Battle of Uddevalla facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Uddevalla
Part of the Scanian War
Uddevalla around 1700
Date August 28, 1677 Location Uddevalla Result Danish-Norwegian victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Denmark-Norway
Commanders and leaders
Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie	Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve
Strength
3,000	5,600
Casualties and losses
500	Unknown, similar to the Swedes

The Battle of Uddevalla was a big fight that happened near Uddevalla in Sweden. It took place on August 28, 1677. This battle was an important part of a larger conflict called the Scanian War. In this war, the Swedish Empire fought against Denmark-Norway.

Why the Battle Happened

After the city of Marstrand was captured by Norwegian forces, the important Swedish city of Gothenburg was left open to attack. To protect Gothenburg, a Swedish general named Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie gathered an army.

The Swedish Army

His army had about 3,000 soldiers.

• About 1,200 of these were new cavalry (soldiers on horseback).
• Another 1,500 were men from Dalecarlia who were forced to join the army.

This Swedish force set up camp near Vänersborg on August 10. From there, they started moving towards Uddevalla.

The Danish-Norwegian Army

However, a much larger army was coming from Norway. This army belonged to Denmark-Norway and had about 5,600 soldiers. Their leader was Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve. This strong Danish-Norwegian force soon caught up with the Swedish army near Uddevalla.

The Battle Begins

General de la Gardie prepared his troops to defend their position. But General Gyldenløve had a clever plan. He started to move his troops around the sides of the Swedish army. His goal was to cut off their escape route to the Göta älv river.

Swedish Retreat and Cavalry Failure

Because of this, de la Gardie had to order his cavalry to protect the Swedish foot soldiers as they tried to retreat towards the river. But when the stronger Danish cavalry charged, the Swedish cavalry ran away! They didn't even fire a single shot. General de la Gardie himself almost got captured. The battle quickly turned into a messy retreat for the Swedes. One Danish report even said the Swedes were "scampering like hares among the rocks."

A Stand at Kuru Bridge

The fleeing Swedish soldiers finally managed to make a stand at a place called Kuru Bridge. This bridge was about 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Uddevalla. The soldiers from Dalecarlia bravely held their ground. They used their long pikes to defend the bridge from the attacking cavalry. They kept fighting until all the Swedish forces had crossed the bridge. After everyone was safely across, they quickly destroyed the bridge to stop the Danish-Norwegian army from following them.

What Happened After

The Swedish army managed to reach safety behind the Göta Älv river. But they had lost about 500 men and 9 cannons during the battle. Many people blamed the loss on the Swedish troops not being well-trained. They also blamed General de la Gardie for not being a good military leader. After the battle, he asked to be removed from his command, and the king, Charles XI of Sweden, gave him a strong scolding.