Charles X Gustav, King of Sweden. Charles X Gustav

King of Sweden, surrounded by enemies, reigned for only six years, which were spent in wars on land and sea

King of Sweden Carl X Gustav. Artist S. Burdon. XVII century

The 32-year-old Count Palatine of Zweibrücken inherited the Swedish crown in 1654 from his cousin Christina, daughter of King Gustav II Adolf. Under the banner of his illustrious uncle (his mother was the sister of Gustav II Adolf), he gained solid combat experience in the Thirty Years' War. Participated in the unsuccessful siege of Prague. Charles X inherited a state exhausted by exorbitant military expenses and a combat-ready army. He energetically took up the internal affairs of the country, primarily the economy.

But soon “his” war came, from which he did not emerge until his death. The Polish king Jan Casimir did not renounce his rights to the throne of Sweden. To this, Charles X, who had considerable possessions in the European north - most of the southern coast of the Baltic, declared war on his opponent. A 17,000-strong Swedish army invaded the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Swedes landed in Pomerania and marched on Poznan and Kalisz, cities in Greater Poland. Almost without resistance from the Poles, they were occupied along with Warsaw and Krakow. On September 6, 1655, the troops of King Jan Casimir were defeated in the Battle of Chernov. By the end of the year all northern part Poland, with the exception of the city of Danzig, was in the hands of the Swedes.

But then Charles X encountered new opponents. A Dutch squadron came to the Baltic to defend Danzig. And the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, having made peace with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, besieged the royal city of Riga. Jan Casimir fled to Silesia. The Polish aristocracy, the majority of which had previously betrayed him, again took his side. The gentry at the conference in Tyskowice decided to rise up against the Swedes.

Having learned about this, Charles X Gustav lifted the siege of Danzig and led his troops to Galicia through Thorn. Near Warsaw, his path was blocked by a 10,000-strong Polish army under the command of Hetman Chernetsky. At the beginning of February 1656, the Swedes crossed the Vistula on the ice and inflicted a complete defeat on the enemy. Then they captured the fortified camp of the Polish magnate Sapega and retreated to Warsaw.

From here Charles X moved towards Danzig, besieging it again. Without waiting for reinforcements from Sweden, the king lifted the siege a second time and moved towards Bromberg, where Chernetsky’s army was located, having restored its ranks. There the Poles were again defeated and scattered.

Meanwhile, King Jan Casimir gathered an army of 40,000, declared the beginning of a “holy war” against Sweden and moved from Silesia to Poland. On June 21, Warsaw surrendered to him, in the vicinity of which Polish troops became a camp camp.

Charles X, together with his ally, the great Elector of Brandenburg, headed towards Warsaw, having an army of 20 thousand. On June 27–30, a battle took place in which neither side achieved an advantage. However, the Poles retreated, abandoning 50 guns. Soon under Popov they were defeated. After this, the Elector of Brandenburg returned home. The Swedes, constantly waging small skirmishes, were forced to clear almost all of Poland by the end of 1656. The war in Livonia and Ingria with the Muscovite kingdom was waged sluggishly, although it exhausted the parties.

The situation for Sweden changed dramatically for the worse in March 1657. The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I entered the war against her, and Austrian troops entered Poland. Charles X was betrayed by his ally, the Elector of Brandenburg, who went over to the side of his enemies. Soon, Denmark began a war against Sweden, which intended to return previously lost lands.

Charles X Gustav had to rely only on decisive action. Leaving a small part of the troops in Poland, he set out on a campaign against Denmark. The Danish king Frederick III did not believe that the Swedes would reach the borders of his country in the north of the German lands, and therefore did not bring the fortresses on the Jutland Peninsula into combat mode. The Danish army was divided into four independent corps.

The King of Denmark himself, heading the main naval forces, arrived at Danzig with the aim of preventing the transfer of Swedish troops from Scandinavia to Pomerania. On July 2, the squadron approached Danzig, and only then did the Danes learn that the army of King Charles X had set out on a campaign against Denmark, and they hastened to defend their capital, Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, the 8,000-strong Swedish army, exhausted by a long continuous war, poorly dressed, but idolizing its warlike king, moved from Thorn to Bromberg and Stettin. On July 20, she reached the Danish border. Charles X Gustav made the city of Wismar his headquarters, which was blocked by the Danish fleet from the Baltic.

Danish troops in the Bremen bishopric were defeated. The Swedes then besieged the Frederiksodde (Fredericia) fortress. In addition, Danish troops in the south of modern Sweden and Norway acted extremely sluggishly.

On September 12, east of the Isle of Man, a naval battle took place between the fleets of Sweden (commander - Admiral Bjelkenscher) and Denmark. The clashes continued throughout the day and into the morning of the next day. After this, the parties separated. Since the Swedish fleet was unable to defeat the enemy, King Charles X abandoned the prospective invasion of the Danish islands.

On September 24, the fortress garrison of Frederiksodde surrendered. During low tide, General Wrangel's Swedish cavalry broke through along the shore into the rear of the fortress: after a short battle, the Danes laid down their arms.

The Council of War supported King Charles X in his intention to strike Copenhagen. But when the Swedes tried to cross to the island of Fionia, they came across enemy ships. However, with the onset of winter and frost, the straits between the islands became covered strong ice. On January 30, the 9,000-strong Swedish army moved across the ice through the islet of Brandsee to Wedelsborheft. There were some losses: a cavalry squadron and a royal carriage fell through the ice.

In the region of Fionia there were only 4 thousand troops of the Danish kingdom. After little resistance they laid down their arms. After this, the Swedes crossed the ice through the islet of Taasinge to Langeland, and then to Loland. The Danish garrison of the Naskov fortress also laid down their arms.

After this, the Swedes moved to Falster, then crossed to Zealand. Soon a 5,000-strong detachment led by King Charles X Gustav appeared in front of the walls of Copenhagen. The capital of Denmark was not ready for defense. The Danes lost the war with Sweden disastrously.

The peace in Roskilde was signed on the terms of King Charles X. Denmark gave him its possessions in southern Sweden - Boguslen, Holland and Bleking, the Drontheim district in Norway, the islands of Bornholm and Hvend in the Sound. She pledged to close the Sound and Belta straits to “enemy fleets of Sweden.” In May 1658, Swedish troops left Zealand, leaving part of their forces garrisoned in Jutland, Fionia and Schleswig.

But soon the Kingdom of Denmark refused to fulfill the conditions of the Roskilde Peace. Then the Swedish ships unexpectedly dropped anchor in the Copenhagen roadstead, and the nearly 10,000-strong army of Charles X Gustav approached the city from land. With great difficulty, the Danes prepared to defend their capital, the garrison of which consisted of 7.5 thousand people.

The Swedes could have successfully attacked Copenhagen in that situation. But the military council of their army decided to begin a “proper siege” of the capital of Denmark and send a 3,000-strong detachment to besiege the Kronborn fortress at the northern entrance to the Sound.

In an effort to prevent a new defeat of Denmark, the allied army led by the Elector of Brandenburg, the Imperial Field Marshal Montecuculi and Hetman Czarnecki (32 thousand people) invaded Holstein in September and occupied the entire Jutland Peninsula. There, only the Frederiksodde fortress remained in the hands of the Swedes.

Meanwhile, the Swedes took the Kronborn fortress and now both banks of the Sound Strait were in their hands. On October 29, a battle took place in the Sound Strait between the fleets of Sweden and Holland. As a result, the fleet of Charles X, which lost 5 ships (the Dutch - one), was blocked in Landskrona.

Charles X Gustav had to lift the siege of Copenhagen and retreat to the nearby fortified camp of Broadshay. When the Swedes again approached Copenhagen at the end of January 1659, its garrison already numbered 13 thousand people. Therefore, the assault on the city on the night of February 12 ended in complete failure and heavy losses in people.

Soon the waters of the Baltic resumed fighting. Now the Swedish fleet managed to block the enemy fleet in Flensburgfjord. This allowed King Charles X to capture the Danish island of Falster. The naval battle that took place in Femert Belt ended with the lifting of the blockade of the Flensburg Fjord.

A strong English fleet entered Danish waters, and it seemed that its collision with the Dutch fleet was inevitable. However, negotiations took place in The Hague at which these two fleets were declared neutral in the war between Sweden and Holland.

It seemed that the situation on the shores of the Baltic began to develop in favor of Charles X Gustav, when unexpectedly for him the Frederiksodde fortress capitulated, and the allied army began to concentrate near it for subsequent offensive actions on the Danish islands.

The Swedes' position in Fionia became dangerous, despite the fact that they defeated the Brandenburgers who were trying to carry out an amphibious operation. After this, a detachment of nine Swedish ships under the command of Major Cox defeated the Allied landing force at Ebeltoft, defeating the enemy convoy (1 ship exploded, 3 surrendered), setting fire to all landing ships and taking about a thousand prisoners. After this, Cox sank another 30 transport ships in Orgus and returned safely to Landskrona.

At the end of August, King Charles X Gustav refused all mediation of the great European powers in the war. The English fleet went home, which freed the hands of the Dutch fleet. The Allies carried out a large landing operation, which the Swedes could not prevent.

On November 24, under the walls of the city of Nyborg, a bloody battle took place between the 10,000-strong allied army and the 5,000-strong Swedish army, which was defeated. The next day, the royal general Horn laid down his arms and handed Thebonia over to the enemy.

Charles X Gustav was forced to begin peace negotiations with Denmark, behind which stood Holland with its strong fleet. But it was his son-heir Charles XI who had to finish them: in February 1660, the monarch-commander, who fell ill with a fever, died.

- February 13, Gothenburg) - king of Sweden from the Palatinate-Zweibrücken dynasty, who reigned from 1654 to 1660.

Biography

Charles X Gustav was the son of Johann Casimir of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and his wife Katharina, daughter of King Charles IX.

He grew up in Stegenborg Castle, where the future Queen Christina, who was his cousin, often visited. He received a good education, spoke German, French and Latin languages. He studied for some time at Uppsala University. In 1638 he undertook a study trip abroad, from which he returned in the fall of 1640.

In 1642, Carl Gustav arrived with the Swedish army in Germany, commanded by Lennart Torstensson, and immediately performed well in the Battle of Breitenfeld. A year later he was promoted to lieutenant.

However, by the end of 1643 he was already a colonel of the Courland cavalry regiment. In 1645 he took part in the battle of Yankov. On February 17, 1647, at the insistence of Queen Christina, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Swedish army in Germany.

In the spring of 1649, Carl Gustav was proclaimed heir to the throne. On June 6, 1654, Queen Christina abdicated the throne and on the same day Carl Gustav was crowned as the new king.

His first task was to improve public finance, undermined by the previous reign. In this regard, he carried out the so-called quarter reduction, according to which the nobility had to return to the treasury a quarter of all donations they received after the death of Gustav II Adolf.

In 1655, seeking to establish Swedish dominance in the Baltic, the king began a war with Poland. The war developed with varying success, and the situation became more complicated with the entry of Russia into it in the summer of 1656. In the first half of 1657, the Swedes were forced to clear Poland of their troops and concentrate in its northern part. In the summer they faced a coalition of powers - Poland, Austria, Brandenburg and Denmark.

In 1658, the king managed to conclude a truce with Russia. However, faced with numerous opponents, Carl Gustav decided to abandon plans for the division of Poland and attack Denmark through Schleswig-Holstein. Taking advantage of the fact that the Belts were frozen, the Swedish king crossed the straits on the ice and occupied the island. Fyn appeared in Zealand. The Danes asked for peace, which was signed early in 1658 at Roskilde. Sweden received Skåne, Blekinge, Halland, o. Bornholm and the Norwegian region of Trondheim.

However, the peace did not last long. Denmark was dissatisfied with the too harsh terms of the peace, and Carl Gustav felt that he had missed the opportunity to finally defeat his old rival. In the autumn of 1658, breaking the peace, he attacked Denmark and besieged Copenhagen. Residents of the Danish capital all stood up to defend the city, and on October 29, 1658, the Dutch fleet, which came to the aid of the Danes, defeated the Swedish one in Oresund. The Swedes had to lift the siege.

In 1659-60. The Swedes and Danes did not conduct active hostilities, but through Anglo-French intermediaries they clarified the terms of the peace agreement. According to the Peace of Copenhagen in 1660, Sweden was forced to return Bornholm and Trondheim to Denmark. According to the terms of the Treaty of Oliwa, concluded in the same year, the borders between Poland and Sweden remained the same, but the Polish branch of the Vasa dynasty renounced its claims to the Swedish crown and recognized Swedish rule over Livonia and Estland.

On January 11, 1660, while attending the funeral of Riksrod member Christer Bunde in Gothenburg, the king caught a cold. Doctors stated that he had pneumonia, but he continued to work. Meanwhile, his health was deteriorating. On February 10, he confessed and received absolution. On the night of February 12–13, 1660, Charles X Gustav died.

Family

From 1654 he was married to Hedwig Eleonore of Holstein-Gottorp. The marriage was concluded for political reasons. From this union only one child was born - the future king Charles XI.

Sources

• History of Sweden. - M. 1974.
• Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon. Stockholm, 1906.
• Isaacson C.-G. Karl X Gustavs krig. - Lund, 2004.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Charles XVI
• Carl XVI Gustaf

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- February 13, Gothenburg) - king of Sweden from the Palatinate-Zweibrücken dynasty, who reigned from 1654 to 1660.

Biography

Charles X Gustav was the son of Johann Casimir of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and his wife Katharina, daughter of King Charles IX.

He grew up in Stegenborg Castle, where the future Queen Christina, who was his cousin, often visited. He received a good education and spoke German, French and Latin. He studied for some time at Uppsala University. In 1638 he undertook a study trip abroad, from which he returned in the fall of 1640.

In 1642, Carl Gustav arrived with the Swedish army in Germany, commanded by Lennart Torstensson, and immediately performed well in the Battle of Breitenfeld. A year later he was promoted to lieutenant.

However, by the end of 1643 he was already a colonel of the Courland cavalry regiment. In 1645 he took part in the battle of Yankov. On February 17, 1647, at the insistence of Queen Christina, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Swedish army in Germany.

In the spring of 1649, Carl Gustav was proclaimed heir to the throne. On June 6, 1654, Queen Christina abdicated the throne and on the same day Carl Gustav was crowned as the new king.

His first task was to improve public finances, which had been undermined by the previous reign. In this regard, he carried out the so-called quarter reduction, according to which the nobility had to return to the treasury a quarter of all donations they received after the death of Gustav II Adolf.

In 1655, seeking to establish Swedish dominance in the Baltic, the king began a war with Poland. The war developed with varying success, and the situation became more complicated with the entry of Russia into it in the summer of 1656. In the first half of 1657, the Swedes were forced to clear Poland of their troops and concentrate in its northern part. In the summer they faced a coalition of powers - Poland, Austria, Brandenburg and Denmark.

In 1658, the king managed to conclude a truce with Russia. However, faced with numerous opponents, Carl Gustav decided to abandon plans for the division of Poland and attack Denmark through Schleswig-Holstein. Taking advantage of the fact that the Belts were frozen, the Swedish king crossed the straits on the ice and occupied the island. Fyn appeared in Zealand. The Danes asked for peace, which was signed early in 1658 at Roskilde. Sweden received Skåne, Blekinge, Halland, o. Bornholm and the Norwegian region of Trondheim.

However, the peace did not last long. Denmark was dissatisfied with the too harsh terms of the peace, and Carl Gustav felt that he had missed the opportunity to finally defeat his old rival. In the autumn of 1658, breaking the peace, he attacked Denmark and besieged Copenhagen. Residents of the Danish capital all stood up to defend the city, and on October 29, 1658, the Dutch fleet, which came to the aid of the Danes, defeated the Swedish one in Oresund. The Swedes had to lift the siege.

In 1659-60. The Swedes and Danes did not conduct active hostilities, but through Anglo-French intermediaries they clarified the terms of the peace agreement. According to the Peace of Copenhagen in 1660, Sweden was forced to return Bornholm and Trondheim to Denmark. According to the terms of the Treaty of Oliwa, concluded in the same year, the borders between Poland and Sweden remained the same, but the Polish branch of the Vasa dynasty renounced its claims to the Swedish crown and recognized Swedish rule over Livonia and Estland.

On January 11, 1660, while attending the funeral of Riksrod member Christer Bunde in Gothenburg, the king caught a cold. Doctors stated that he had pneumonia, but he continued to work. Meanwhile, his health was deteriorating. On February 10, he confessed and received absolution. On the night of February 12–13, 1660, Charles X Gustav died.

Family

From 1654 he was married to Hedwig Eleonore of Holstein-Gottorp. The marriage was concluded for political reasons. From this union only one child was born - the future king Charles XI.

Sources

• History of Sweden. - M. 1974.
• Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon. Stockholm, 1906.
• Isaacson C.-G. Karl X Gustavs krig. - Lund, 2004.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Charles X (King of Sweden)” is in other dictionaries:

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Not to be confused with Carl Philip, Duke of Södermanland. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland Prins Carl Philip av Sverige Hertig av Värmland ... Wikipedia

Charles X Gustav. Reproduction from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Charles X Gustav (8.XI.1622 - 13.II.1660) - king since 1654. From 1648 he was generalissimo of the Swedish army in Germany. He took the throne after the abdication of Christina (his cousin). In domestic policy relied on the petty nobility and wealthy peasantry. At the Riksdag of 1655 he passed a resolution on partial reduction. Aggressive foreign policy Charles X led to a war with Poland and Denmark, the result of which was a significant expansion of Swedish possessions (Skåne and others) and the strengthening of Swedish dominance in the Baltic (see Northern War of 1655-1660). At the end of the war he suffered setbacks (an unsuccessful attempt to take Copenhagen, an uprising in Skåne); died shortly before the conclusion of the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 7. KARAKEEV - KOSHAKER. 1965.

Charles X Gustav, King of Sweden
Karl X Gustaf
Years of life: November 8, 1622 - February 19, 1660
Reign: June 5, 1654 - February 19, 1660
Father: Johann Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Mother: Katarina Vasa
Wife: Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Son: Charles

Karl's tutor was the famous military leader Lennart Torstensson, a participant in the Second Battle of Breitenfeld and the Battle of Jankowitz. From 1646 to 1648 Charles often visited the Swedish court, as he was considered as one of the candidates for grooms for Queen Christina. But she, disgusted by the marriage, refused, and in order not to offend her cousin, in 1649 she declared Charles her heir, despite the objections of the Ricksrod. In 1648, Charles was appointed commander-in-chief of the Swedish troops in Germany. He passionately desired the laurels of a winner, but the Peace of Westphalia deprived him of this opportunity. However, attending the congress in Nuremberg as a representative of Sweden, Karl had the opportunity to study all the intricacies of diplomatic science. Upon returning to Sweden, he retired to the island of Öland, where he waited for Christina’s abdication, so as not to once again attract the attention of ill-wishers, of which he had plenty. After Christina's abdication on June 5, 1564, Carl Gustav became King of Sweden.

Having ascended the throne, Charles first tried to eliminate all internal contradictions and unite the nation to achieve new victories. On October 24, 1654, he married the daughter of Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp, thereby gaining an ally for the war against Denmark. However, at a meeting of the Riksdag in March 1565, it was decided that war with Poland was a higher priority. By the summer of 1565, Sweden had at its disposal 50 ships and about 50 thousand soldiers. During a short campaign, the Swedes captured Dunaburg in Livonia, and following the truce of July 25, Poznan and Kalisz were recognized as Swedish protectorates. Following this, the Swedes occupied Warsaw and occupied all of Greater Poland. King John II Casimir was forced to flee to Silesia. Soon after a two-month siege, Krakow was taken, but the 70-day siege of the fortified monastery in Częstochowa ended in failure: the Swedes were forced to retreat. This unprecedented success caused a surge of enthusiasm among the Poles, as a result of which the war acquired a national liberation and religious connotation. Charles's tactlessness, the greed of his generals, the barbarity of the mercenaries, and attempts to conduct some kind of negotiations on the division of Poland awakened the national spirit of the Poles. At the beginning of 1656, Jan Azimir returned to Poland, and the size of his reorganized army began to gradually grow. By this point, Charles realized that he could rather destroy all the Poles than conquer Poland. In addition, another opponent of Charles, the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich Wilhelm I, became more active. Charles had to make peace with him (Königsberg Agreement of January 17, 1656), but business required his presence in Poland. The partisans became more active there, and while pursuing them to the very south of the country, Karl lost 15 thousand people. The remnants of his army got stuck in the swampy forests near Yaroslav and were forced to turn back. Meanwhile, on June 21, the Poles retook Warsaw, and Charles was forced to turn to Friedrich Wilhelm for help. The combined Swedish-Brandenburg army reoccupied Warsaw, but Karl, who did not trust Frederick William, thought it best to begin negotiations with the Poles. However, they refused the proposed peace terms, and Charles was forced to once again conclude an offensive-defensive alliance with Brandenburg, recognizing the right to East Prussia for Frederick William and his heirs.

On June 1, 1657, Sweden began a war with Denmark. Thus, Karl tried to restore his tarnished reputation in the eyes of his own people. On the advice of Lennart Torstensson, he attacked Denmark from the least protected, southern side. With 8 thousand battle-hardened veterans, he made his way from Bydgoszcz to the borders of Holstein. The Danish army was scattered. Charles restored the Duchy of Bremen and by the fall occupied all of Jutland with the exception of the small fortress of Fredericia, which delayed the advance of the entire army and made it impossible for the Swedish fleet to attack the islands. Charles found himself in a rather difficult situation, but in October he managed to take the impregnable Fredericia and began to prepare to transport troops on transport ships to the island of Funen. Soon, however, he had a simpler way to solve the problem. In mid-December, such severe frosts struck that the straits between the islands were frozen. At the end of January, Swedish troops moved with great caution to Funen and drove the Danes out of there. Karl planned to cross the wide Great Belt Strait in the same way and reach Copenhagen, but engineer Erik Dahlberg decided that a roundabout route through the islands of Langeland, Lolland and Falster would be safer, since in this case narrower straits would have to be crossed on ice. After much hesitation, despite the objections of the generals, Karl agreed with Dahlberg's opinion. The transition, which began on February 5, was very difficult. The infantry had to move extremely carefully, constantly risking falling through the ice. Finally, on February 11, the Swedish army set foot on the shores of Zealand. In memory of this unique transition, Charles subsequently ordered the minting of a medal with the arrogant inscription “Natura hoc debuit uni”. Denmark was so shocked by Charles's maneuver that it was forced to make any concessions in order to conclude peace. According to the Tostrup and Roskilde agreements, she lost half of her territory, but this seemed not enough to Charles. He decided to completely erase the state of Denmark from the map and in the summer of 1658, with his veterans, he again landed on Zealand and besieged Copenhagen. However, the Dutch fleet under the command of Lieutenant Admiral Jacob van Wassenaar Obdam came to the aid of the Danes. Holland realized the importance of the Sound Strait for its trade and could not allow such a powerful power as Sweden to establish control over it. In the Battle of the Sound on October 29, 1658, the Swedish fleet was defeated, and in 1659 the Dutch army liberated the islands.

Charles was forced to resume negotiations with Denmark. To increase pressure on the enemy, he was going to undertake a winter campaign in Norway, but a new campaign required new money, while the population of Sweden was already fairly exhausted by the wars. At the beginning of 1660, a meeting of the Riksdag was to take place in Gothenburg, at which Charles planned, showing miracles of dexterity, to obtain new subsidies from the grumbling representatives of the lower classes. But Karl, whose health was undermined by continuous military campaigns, suddenly fell ill and died on February 13 in the prime of his life.

Material used from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Charles X Gustaf (Carl Gustav von Simmern) (11/8/1622 - 2/23/1660), King of Sweden (1654 - 1660), married from 10/24/1654 to Maria Eleonora (Hedwig) von Holstein-Gottorp (1636 - 1715). Charles took part in the Thirty Years' War, at the very end of which Queen Christina of Sweden even appointed Charles generalissimo, commander-in-chief of the Swedish troops in Germany. In 1648, at the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, Charles was one of the representatives of Sweden. In 1649, Christina obtained from the Riksdag recognition of Charles as heir to the throne (before that, he sought her hand, but to no avail: Christina avoided marriage all her life). When Christina announced her decision to abdicate, her successor was Charles, whose coronation took place simultaneously with Christina's abdication of royal powers in Uppsala on June 6, 1654. In 1655, he declared war on Poland under the pretext of her claims to the Swedish throne. This was a favorable moment for an attack: since 1654, Poland had been at war with Russia. Charles invaded Poland and took possession of most of it, forcing King John II Casimir to flee. A broad Polish resistance movement, led by Stefan Czarnecki, Stanislaw Potocki and others, drove Charles out of the country, but when it seemed that all was lost, Denmark’s declaration of war on Sweden allowed Charles to emerge from a militarily difficult situation with honor. In January and February 1658, the Swedish army, bravely crossing the Great and Little Belt straits across the ice, captured a significant part of Denmark and forced it to sign the Treaty of Roskilde on February 26, 1658, according to which it lost the region of Skåne and all other possessions in southern Sweden , parts of central Norway, as well as the island of Bornholm. The peace signed on May 27, 1660 in Copenhagen basically (except for the transfer of Bornholm and Trondheim County in Norway) confirmed the conditions of Roskilde. However, even before it was signed, Charles died in Gothenburg, leaving his four-year-old son Charles XI as heir. The founder of the Palatinate dynasty is Zweibrücken on the Swedish throne.

Charles X Gustav - King of Sweden in 1654-1660. Charles X Gustav began his reign by resolving the internal problems of the state. Already at the first meeting of the Swedish Diet in 1655, it was decided to carry out a “reduction” - that is, a legislative selection into the treasury of lands necessary for the maintenance of the royal court, army and mining production. A quarter of the land holdings of the nobles, whose estates, according to the law of the country, were a gift from the king, were also subject to “reduction”.

Such measures helped revive the economy. Numerous mines and metallurgical plants began to operate at full capacity. Domestic and foreign trade received a new impetus. The navy increased and the Baltic harbors became more vibrant. The Swedish nobility became much more interested in performing royal military service. Political passions at court subsided.

The new Polish king, Jan Casimir, was not going to give up his rights to the Swedish throne, since he also traced his ancestry to the Vasa dynasty. After his renewed claim to the throne, Charles X Gustav declared war on him.

The Swedish army, under the personal command of the monarch, invaded the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its king, Jan Casimir, clearly did not take into account the internal weakness of his own country, which had not yet experienced the shocks of the 1648 uprising in Ukraine under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, which spread to the Belarusian lands. The Pereyaslav Rada of 1654 led to the beginning of the Russian-Polish War. The Crimean Khan pursued a treacherous policy. Russian troops took the fortress of Smolensk, defeated the great hetman of Lithuania Jan Radziwill near Shepelevichi and by July 1655 captured Mogilev, Gomel, Minsk, and most of the Belarusian and Lithuanian territories.

The victories of Swedish weapons in Poland received a strong response in Europe. Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich concluded a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and declared war on Sweden. His troops entered Livonia and besieged the royal fortress of Riga. Holland sent a strong squadron to the Baltic Sea to defend Danzig. At the conference in Tyskowice, the Polish gentry decided to support King John Casimir and, in revolt, start a war against the Swedes.

This forced King Charles X Gustav to lift the siege of Danzig and move to Galicia. At the beginning of 1656, his army, having crossed the Vistula on ice, defeated the 10,000-strong army of the Polish magnate Czarnecki and stormed the fortified camp of another magnate Sapieha. After this, the Swedish monarch forced the Elector of Prussia, Frederick William of Brandenburg, into a military alliance with him.

Charles X Gustav, together with the Elector of Prussia, having a united army of 20 thousand, fought with the Poles near Warsaw on July 27-30 and forced them to retreat to Lublin with the loss of 50 guns.

Foreign political circumstances forced the king-commander to leave Poland. In Livonia and Ingermanland, the Swedes fought against Russian troops. In March 1657, the Holy Roman Empire declared war on Sweden and Austrian troops under Montecuculi marched into Poland.

Charles X Gustav was betrayed by Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg, to whom he transferred sovereignty over East Prussia as a sign of allied friendship. And to top off all the troubles for Stockholm, Denmark entered the war, although there was no money in the Danish treasury to fight it.

The Swedish king with his main forces moved towards Denmark through northern Germany. The Danes did not expect an enemy invasion from the south through the Jutland Peninsula.

The siege of Copenhagen prompted the enemies of the warlike Swedish king to take active action. A 32,000-strong allied army under the command of the Elector of Prussia, the Austrian Field Marshal Montecuculi and the Polish Hetman Czarnecki invaded Holstein and occupied the Jutland Peninsula, failing, however, to capture the Frederiksodde fortress.

Soon a Dutch fleet of 35 ships under the command of Admiral Wassenaar was anchored at the entrance to the Sound. The Swedish fleet under the command of Count Karl Wrangel was stronger than the Dutch (45 ships), but was inferior to the enemy in the training of ship crews. On October 29, a naval battle took place, and the Swedish fleet, after the loss of five ships, had to take refuge in Landskrona. The Dutch lost only one ship in the naval battle and therefore emerged victorious. Soon they blocked the enemy fleet in the port of Landskrona, and the siege of Copenhagen from the sea ended.

The coming winter brought severe frosts, and the coastal waters became covered with ice. The Swedish king again brought his troops to the walls of Copenhagen and on the night of February 12, 1659, stormed the Danish capital. However, he did not achieve success, since the defenders of the city knew about the impending attack and were able to prepare well for it.

Meanwhile, the great Prussian Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, who had assumed the main command of the Allied forces, prepared a strong landing expedition to the Danish islands for the spring. The Allies concentrated at Flensburg, where a significant number of transport ships were gathered. The monarch of Prussia only expected the approach of the now allied Dutch-Danish fleet to cover the landing expedition from the Swedes.

The Swedish fleet headed towards Flensburg with the goal of destroying enemy landing ships. But south of the island Langeland he met with the Dutch-Danish fleet, much stronger. The allied naval forces were commanded by the Danish Admiral Helt. The Swedes began to leave, but two of them last ship ran aground and were shot by the Dutch.

Upon learning of such a defeat, King Charles X Gustav ordered the entire Swedish navy to be concentrated off the coast of Pomerania and take active action. In early April, the royal squadron under the flag of Admiral Bjelkenstern blocked Dutch and Danish ships in the Flensburg Fjord. Now the sea was in complete control of the Swedes.

Charles X Gustav did not hesitate to take advantage of the victory of the royal fleet. Swedish troops captured the Danish islands of Loland and Falster.

Soon negotiations began in The Hague between three European powers - Great Britain, Holland and France. The English and Dutch fleets were declared neutral in the war, and the warring parties were asked to make peace. Meanwhile, the Great Elector of Prussia began to act. On May 17, the Frederiksodde fortress, which was defended by a Swedish garrison, fell. The Allies occupied the Danish island of Fene, but their attempt to land on the island of Fionia ended in complete failure, and they lost almost all their landing craft.

Since the position of the Swedes on the island of Fionia became dangerous, the king called his fleet from Landskrona with a landing party on board. The landing force was landed, and the royal fleet, after meeting with the Dutch, which did not dare to attack the Swedes in the presence of the British, returned safely to Landskrona.

The Prussian monarch, who commanded the allied forces, prepared a new landing expedition to the island of Fionia. The Swedes found out about this, and a detachment of ships under the command of Major Cox left Landskrona. A naval battle took place near the island of Zealand, in which the Swedish detachment burned all the enemy transport ships, one of the four ships in the convoy exploded, and the rest lowered their flags and surrendered. After this, Major Cox attacked the port of Orgus from the sea and sank another 30 landing ships of the allied forces there - Prussian, Austrian and Polish.

In August, King Charles X Gustav finally rejected the European Great Powers' mediation in the war, and the British fleet left Danish waters. This freed the hands of the Dutch. During a wide landing operation, allied troops landed at various points in Denmark. On September 24, a bloody battle took place near the city of Newborg, in which the 5,000-strong Swedish army was defeated. The Allies captured the island of Fionia.

The Swedish king had to start negotiations with his opponents - Denmark, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The peace treaty was signed in the city of Oliva without him. On February 13, King Charles X Gustav died of fever. His young son Charles XI was on the royal throne.

Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/

Wars of Charles X

Reduction became especially necessary during the wars of conquest of Charles X Gustav (1654-1660). Partly to preserve, partly in order to further expand Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea, Charles X waged wars with Poland, Denmark and Russia in the second half of the 50s. In 1655, Charles X, taking into account the weakening of Poland as a result of the secession of Ukraine and the outbreak of the Russian-Polish war, unexpectedly invaded Poland. Swedish troops captured Warsaw and Krakow. Charles X had already raised the question of dividing the Polish lands, hoping to snatch the lion's share. However, a broad popular movement against the invaders arose in Poland. At the same time, Sweden's successes caused a dramatic change in international relations. Russia stopped military operations against Poland and directed its forces against Sweden. Brandenburg left the union with Sweden. Austria and Denmark decided to support Poland. Sweden had to fight the war simultaneously in Poland, Livonia, and Denmark. Nevertheless, military operations developed generally favorably for Sweden. Charles X defeated the Danish king and forced him to sign the Peace of Roskilde in 1658, according to which Sweden received the southern Scandinavian provinces (Blekinge, Skåne, Halland). Denmark recognized this loss through the peace in Copenhagen in 1660, concluded after the death of Charles X by the regents under Charles XI (1660-1697). In the same 1660, Sweden, through the peace signed in Oliwa (near Gdansk), received recognition from Poland of its rights to Northern Livonia. In 1661, Sweden concluded peace with Russia in Kardis, preserving the previous borders between both states. Thus, Sweden, despite the unfavorable international situation for it, still won major victories. The ring of Swedish possessions surrounding the Baltic Sea became even wider. The influx of military booty improved finances and even made it possible to stop the reduction. However, already during this period, when Sweden had reached the zenith of military glory, clouds were gathering on its political horizon. The large hostile coalition that opposed it, consisting of Poland, Denmark, Austria, Brandenburg, to which Russia actually joined, despite all the contradictions among the allies, posed a serious danger.

In 1675-1679 Sweden, as an ally of France, found itself again drawn into the war with a coalition consisting of Brandenburg, Denmark and Holland. Although Sweden managed to preserve almost all of its gains this time, the military tensions of the 50s and 70s led state finances to a deplorable state. Already by the beginning of the 70s, the public debt had grown to a colossal amount at that time of 20 million dollars. The government was forced to reduce the army to a minimum and more persistently seek the consent of the nobles to reduce crown lands both in Sweden itself and in all its possessions.

Quoted from: World History. Volume V. M., 1958, p. 150.

Read further:

Charles XI(1655-1697), king of Sweden, son of Carl Gustav.

Vasa Dynasty(genealogical table).