PETER WESSEL TORDENSKJOLD A contemporary portrait of Peter Wessel Tordenskjold by DutchDanish painter Jacob Coning (1647-1724) who was a popular portraitist at the Danish court Opposite page: The Royal Arms of Denmark-Norway above an 1897 photograph of Tordenskjold’s pistol “HE WOULD EXPERIENCE RAPID PROMOTIONS THANKS TO HIS RECKLESS COURAGE AND MILITARY SKILL” NORWAY’S THUNDER SHIELD A national hero in two countries, Peter Wessel Tordenskjold was a swashbuckling, Scandinavian seadog who was the scourge of Sweden in the Baltic Sea WORDS TOM GARNER D Ambition in a dual kingdom The future ‘Tordenskjold’ was born as Peter Jansen Wessel in 1690 to a wealthy merchant family in Trondheim, Norway. He was the 14th of 18 children and as a youth he was reputedly uncontrollable and involved in many fights. Eventually, the teenage Wessel ran away to sea with hopes of becoming an officer in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. Denmark and Norway had been united since 1523 with Denmark being the dominant country. Consisting of the two countries as 58 well as Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the German duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, Denmark-Norway was a formidable Scandinavian power. Much like the union between England and Scotland, DenmarkNorway was a legal state of ‘Twin Realms’ with a single Danish monarch and a concentration of institutions in the larger capital, which was Copenhagen. There were also some differences with both kingdoms having separate legal codes, currencies and governmental bodies. Norway was the junior partner and although later Norwegian historians disparaged the connection with Denmark as the ‘400-year night’, it was largely not perceived like that at the time. Norway actually prospered with a thriving economy and was one of the wealthiest countries in the world throughout the union. This filtered through the military system and it was common for Norwegian men to take up service in the Danish armed forces as it was seen as a lucrative career opportunity, particularly in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. Wessel was one of those ambitious Norwegians who wished to earn his fortune as a naval officer but he was initially rejected as a cadet. He instead spent three years serving on merchant ships that sailed to Guinea and the Caribbean. In 1710, he was finally accepted as a cadet and although he was only 20 years old he was already a highly experienced sailor. Over the next ten years he would experience rapid promotions thanks to his reckless courage and military skill. In the spring of 1711, Wessel became a second lieutenant and served as second-incommand of the frigate Postillion from July of the same year. He soon became the protégé of the Norwegian admiral Waldemar Løvendal who promoted him to captain-lieutenant of a fourgun sloop called Ormen. The Great Northern War At this time Denmark-Norway was involved in the Great Northern War (1700-21), a huge conflict that was primarily fought between Russia and the Dano-Norwegians’ great rival – Sweden. Under the rule of the formidable soldier-king Charles XII, Sweden was a great power and had a large European empire that was the envy of the regional Baltic countries. Russia, Saxony-Poland-Lithuania and DenmarkNorway formed an alliance to challenge the supremacy of the Swedes but Charles XII won a series of impressive military victories in the early stages of the conflict. Denmark-Norway had been one of the first victims of Charles XII’s success when he attacked the Danish mainland in 1700. Copenhagen was bombarded and DenmarkNorway was initially forced out of the war by the terms of the Peace of Travendal. However, Source: Wiki / Oslo Museum uring the romantic Age of Sail in the early 18th century, Peter Wessel Tordenskjold became the embodiment of naval heroism and derring-do. A daredevil combination of dashing warrior and gentleman adventurer, his exploits against Sweden turned him into the Scandinavian equivalent of Admiral Lord Nelson. His brief life story was a meteoric blaze of fire during the Great Northern War that consumed the regions around the Baltic Sea for over 20 years. However, like a curiously high number of young people who achieve rapid achievements, Tordenskjold became a self-destructive victim of his own success. An obscure figure in international history, he is nevertheless a national hero in both Norway and Denmark. 59 NORWAY’S THUNDER SHIELD Wessel’s crew toast the health of their duelling partners after the clash of the Løvendals Gallej and De Olbing Galley, 27 July 1714 60 “WESSEL WAS COURTMARTIALLED FOR THIS GENTLEMANLY FIGHT ON THE ORDERS OF FREDERICK IV BUT HE WAS ACQUITTED AND THEN PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN” a reprimand from King Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway but the confident seaman was not to be deterred. A gentlemanly duel The prime example of Wessel’s romantic, buccaneering spirit occurred during 26-27 July 1714, when Løvendals Gallej fought a Swedish frigate called De Olbing Galley. This ship was disguised by an English flag and commanded by a mysterious Englishman with a Germanic name called Bactmann. Wessel himself was flying under a Dutch flag and when the two ships realised their true colours they opened fire and fought for over 14 hours. Wessel met a considerable match in Bactmann, although the Swedish ship attempted to escape after prolonged fighting. This only encouraged Wessel to raise more sails and pursue the frigate. Eventually, after taking much damage, Wessel ran out of ammunition and messaged his situation to Bactmann. He thanked him for a fine duel and boldly requested the Englishman for more ammunition so that the fight could continue. Bactmann declined this THE COMMON FLEET outlandish request but the two ships came together. Both crews cheered and drank to each other’s health before the captains agreed to sail away in opposite directions. Wessel was court-martialled for this gentlemanly fight on the orders of Frederick IV but he was acquitted and then promoted to captain. Throughout 1715, Wessel remained the scourge of the Swedes, particularly off the coast of Swedish Pomerania (now the GermanPolish Baltic coast). During a battle off Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) he captured the Swedish RearAdmiral Hans Wachtmeister and a frigate called Vita Örn (White Eagle). This was granted as Wessel’s flagship and it was renamed Hvide Ørn. On 8 August 1715, he distinguished himself again at the Battle of Rügen under the command of Peter Raben. Twenty-five DanoNorwegian ships fought 22 Swedish vessels in a clash that was tactically indecisive but a strategic success for Raben’s fleet. Wessel was personally able to chase away enemy ships in Hvide Ørn by sheer courage and skill. He was now a valued asset for the high command and was knighted by Frederick IV on 24 February 1716. The king permitted him to adopt the name of ‘Tordenskjold’, which literally translates as ‘Thunder Shield’. The former Peter Wessel was only 25 years old. The Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy had Medieval origins and achieved spectacular victories as well as notable defeats With large coastlines, Denmark-Norway long had an intimate relationship with the sea. Vikings from both countries were renowned sailors but it wasn’t until the 14th century that records of a unified navy in Western Scandinavia began to appear. Queen Margaret I of Denmark (r. 1387-1412) ordered the building of a navy to be maintained for the Danish monarchy. However, a full naval force was not officially enshrined in law until 1510, under King Hans I. This still predated the establishment of the Royal Navy of England, which occurred in 1542. By this time, Denmark was unified with Norway and so the navy was known as the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy or the ‘Common Fleet’. In the beginning, the navy’s role was to counter the power of the Hanseatic League and secure control of the Baltic Sea with Sweden becoming its main rival. The fleet was considered to be the Danish monarch’s personal property and the ‘King’s Waters’ were extensive. The navy’s reach included seas off Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands as well Arctic waters off the North Cape and Spitsbergen. Before the Great Northern War, the fleet had success during the Scanian War (1675-79) where it won a decisive battle against the Swedes in 1677 at Køge Bay. In Tordenskjold’s day, there were 19,000 enrolled personnel – the majority of whom were Norwegian. In the later 18th century there were victories against the Barbary States in the Mediterranean Sea that stopped attacks against Scandinavian merchant shipping. However, the Dano-Norwegians twice suffered defeat at the hands of the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Two battles were lost at Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807. The first was one of Lord Nelson’s famous victories while the second forced the surrender of the entire fleet. Denmark and Norway separated only seven years later in 1814 with the Common Fleet being split into what is now the Royal Danish and Royal Norwegian navies. Dynekilen While Tordenskjold was wreaking his unique brand of naval havoc, the war continued to go badly for Sweden. The Battle of Poltava had begun a downward trend in Charles XII’s fortunes that, with a few exceptions, proved to be irreversible. Russia’s military confidence was increasing and while Tordenskjold was Tordenskjold painted at the pinnacle of his career as a vice-admiral The Battle of Køge Bay is regarded as the greatest victory in Danish naval history because it gave Denmark-Norway control of the Baltic Sea Above: The 1807 bombardment of Copenhagen resulted in 3,000 Dano-Norwegian casualties compared to just 42 British sailors killed Images: Wiki / PD Art when Charles was decisively defeated by Tsar Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Denmark-Norway re-entered the war in a new anti-Swedish alliance. There were significant land campaigns in this phase of the war but naval confrontations between the Dano-Norwegians and the Swedes were also commonplace. Wessel eagerly participated in these engagements and started out by cruising along the Swedish coast in the Ormen on reconnaissance missions. Promoted to the command of an 18-gun frigate called Løvendals Galej in June 1712, he quickly gained a reputation for randomly attacking Swedish ships regardless of the odds and always evading capture. These actions prompted the Swedes to put a price on his head, which only served to enhance his reputation. Far from pleasing the Dano-Norwegian admiralty, Wessel had actually only been given his command of Løvendals Galej by his mentor, Admiral Løvendal. This was against senior advice because other naval officers perceived that Wessel was an impulsive young man. He never considered the consequences of his actions and his arrogance often earned the wrath of his superiors. For example, on 12 August 1713, Wessel wrote a mocking letter to the Swedish governor of Gothenburg. He accused them of letting their privateers attack merchant ships instead of fighting real warships and cheekily urged the governor to send a ship for him. This was because there was a reward on his head and he wanted to be collected for imprisonment in style. The governor did not share Wessel’s sense of humour and complained to a senior general in Norway. He consequently received PETER WESSEL TORDENSKJOLD 61 NORWAY’S THUNDER SHIELD PETER WESSEL TORDENSKJOLD Tordenskjold cheekily enquired why the Swedish commandant of Marstrand had not surrendered in 1719 with the words, “What is taking you so long?” Tordenskjold’s valet Christian Kold prays over his corpse after his death in a duel Images: Wiki / PD Art On 1 December 1717, Tordenskjold’s fourgun vessel was pursued by a much larger Swedish ship. Tordenskjold shot the Swedish captain after he was asked to surrender and managed to escape in the ensuing confusion 62 battery and 14 additional merchant vessels. The Swedish ships were arranged defensively and the battery of six 12-pounder guns was placed on an island in the fjord. Soldiers were also placed on both sides of Dynekilen harbour to provide crossfire. Tordenskjold was undeterred by these defences and on 8 July 1716 he sailed his ships into the fjord in a surprise attack that began at 4.00am. The Dano-Norwegian ships were quickly anchored and opened fire on the Swedes. The ensuing battle lasted all morning and into the afternoon of 8 July. At 1.00pm, Tordenskjold’s men captured the battery and the largest Swedish / Hesekiel Image: Wiki fighting ship-to-ship duels, the Imperial Russian Navy won its first decisive victory against the Swedes at Gangut. During this time, Charles XII had been in enforced exile in the Ottoman Empire. By the time he returned to Sweden he found himself fighting a reduced, defensive war for the first time. His primary foe was now Denmark-Norway and he decided to split the union by invading Norwegian territory. By attacking Norway, Charles aimed to cut Denmark’s supply lines and force the Danes to withdraw from Sweden’s southernmost province of Scania. The invasion began in 1716 with the Norwegian capital Christiania (Oslo) being occupied. By May 1716, Charles was besieging the fortress of Fredriksten in the city of Halden, with Swedish troops being transported to Norway by sea. Tordenskjold was ordered to sail from Copenhagen to stop the Swedish shipping and on 7 July 1716 he learned that a Swedish troop escort fleet had anchored at Dynekilen. This was a narrow fjord north of Strönstad in the Västra Götaland region of western Sweden near the Norwegian border. Tordenskjold commanded a small fleet of seven warships containing 931 men. These were outnumbered by the Swedes who had 13 warships and 1,284 men as well as a land ship, Stenbock, surrendered. The DanoNorwegians had effectively won the battle but the Swedes were determined to scuttle their fleet. By the late afternoon the majority of the Swedish fleet was sinking, burning or being deliberately run aground. Tordenskjold, who was never one to miss lucrative prizes, became determined to capture as many Swedish vessels as possible. The stricken enemy ships were ordered to be made seaworthy and the Dano-Norwegians made great efforts put out the fires on board the Swedish ships and free the ones that had run aground. This was done despite the dangers of the various infernos and musket volleys from the Swedish soldiers on the shore. By 9.00pm, Tordenskjold left Dynekilen with over two dozen captured ships and his own fleet intact. Tordenskjold’s sarcophagus in Holmen Church, Copenhagen This impressive victory forced Charles XII to end his invasion of Norway and he returned to Sweden. Tordenskjold was promoted to postcaptain and given the command of the Kattegat Squadron while his subordinates were each awarded a gold medal. A sudden demise After Dynekilen, Tordenskjold’s career continued to flourish. On 19 December 1718, he heard rumours that Charles XII had been killed at the resumed Siege of Fredriksten. When the rumour was confirmed he immediately travelled to Copenhagen where he conveyed the news to Frederick IV. The king was so pleased that he promoted Tordenskjold (who was still only in his late 20s) to rearadmiral on the spot. In 1719, Rear-Admiral Tordenskjold directed a devastating attack against the Swedish Gothenburg fleet that lay at Marstrand. The coastal city had a stone fortress called Carlsten, which Tordenskjold tricked the Swedes into surrendering. He claimed there was a huge Dano-Norwegian force in Marstrand but this was an elaborate bluff. The admiral actually passed the same troops in and out of the town square to make it look as though there were more soldiers than there actually were. Some “THE VETERAN SWASHBUCKLER REFUSED TO BACK OUT OF THE FIGHT AND WAS STABBED THROUGH THE CHEST BY VON HOLSTEIN” historians have claimed this incident is a myth but Tordenskjold was again promoted to viceadmiral shortly afterwards. Denmark-Norway eventually concluded peace with Sweden on favourable terms in July 1720 at the Treaty of Frederiksborg but Tordenskjold’s fighting spirit struggled to adapt in the absence of war. He travelled to Germany and became embroiled in a gambling scandal within months. While he was staying in Hanover, he heard that several men had cheated one of his friends during a card game at a party. During the telling of this rumour, one of the accused men – Colonel Axel Jacob Staël von Holstein – introduced himself. He denied any wrongdoing and demanded an apology. The hot-headed Tordenskjold defended his friend and a brawl broke out that ended with von Holstein challenging the admiral to a duel. On 12 November 1720, Tordenskjold and von Holstein faced each other at Gleidingen in Lower Saxony. It was an uneven match because von Holstein was armed with a military rapier while Tordenskjold only had his ceremonial dress sword. Despite this, the veteran swashbuckler refused to back out of the fight and was stabbed through the chest by von Holstein. Tordenskjold died in the arms of his servant aged only 30 and his corpse was brought to Copenhagen. He was buried without ceremony in the Holmen Church because duelling was illegal under Danish law. Despite his unnecessary death and ignominious burial, Tordenskjold has since become a national hero in both Denmark and Norway. After Charles XII, he is regarded as the most heroic Scandinavian figure of the Great Northern War. The Danish and Norwegian navies have named several ships after him along with street names and five statues. He is mentioned by name in the Norwegian national anthem and the Danish royal anthem and has also been the subject of two films and a musical. For a man who embodied an exclusively Nordic brand of swashbuckling heroism, this adulation seems to be well founded. 63