Chapter 2:
Red Snow
After he had learned of his friend's death, General Armfelt stayed in his office for a day. It was the office of the previous, Danish governor of Norway. Sitting at his desk, head in his hands, Armfelt sobbed. While he was locked in solitude, he composed a letter to the governor of Riga requesting that Courland be attacked immediately. The small country was continuing to be a thorn in Sweden's side, but its garrisons were low after the defeat outside Riga. Soon after the governor recieved the letter he attacked, and the lone province of the country was siezed and the nation destroyed.
The King of Sweden, Karl XII, was three-hundred miles away in Stockholm. Although only twenty years old, he was already experiencing the stresses and toils of matters of state. A year previous, St. Petersburg had been siezed by a small Russian force. The occupation had only been for six months, and brave Swedish soldiers snatched the city back quickly, but the experience had been eye-opening for the young king. He knew after that that the Russians were a force not to be taken lightly, and that they could not be beaten while the Swedes were also fighting the Danes. He was desperate for peace, and going against his advisors' requests for patience, signed a peace deal with the Russian king.
Now knowing that he had a secure flank with Courland conquered and Russia at peace, the king turned his sights on Copenhagen. The king invited generals to volunteer to lead the attack. Though he desperately wanted to be the general at the head of the attack, Armfelt had to stay in Christiania due to raiding parties burning villages and workers' strikes. In the end, however, the king chose an unlikely prospect; Ejlert Suhr. Though many objected to such and important attack being left to an unexperienced general, the king held fast in his decision, pointing to Obert Nordby, the general who had barely any experience but siezed Karelia.
So, leading a respectful sized army, Suhr set out for the boundries of Swedish control. He stopped just off the shore of Copenhagen, waving away his lieutenants' advice to attack now. The general was hoping to lure the Danish to rashly attack, negating the slight advantage of the large mob of citizens in the city. His gamble paid off. His scouts reported troops filing out of the city, and soon the armies were face to face.
Battle Near Copenhagen: 1703
Suhr surveyed the landscape with a spyglass. The terrain was fairly flat, with trees towards the enemy positions. He organized the Swedish troops thusly:
The cannon were ordered in front, where they began a prolonged duel with the enemy's demi-cannons. Cannonshell exploded near the lines, and Suhr looked intently at the enemy positions. Knowing that he had the upperhand in infantry, getting in a shooting match would end in his victory, that is if his line stayed in formation. Eventually a cannonball shot went over the heads of the infantry and slammed into his bodyguard, killing many of his lieutenants.
After one of his cannons were hit, Suhr realized he had to engage the enemy in a firefight. He marched his troops forward and to the left, in the middle of the open plain. In response the enemy retreated slightly and made a line directly opposite the Swedes. The Danes then made a very tricky move that Suhr did not anticipate. Without Suhr's knowledge, some of the Danish militia snuck into the forest on the left flank of the Swedish troops and were almost able to send off a volley when they were intercepted by the Swedish militia cavalry.
Making a fateful decision, Suhr split his line in response to the envelopment of his troops. The right flank suffered withering gunfire and almost collapsed, while the left did much better, and destroyed the Danish pikemen using muskets and cavalry. With depleted numbers a battalion general led his men in a futile bayonet charge on the right flank, his men however did not last and they ran to safety in the forest. The left flank however overpowered the enemy troops there and promptly surrounded the remaining enemy. In a very close battle, where Suhr himself killed a few men, the Swedes won out, the enemy general however could not be captured as he turned tale and ran, all the while being taunted by the Swedish infantry.
This victory was talked about for many weeks after it was announced. Suhr recieved a not from the king thanking him for this service to the empire and good luck in the siege. Now Suhr had a decision to make. Should he assault Copenhagen quickly with his experienced but very depleted warband, or should he wait for the reinforcements that were coming?
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Well, another chapter down. Next chapter will be in the next day or two. Good god, I had to re-write this because I accidently hit back and deleted it. That was jaw-droppingly stupid of me.
This update was shorter, because #1. I don't have as much time on my hands and #2. I wanted to focus on The Battle Near Copenhagen. Next one will have an interesting turn of events.
Hope for feedback, thanks to those who are giving some! I regret not having more pictures of the battle, it was hard enough that half the time I forgot I had to take pics.