Everything about Battle Of St Ngebro totally explained
The
Battle of Stångebro or
Battle of Linköping took place at
Linköping,
Sweden on
September 25,
1598, and effectively ended the
personal union between Sweden and the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had only existed since
1592. In the battle, an army of 12,000 commanded by
Duke Charles defeated an mixed force of 8,000 consisting of an invading army of
mercenaries in the kings employ and diverse but poorly co-ordinated supporting Swedish noblemen's forces commanded by King of both
Sweden and the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund III Vasa, who was acting to maintain and restore his
personal union against anti-Catholic forces in Lutheran Sweden.
The battle was the beginning of the seven decades long
Polish-Swedish Wars, which eventually destroyed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, at the time, arguably the largest
nation state in Europe. Like the
Thirty Years' war which also involved Sweden, under the surface, the dynastic struggles were rooted firmly in religious strife between
Protestants and
Roman Catholics.
Sigismund was captured during the battle, but as the Polish-Lithuanian crowned head of state, allowed to return to the commonwealth. He'd engendered the civil war by violating his pledge to not interfere in religious matters in Sweden, nor to further the Catholic
cause in Sweden.
Background
Main articles: Foundation of Modern Sweden, Polish-Swedish union and Sigismund III Vasa
When King
John III of Sweden died in
1592, his son Sigismund inherited the throne, despite his
Catholic upbringing and despite already being King of Poland-Lithuania. However, he was refused coronation unless he agreed to the conditions of a clerical convention in
Uppsala, making Sweden decisively
Protestant. The debate was resolved in
1594, and freedom of religion was proclaimed, although only Protestants could hold high offices. The
Swedish nobility also sought greater freedom and privileges. They were not granted these, but in the absence of the king, who spent most of his time in
Poland, Sweden was to be ruled jointly by the
Privy Council and Sigismund's uncle, Duke Charles. At the
Riksdag in
Söderköping, summoned against the will of the king, Duke Charles was elected
regent in the king's absence. This was protested by Sigismund and those nobles loyal to him (mostly found in
Finland after the king's governor,
Klaus Fleming, had put down a
peasant uprising there).
Duke Charles sought to end the conflict by military means, but gained little support within the Privy Council. The new Riksens ständer he summoned at
Arboga in
1597 – again despite the king's orders – saw few participants, and only one from the Privy Council. Even so, he didn't receive support for military action, but initiated it nonetheless. Parts of southern Sweden were taken. Several of the Privy Council members fled to Poland to convince Sigismund to take counteraction.
During the summer of
1598, Sigismund's fleet took back
Kalmar and continued northward. The force won a battle against the troops of Duke Charles at
Stegeborg(External Link
) but soon found itself encircled and retired to Linköping. The support Sigismund had counted on from the Swedish people did materialize to some extent, splitting the Swedish armed forces in two hostile fractions.
The battle
Stångebro is an area around two old bridges over the river
Stångån,
Stora Stångebro and
Lilla Stångebro. Today it's a central part of Linköping, but in the 16th century the city didn't extend east of the river. When the forces of Duke Charles approached from the east on the morning of
September 25, Sigismund's army charged out of the city and met them at these bridges. A thick
fog was instrumental at hiding the troop movements from their respective enemies. Both armies included small sections of
cavalry.
The duke was the first to attack. He won a quick victory at Stora Stångebro and moved over his troops to Lilla Stångebro, where Sigismund's forces had reached the eastern shore and defended a good position. The duke's forces retired up a hill, where severe fighting followed. Sigismund's cavalry didn't engage in this fight, which led to a certain victory for Duke Charles.
At this point, Sigismund asked for a
truce, which was accepted. Duke Charles had suffered minor losses, while 2,000 of the king's men died, many of them drowned in the river.
Aftermath
In negotiations after the battle, Charles demanded that Sigismund send home his troops and surrender the Privy Council members loyal to him, and that the king himself stay to attend the Riksens ständer. Sigismund chose to leave the country instead, sailing back to Poland, but surrendering the Privy Council members in question.
Soon, only Kalmar was held by the king's people. When it fell on
May 12,
1599, Duke Charles had control over the entire country. When he asked the Riksens ständer at Linköping in
1600 for support as regent, it answered by proclaiming him king. He didn't begin to use the title himself however, under the name
Charles IX, until
1603. This Riksens ständer also appointed a court to judge those aristocrats who had fought with Sigismund in the battle. Eight were sentenced to death; five of the executions were carried out. This event, at the main square of Linköping on
March 20,
1600, is known as the
Linköping Bloodbath.
With Sigismund's loss of the Swedish crown, the
Swedish-Polish personal union was dissolved. A deep conflict between Sweden and Poland emerged; the nations would clash many times during the
Polish-Swedish War, not to be resolved until the
Great Northern War. Also, most remaining Catholic elements of Swedish society were wiped out, and Sweden became one of the foremost advocates of Protestantism, not least important during the
Thirty Years' War.
A nine-metre monument was erected in
1898 at the battleground, immediately east of the river and close to the Stångebro sports field.
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