Danish front Norwegian front Both the Danish and Swedish kings wanted, disregarding the harsh weather, an offensive on the Swedish-Norwegian border in the winter of 1657-1658. But both sides were plagued by sickness, lacked food rations and proper clothing and footwear to withstand the cold. Denmark-Norway was hit by growing desertions, so much so, that
Frederik III in November had to let the governor of Norway
Niels Trolle give amnesty to all, who went back to serving before Christmas, although there were usually high consequences for deserting.
Iver Krabbe therefore chose because of the many problems to stay with most of the army in
Uddevalla and the fortresses. But the Swedish field marshal,
Gustaf Otto Stenbock, had to obey the order of
Charles X Gustav, and was therefore on march the 15. January 1658 with 3.500 men and 16 cannons. The war officially started on the Norwegian front on 24 June, when a Norwegian unit under the command of Major Peter Brun demanded tribute from Swedish peasants west of the
Göta river. On 25 June,
Iver Krabbe contacted the Governor of Gothenburg,
Per Ribbing, requesting a local truce on the island of Hisingen, which was shared between Sweden and Norway. Ribbing agreed, as neither side would be able to control the island and it was thus better if the peasants on either side could continue food production. The first act of hostilities occurred on 4 July, when the first Norwegian incursion into Sweden took place at Hjärtum. However, this only turned into a minor occurrence, even if it resulted in some plundering. A week later, a raiding party of some 100 Norwegians crossed the Göta river from Bohus, home of the Bohus Regiment. However, they quickly retreated when confronted by levied Swedish peasants. Krabbe played for time, knowing that his preparations had not yet been finished, he was not in a hurry to begin his campaign. However, Colonel
Johan von Firck, along with his life company of some 170 men of pikemen and musketmen landed on the Swedish side of the Göta river, by way of
Tjurholmen (Bull Island), which belonged to Norway. Supported by a skerry boat armed with
falconets, they pushed back some Swedish cavalrymen and levied peasants, and destroying a redoubt. Afterwards, a few Norwegians stayed at the captured location. Then, more Swedish cavalry and peasants arrived, who immediately assaulted the Norwegians. Based on Norwegian accounts, Firck repulsed the attack with support from the falconets on the skerry boat. The skirmish resulted in the death of one Swede and a wounded Norwegian under officer. Returning to Bohus, Krabbe ordered his life company of some 126 men from the Bohus Regiment to cross the Göta River in support. This raid was to be led by the Lieutenant Colonel
Frederik von Ahlefeldt, who was also the commander of Bohus Fortress, along with Lieutenant Colonel Johan Wedberg. Wedberg crossed the river first, using a skerry boat armed with four falconets and several other coastal or river vessels. The next day, Krabbe followed with, bringing three cannons. Noticing that the Swedes were building river vessels, Krabbe ordered his men to make a redoubt to protect the Norwegian bridgehead. Afterwards, Ahlefeldt crossed the river with 160 men to support Krabbe. However, Krabbe soon got reports that Swedish reinforcements of some 150 men under Captain Bryngel Stark had arrived from Gothenburg in the form of cavalry and 200 infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Liborius Mentzer. Being outgunned, Krabbe ordered Ahlefeldt to retreat back across the river. Most Norwegians managed to cross in time, however, combat still occurred between Ahlefeldt, who with two officers and 24 pikemen tried to buy time by resisting the Swedish assault. Since the Norwegians were supported by three regimental cannons and some remaining infantry, the fighting resulted in multiple deaths on both sides. Ribbing reported that one Swede had died, with five or six soldiers being wounded, including Captain Stark. Krabbe admitted that five Norwegians had been wounded, and no killed. However, the Swedes later managed to take a prisoner, who claimed that the Norwegian losses were six men. After the skirmish, the Norwegians retreated back across the river, and the units from Gothenburg withdrew, being replaced by two of Major General
Harald Stake's companies. The replacement came as the natural thing to do, as Ribbing and Stake shared the responsibility to defend against Norwegian invasions from Bohuslän. Later, the next act of war was initiated by the Swedes. Being aware of the threat to Västgötland posed by the Norwegians, Per Brahe ordered Field Marshal
Robert Douglas to assume command there in late July. Another reason for this was that Brahe believed he did not need any senior commanders at the Scanian border, since he was confident to andle it himself. Brahe seconded around 2,200 men to Douglas, consisting of eight companies from Major General Harald Stake's Västgöta cavalry regiment (874 men) Colonel Johan Stake's Västgöta-Dal regiment (1,002 men), three companies from the Västmanland Regiment of Foot (324 men), two 24-pounder cannons, a field artillery of some 18 cannons, and several peasant levy units.
West African Front (1682), built on the initiative of Carloff Denmark-Norway and Sweden had both since the 1620’s tried to establish themselves on the
Gold coast in
West Africa. Trading spices, gold and slaves had been growing throughout Europe, but it was really only after the
Thirty Years' War that Scandinavian plans grew. Sweden made forts along the coast of Guinea that stretched out in a line along with the other European colonial powers. The Swedes had been present in the Goldcoast since
Henrik Carloff's expedition of 1650 when the area was purchased from the Futu kingdom. Carloff would prove to be a useful asset for Danish ambitions in the area as after the outbreak of the Dano-Swedish War, it became attractive to attack the Swedes from all fronts. Carloff entered talks with
Frederick III of Denmark-Norway over potential attacks on the
Swedish Gold Coast. It was agreed that if the colony was to be captured should afterward either be given to Frederik III and a company with Carloff as president or be sold by Carloff to non-enemy powers if Frederik didn’t want them. After the outbreak of the war, Carloff was officially granted permission to invade the Swedish colonies by Fredrik III. However, King Breweda reacted strongly about Dutch overlordship of Cabo Corso and thus stormed the colony and returned it to the Swedes which would be fully reclaimed in December 1660 after the arrival of Swedish administrators. == Aftermath ==