He had about 1,700 to 2,400 men near Kongsvinger Fortress. On April 17, the Swedish lead troops reached Lier. The Norwegians had built strong defenses there. This position blocked the path to the fortress, which was about 5 kilometers north. Armfelt had about 1,400 men and three cannons for his attack on Lier. About 1,250 of his men would fight. The Norwegians at Lier had 1,000 to 1,200 men. They also had eight cannons. Their commander was Bernt Peter Kreutz. Seue had 450 more troops as a backup near the fortress. But these troops did not join the battle.
The Battle of Lier Begins
The Norwegian defenses stretched about 900 meters across some high ground. Their right side was protected by the Føsker river. Their left side was protected by the Tarven and Vinger lakes. The Lier farms were in the middle. South of the farms was a wide, wet meadow. This meadow became a swamp further west. Behind the meadow were more hills covered in thick forest. It was hard to move through this area. The Norwegians also built an important small fort, called a redoubt. This redoubt was a few hundred meters south of their left side. It watched over the main road.
Swedish Diversion Attacks
On the morning of April 18, Armfelt began his attack. He sent two groups to go around the Norwegian sides. These groups would make diversion attacks. This meant they would attack to distract the Norwegians. Meanwhile, his main force would attack from the front.
At 8:30 AM, the Swedish left group attacked. This group had 200 men. They pushed back the Norwegian light infantry. They moved towards the redoubt. This Swedish group then moved to a hill about 100 meters from the Norwegian right side. They started fighting there. They later pulled back to wait for the main Swedish attack. Deep snow made it hard to move.
The Swedish right group, with almost 600 men, found their path blocked. Armfelt then ordered 100 Jägers (light infantry) to make a diversion on the Norwegian left. Around 3:00 PM, the Swedish center, with about 350 men, marched through the forest to attack.
The Main Swedish Assault
A little after 5:00 PM, the Swedes captured the hills left of the road. They had two cannons helping them. A fierce gunfight started. The Swedish infantry got ready to storm the redoubt. However, the Swedish attacks on the Norwegian left had failed. Because of this, Armfelt decided to stop the main assault for a moment.
Suddenly, the Swedish right group arrived. They threatened to cross the river between the two lakes. This was a big threat to the Norwegian side. The Norwegians had to move many troops from their right side to their left. A Norwegian counterattack against the Swedes failed. Many Norwegians were lost.
Around 6:00 PM, the Swedes saw the Norwegians moving their troops. A Swedish regiment, led by Major Hård, quickly attacked. They stormed the redoubt under the cover of a cannon. They captured it after a tough hand-to-hand fight. At the same time, the Norwegian right side was almost empty of soldiers. The Swedish group that had made the first diversion attack now attacked again. They captured the hills west of the Lier farms. This put the entire Norwegian position in danger.
Instead of fighting back, Commander Kreutz ordered a full retreat around 7:00 PM. He was afraid of being cut off from Kongsvinger. The Norwegian commander, Seue, had refused to send backup troops. He was worried the Swedes would attack the fortress. The Swedes chased the Norwegians all the way to Tråstad. There were many small fights along the way. Kreutz and his men then crossed the frozen Glommen river towards Kongsvinger.
After the Battle
The Swedes had 5 men killed and 66 wounded. The Norwegians had 95 men captured. They also had 54 killed. The number of wounded Norwegians is not fully known. In total, about 100 Norwegians were killed or wounded. About the same number were captured.
Armfelt did not continue his attack after the victory. He thought his cannons were not strong enough to attack Kongsvinger Fortress. The old Norwegian defenses at Lier were destroyed. New ones were built facing north. Swedish outposts were sent to the Glommen river. The main Swedish army stayed at Lier.
Armfelt wrote in his report: "This position is so strong that I would never have attacked it with such a small force, if I had known earlier." Armfelt planned to use Lier as a base once the ice on the Glomma river melted. However, news of this Swedish victory was soon forgotten. This was because other Swedish groups were defeated in other battles, like Toverud and Trangen, in the following days.
On May 24, Armfelt received new orders from King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. The king told him to defend his position. The king was planning an attack on Denmark. Because of these new orders, Armfelt pulled most of his army out of Norway in May and June.
Images for kids
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Norwegian position in the center, between the three lakes. Swedish forces came from the south-east. By Henrik Angell
