Swedish invasion of Norway In the last days of March, the Norwegian and Swedish outposts along the border had been in contact with each other on several occasions, but the scattered skirmishes had been fruitless. The first major action happened on 1 April 1808, when
Johan Bergenstråhle marched with his 2,000 men into Norway from
Jämtland, but his army was forced to retreat back to
Sundsvall without engaging in battle. But at the same time as Bergenstråhle's retreat two companies of 235 men under Major Gyllenskrepp went across the border from
Herjedalen towards
Røros and engaged in a minor skirmish with a Norwegian field guard of 40 men from Colonel Bang's brigade in
Aursund. After the field guards had withdrawn and the Norwegian outposts of 140 men, of which the field guard was a part of, had retreated to Røros, the Swedes began with unusually extensive looting in the border area, and especially in the town of
Brekken. The looting continued until those of Colonel Bang's forces who were closest in the area, a Musketeer battalion of 600 men under Major Sommerschild, counterattacked and forced the Swedes back across the border. In retaliation for the sacking of Brekken a force of 558 men from Colonel Bangs's Brigade marched across the border to Malmagen and
Ljusnedal on 8 April. The royal properties in Funnesdalen were sacked and devastated in the purely predatory expedition, and all the loot that had been taken from Brekken, including 22 guns, was recaptured in Ljusnedal after a brief skirmish with the Swedish defenders. Since the spring should prove to be quite uneventful in the border area between
Trøndelag and Jämtland after the engagements in early April, the Norwegians decided to send several units to the south of Røros, and to the area between
Roverud and
Kongsvinger. The Swedish main attack to the south began on the night of 14 April with the advance of the Swedish 2nd brigade in the area what is now
Aurskog-Høland Municipality. Christian August, who was on his way to move his headquarters to
Rakkestad, was notified of the Swedes' advances and marched a brigade to meet the threat from the east on 17 April. Fighting in Høland and Aurskog ended with a Norwegian victory, and the Swedish commander, Colonel
Schwerin felt so threatened by the Norwegian counterattacks that he ordered a retreat after the
defeat at Toverud, where the Swedish commander Count
Axel Otto Mörner and his troops had been forced to surrender. He drove out the weak border guard and continued advancing towards the
Lier entrenchment in the course of several days of spread skirmishes. The Norwegian defenders were forced to retreat in order to avoid being outflanked by the Swedes. On 18 April, a battle took place at
Lier, about one mile south of Kongsvinger. In the battle 1,000 Swedish soldiers defeated a Norwegian army consisting of 800–900 men under the command of Major
Bernt Peter Kreutz. After this victory the Swedish troops entrenched themselves at Lier and advanced all the way to the river
Glomma, but they did not risk an attack on
Kongsvinger Fortress, something that temporarily put an end to the offensive. Christian August reacted severely to the news of the defeat at the Lier and that the Swedish troops had reached the river Glomma. He now had to move the main forces to
Blaker to stop a possible attack from the Swedish positions on the south-west side of Kongsvinger in the north or from
Høland in the south. But fortunately for the Norwegians the outcome of the battle of Toverud and the
engagement at Lund stabilized the situation in the south. Armfeldt therefore wanted to besiege and then attack Kongsvinger and thereby secure the strategically important fortress. Colonel
Carl Pontus Gahn with his "Flying Corps" was with this ordered to make his way to Glomma and from there west towards Kongsvinger, Armfeldt would thereby make a pincer movement to besiege the fortress. The whole corps was annihilated and about 440 men were captured at Trangen, and another 65 on 25 April at Midtskogen. After the battles, Colonel Staffeldt was ordered to move his brigade west to Kongsvinger to reinforce the defense of the fortress. After the regrouping of the defense around Kongsvinger, Christian August traveled south to get the Swedes forestalled by an offensive in the area around
Ørje. When Armfeldt was notified of the defeat in the north, he immediately feared a Norwegian attack on this flank as long as there was ice on Glomma. The Swedish commander had lost his right flank to the north, and strong Norwegian forces had gathered along the Glomma at Kongsvinger and Blaker. Because of this Armfeldt found it necessary to wait for Colonel Vegesack and his forces, who had not yet begun their advance, before he carried out some further operations and thereby chose to go into a defensive position.
Battles in Smaalenene Prince Christian August had initially planned to attack from Blaker against the Swedish 3rd Brigade at Ørje, but got messages that indicated that a Swedish attack across the border to the south would come in the near future. Because from 2–3 May, about 2,000 Swedish soldiers from two Swedish brigades under Colonel Vegesack advanced forward in three columns between Holmgil and Prestebakke east of
Fredrikshald. But the conditions for the Swedish troops were so bad that the advance was stopped at the Norwegian defensive line between Halleröd, Gjeddeludd, Enningdalen and Berby church. Meanwhile, further north, a Swedish force of about 1,000 men advanced out of Nössemark across the border towards Bjørkebekk and Skotsund in
Aremark, but this advance were also stopped. During the month of May the Swedish troops entrenched themselves along a line from the southeast of Kongsvinger, behind Haldenvassdraget from
Kroksund and along the new line from Aremark to Iddefjorden. The Norwegian offensive that had been planned, was abandoned in favor of the realignment of the standing forces, including Colonel Holst's brigade that had been lying northeast of Rødnessjøen and had moved back to Mysen. A limited offensive against the Swedish brigade at Ørje was instead initiated with about 1,000 men who were directed over Mjerma under the command of Major
Andreas Samuel Krebs on 4 May. The
fighting around Aremark on 5 May was tough, but the Swedish troops eventually fled their positions back to the well-developed positions outside of Ørje, where they managed to hold out. The Norwegians had 10 wounded after the battle, while the Swedes had 10 dead and 16 wounded. Krebs with his exhausted troops were recalled, while Major Friederich Fischer with his (approximately) 500 men went on from
Mysen and came as a surprise to the Swedish field guards at Ysterud and
Li, west of Ørje, on 7 May. But despite the loss of only 9 wounded, Fischer was unable to continue because Ørje bridge was destroyed by the Swedes. A new, small offensive further north, took place on 12 May west of
Strømsfoss, were, with his modest forces, Captain Hans Harboe Grøn began a series of local attacks against the Swedish field guards. The attacks lasted until 28 May when the Swedes had been reinforced with a battalion. Siege artillery was also transferred to the Kongsvinger front for a new planned attack at Kongsvinger fortress. The Swedes had also initiated the development of new positions at the Lier entrenchment, with evident facing west, and the so-called "Skinnarbøl line" along the river east of
Skinnarbøl and Vinger Sea facing north. The Norwegians kept close attention to what was going on at the Swedish positions by continually sending reconnaissance patrols that went out aggressively against the Swedes. Major troop movements were not possible before mid-May because of the huge snowfall that winter, and it was not until 15 May, Staffeldt ordered to make a larger attack on the Swedish right flank. But the conditions were still not good enough, and the roads had only just begun to dry up, so the attack was postponed until 18 May. After four hours, the battle of Mobekk came to an end, and the Norwegian troops returned to Kongsvinger. In order to restore his dignity after the battle of Mobekk, Staffeldt was forced to make a new attack. It had been discovered that a Swedish
jäger company had been moved to Jerpset in Vestmarka in order to connect the Swedish 2nd Brigade who was stationed closer to the border. On 23 May, troops from Captain
Wilhelm Jørgensen's light company, along with 65
skiers crossed Glomma approximately 10 km west of Kongsvinger. Swedish troops who were quartered at nearby farms were unable to obtain the Norwegians who after the fighting retreated into the woods under cover of darkness. Colonel Staffeldt had planned future attacks, but the events on Jerpset frightened Armfeldt so much that he ordered the withdrawal from the positions closest to Kongsvinger. Besides, he had already on the 19 May received an order from King Gustav IV Adolf of what he believed to be a general retreat. King Gustav IV had, however, not intended for Armfeldt to retreat back across the border, but only secure the areas in Norway that he had occupied and wait for the planned invasion of Själland. Armfeldt on the other hand misunderstood the order and abandoned all plans of attack against the Norwegian military and, with the 1st and 2nd Brigade, retreated to secure positions behind the border in order to reorganize the troops and secure border crossings. The Swedish retreat came as a surprise to the Norwegians. Staffeldt advanced on the day after the Swedes' withdrawal all the way to Eidskog with his troops, and on the evening of 31 May his main force arrived at Matrand. Smaller patrols were also sent to
Flisa to secure the area. King Gustav IV Adolf's plans for a Swedish-British attack on Själland would, however, be cancelled after the Royal Navy returned to England on 3 July.
Fighting in Enningdal The other two Swedish brigades that had been stationed close to Fredrikshald went on 8–9 June back across the border together with the parts of the left wing brigade which had reached
Skotfoss. In mid-June there were only two Swedish positions left on Norwegian territory, something that came as a surprise to the Norwegians. Christian August had originally planned a general offensive against the south to
Rødenes/Ørjebro and Enningdalen to push the last Swedish troops across the border, but the plan was instead changed into a small offensive. This plan, which had been worked out by the commander on
Fredriksten fortress, Lieutenant Colonel Juel, was that one should insert many small attacks against the Swedes to drive them back across the border. The Swedish troops, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Lars von Knorring, had stationed themselves at their fortified positions at Prestebakke with strongholds in both the east and west, and with larger forces misplaced by Ende, Berby and Enningdalen. Juel, who was seriously ill, gave the command to Captain Arild Huitfeldt, who began advancing on the evening on 9 June with a force totalling 710 men. The thrust to the south was successful. During the
battle of Prestebakke on 10 June, Huitfeldt managed to confuse the Swedish officers with a maneuver that surprised and routed the Swedish forces at Prestebakke. The Swedish casualties totaled 60 dead and severely wounded, and 395 captured (of which 34 were wounded), and two guns. The Swedish force of approximately 420 men were wiped out and a smaller force of about 150 men surrendered at Berby. The Norwegian losses were low with only around 12 casualties. In Sweden, there was a severe reaction to this surprising defeat, and the Swedish commander, Lieutenant Colonel von Knorring, was court-martialed. After the Swedes had received reinforcements, they
counter-attacked against the positions at Prestebakke on 14 June to reconcile their former positions. The main Norwegian force had moved back to Fredriksten fortress with a large number of Swedish prisoners of war, so the outnumbered Norwegian outposts at Prestebakke, Ende and Gjeddelund were driven back after a short battle. But the Swedes left their positions and went back across the border between the 20–24 June, and the Norwegian forces were quick to secure the border areas and to set up border guards. This meant that there were no longer any Swedish troops on Norwegian soil.
Raids and minor campaigns In the period up to December there were several minor offensives from both the Norwegian and the Swedish side, but these were of little significance to the war. For the Norwegian troops stationed in the north of Kongsvinger and at Matrand there was a prolonged period of constant surveillance, in addition to boredom and poor conditions in the sparsely populated Eidskog with minimal settlement and little food. Many of the soldiers had to live in huts made of pine needles and bark for the rest of the summer and into the autumn. Norwegian raids against civilians on the Swedish side of the border were prohibited. If a Norwegian soldier brought back stolen goods from an attack, they were returned. Officers on both sides were very concerned that their soldiers should behave well towards the civilian population, but the border was sparsely populated and the sparse food supply was quickly used by the military. Poor accommodation, lack of supplies and a scarcity of food began to have a demoralising and debilitating effect on the troops on both sides of the border.
Attack into Eda and Jämtland Staffeldt, who had been promoted to Major General on 30 June, had kept his troops on the border in Eidskog until early in July, when they were ordered to advance across the border and carry out minor attacks in several places. A column of four companies was sent forward to Morast, another column of two companies to
Magnor and a third column of three companies with Major
Frederik Wilhelm Stabell to the area south to Vestmarka. Stabell's group continued on from there to Sweden on 18 July, and advanced to the Swedish positions at Adolfsfors. The troops stayed on the Swedish side of the border for two days, before they retreated across the border and back to Matrand. In August 1808, 644 Norwegian troops from Trøndelag under the command of Major Coldevin advanced with artillery and mounted dragoons across the border from
Verdal and
Meråker into Jämtland in the
Jämtland Campaign of 1808. Staffeldt also sent troops to
Falun in order to support the Norwegian invasion of Jämtland and a force of 200 men advanced to Midtskogen on 10 August. These troops marched from there to
Dalby in Sweden, and returned to Baltebøl on 20 August since they could not find any Swedish troops in the area, apart from the border guard at Midtskogen. The main Norwegian offensive into Jemtland was stopped at the entrenchment at
Järpen on 15 August and, after two days, Major Coldevin chose to cancel the offensive because the Swedish troops had reinforced the stronghold at Järpen. The campaign ended on 19 August.
Ceasefire The Royal Navy's blockade of Norway had gradually worsened the situation for the Norwegians, and the few supplies that arrived from Denmark and northern Russia were not enough. Everywhere there were supply shortages, and it was impossible to replace the uniforms and other equipment that had been worn out and destroyed after several months in the field. Opportunities to carry out further offensives were also rare, and Christian August therefore decided to keep his troops at the border. Things were not much better for the Swedes in the sparsely populated border regions, since most of the supplies went to the troops fighting against the Russians in Finland. Lieutenant General
Bror Cederström had also taken over the command of the border army from Armfeldt, who had left in August as a result of his misunderstanding of the king's orders. During the autumn it came to negotiations between Christian August and the Swedes, but since it took a while to get contact with King Frederick in Denmark, Christian August had to act largely without the king's approval. He meant that he could not continue hostilities against Sweden because of the distress and lack of supplies among both the population and the soldiers in the country. So in defiance of the king's will he entered into an agreement for the armistice to the southern Norwegian front on 22 November and the Armistice Agreement came into force on 7 December 1808. It could be terminated on 48 hours notice, but was applicable for the rest of the war. Unfortunately the ceasefire agreement came too late for both the Norwegian and the Swedish army, who were both badly affected by diseases that spread from the east and into the border area, where thousands had lived in appalling conditions for several months. The southern Norwegian army, consisting of around 17,000 men, should during the fall and winter of 1808 experience that half of the soldiers would suffer from disease, and that only between April and September 700 died. In March 1809, approx. 8,700 were admitted to field hospitals, of which 1,200 died. In the Swedish army, the conditions were even worse because diseases such as typhoid and dysentery had spread from the east. The Swedish sources do not have precise information about the total number of sick people, only pieces from the various reports and records of the officers in the army. Morbidity rates had risen from 22% among the troops in September to 25% in November, and 403 Swedish soldiers died that month. being arrested by the conspirators. In the winter of 1808–1909 no major battles were fought. The Norwegians were lacking supplies and the Swedes were concentrated on the war in the east where the Russians now had managed to occupy the whole of Finland. At the same time dissatisfaction with the absolutist Swedish king had evolved, and there was a desire for a constitution. The Swedish still feared that the Norwegian troops on Østlandet would take advantage of the uprising against the Swedish king, and invade
Svealand or
Götaland. So the leaders of the revolutionary Swedish forces had to ensure themselves that the Armistice Agreement of 7 December 1808 still was valid. This were ensured through the Kongsvinger Agreement in early March 1809, which was an oral agreement between the Swedish revolutionary forces and Christian August that the Norwegian troops should remain stationary at the border, while the Swedish forces in
Värmland, under Lieutenant Colonel
Georg Adlersparre marched to
Stockholm to depose King Gustav IV. Most of the Norwegians supported the coup, and especially Christian August since he was a candidate to the Swedish throne. On 7 March 1809, Lieutenant Colonel Adlersparre triggered the revolution by raising the flag of rebellion in
Karlstad and starting to march upon Stockholm. To prevent the king from joining loyal troops in
Scania, seven of the conspirators led by
Carl Johan Adlercreutz broke into the royal apartments in the palace on 13 March, seized the king, and imprisoned him and his family in
Gripsholm castle. Gustav IV Adolf's uncle, the old, weak and childless
Charles XIII, was elected King of Sweden on 5 June, and the next day an assembly of nobles, clergy, bourgeoisie and peasants, passed a constitution.
Fighting in Jämtland Christian August was very reluctant in the spring and summer of 1809 to make any Norwegian attack against Sweden, but he was eventually pushed to it by King Frederik VI. On 2 July Christian August ordered an attack against
Jämtland from
Trondheim, and on 10 July a force of 1,800 men, under the leadership of Major General
Georg Frederik von Krogh, marched across the border to Jämtland. To stop the Norwegian advance,
Georg Carl von Döbeln was sent out with a battalion of the
Hälsinge Regiment to Jemtland, at the same time an additional battalion from
Gävle was sent off against Härjedalen and reinforcements later arrived from the
Life Grenadier Regiment and the
Kalmar Regiment. However, on July 16 the advancing Norwegian army captured the Hjärpe entrenchment which just had been abandoned by a Swedish force of 200 men under Colonel Theodore Nordenadler. Soon afterwards the Norwegians also captured the villages of
Mörsil and Mattmar. But when a rumor that Sweden and Russia had started peace negotiations reached the Norwegian army, von Krogh chose to retreat and instead direct his attack against
Härjedalen. On July 24, the Swedish force of 900 men under von Döbeln and the 1,800 Norwegian soldiers met at Härjedalen, the Norwegians force was defeated and had to retreat. An armistice was written the following day at Bleckåsen in Alsens. One condition was that all the Norwegian troops would leave Sweden by 3 August, which also happened. ==Aftermath==