He was born in
Haapsalu in the
Duchy of Estonia as the son of Reinhold Wrangel. Wrangel entered military service at the age of 15 and participated in several of the
Charles XII's campaigns during the
Great Northern War, in the process of which he was promoted to captain of the
Svea Life Guards and
lieutenant colonel of
Skånska ståndsdragonerna, but was captured in 1709 after the
Battle of Poltava. After returning from
captivity in 1722, he was promoted to
colonel of the Nyland cavalry regiment, and in 1727 was made colonel of
Tavastehus regiment and in 1729 of Nyland dragoon regiment, in 1732
major-general and in 1739 colonel of the
Skaraborg Regiment. The same year, he offered the position of
riksråd, but demurred in favour of remaining with the Army. Upon his return from captivity in 1742, he received gifts from the king and the burghers of
Stockholm and was made
lieutenant-general in 1743 and colonel with the
Närke-Värmland Regiment. In 1754, he was promoted to field marshal. During the
Dalecarlian Rebellion in 1743, he was assigned the task of dissuading or diverting the march of the
Dalecarlians on Stockholm, but despite his popularity he achieved neither. ==References==