Battle of Axtorna

The Battle of Axtorna or simply Axtorna, was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and Denmark-Norway 20 October 1565 at Axtorna, a small village in what is today Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County in south-western Sweden.

Battle of Axtorna
Part of Northern Seven Years' War
Old danish propaganda image of the battle
Date 20 October 1565 Location Axtorna, close to Falkenberg, Sweden 57.040°N 12.643°E / 57.040; 12.643 Result Danish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Denmark–Norway
Commanders and leaders
Jakob Henriksson	Daniel Rantzau
Strength
11,100[lower-alpha 1]–20,000[1] men	7,400[lower-alpha 2]–9,000[1] men 21 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
1,200–1,700	300–2,500
4,000 men from both sides[2]

The fields where the battle took place. The photo is approximately taken from the Danish position facing north towards the Swedish position.

Battle

The Danish commander Daniel Rantzau had been forced to yield the fortress Varberghus to the Swedes on 15 September 1565,^[3] after they had taken Ny Varberg, then Halland's largest city. Rantzau received the news that a Swedish army of superior strength led by Jacob Henriksson Hästesko was approaching from the east, forcing him to move his forces toward Falkenberg. Rantzau had decided to commit to combat since the Swedish force had just arrived from its march and hadn't rearranged into a militarily cohesive unit.

Aftermath

The Danes won as a consequence of their superior cavalry tactic^[4] and Rantzau became a renowned general after the battle and throughout the war.^[3] Despite the victory and the capture of the Swedish artillery, the Danish had suffered great losses and stayed near the battlefield for a week, while large portions of the Swedish army were intact.

Notes

1. 8,100 infantry and 3,000 cavalry
2. 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry

References

1. Vaupell, Otto (1891). Den nordiske Syvaarskrig 1563-1570 (in Danish). Reitzel. p. 93.
2. "Axtorna 1565". web.archive.org. 19 July 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
3. Vaupell, Otto (1891). Den nordiske Syvaarskrig 1563-1570 (in Danish). Reitzel. pp. 47–48.
4. Svenska Slagfält: "Axtorna 1565: En fråga om kavalleritaktik" (2003) pp. 69-76

External links

• The Axtorna project
• arkeologiuv.se