Background
The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about 13,000 under the personal command of 31-year-old King Christian V of Denmark, aided by General Carl von Arensdorff. The victorious Swedish army, which numbered about 8,000, was commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt and the 21-year-old Swedish king Charles XI. It is one of the bloodiest battles in percent of casualties on both sides ever fought in Scandinavia.
Before daybreak the Swedish army broke camp and made preparations to cross the river. The Swedes had 2,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry at their disposal; their Danish opponents had more than 5,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, in addition to a few hundred Dutch sailors—in all, about 13,000 men. Under the cover of a moonless night, between 04:00 and 05:30, the entire Swedish force successfully crossed the river and reached the southern bank without alarming the Danes. The Swedes planned to attack the sleeping Danish camp with cavalry from the southeast. Reconnaissance patrols reported that the ground between the two armies was unsuitable for mounted troops, so King Charles XI and his generals gathered to discuss the new situation.
Most advisers pointed out that it would be foolish to attack by foot as the Danish army possessed much more infantry and the Swedish main strength lay in its cavalry. Additionally, the Swedes would likely lose the element of surprise during the long march towards the Danish camp. The king was eager to attack at once, but was swayed by his advisers. He ordered the troops to advance towards the hills just outside the north wall of Lund, to seize a tactical advantage. The hills would mean better terrain for the cavalry and the town itself would cover the Swedish southern flank. By then the Danes had woken, and soon recognised the Swedish intentions. The Danes quickly broke camp and started to race the Swedes for control of the hills. The first skirmish was between the Swedish right wing and the Danish left wing, and ended in a draw. However, the hills were secured under Swedish control, and the Danes were pushed to the east.
The main battle began at 09:00, at sunrise. The front now stretched one kilometer from north to south, with the Danes to the east and the Swedes to the west. The Danish army was supported by 56 cannon of various calibers, while the Swedes brought only eight six-pounders and four three-pounders. Once the fighting commenced, Charles XI personally led a flanking maneuver to overwhelm the Danish left flank. During the fighting, the Danish commander Carl von Arensdorff was badly wounded, and the entire left wing was forced to retreat at 10:00, severely crippling the Danish army. Von Arensdorff would later die from gangrene after amputation. Charles XI and Field Marshal Simon Grundel Helmfelt used their cavalry to pursue fleeing Danish troops and cut down any who lagged behind. The pursuit continued for eight kilometers, right up to the river. Some officers at the Danish camp attempted to ward off the Swedes, but many Danes were forced onto the ice. The ice did not hold, and a great number of the remaining Danish left wing drowned.
While the Danish left wing fled, the right wing pushed the Swedes back until the Swedish left wing scattered with its commander lieutenant general Johan Galle killed. With the absence of Danish King Christian V and with General Arensdorff wounded, Friedrich von Arensdorff, the general’s brother, had assumed command of the Danish army. The Danish front was now facing south and the Swedish forces found themselves under constant attack with their backs against the town wall. The situation for the Swedes was desperate, as there had been no sign of the king, the Household cavalry, or the Field Marshal for hours. The Swedes were also greatly outnumbered, with approximately 1,400 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, as the Danes approximately counted 4,500 infantry and 2,100 cavalry. However, instead of forcing the attack, Friedrich von Arensdorff ordered the army to regroup at noon, halting the battle.
At the river, the Swedish king was contemplating his next move. Available intelligence from the town was scarce, and suggested that the whole Danish army was on the run. Although he was tempted to rout the fleeing Danish cavalry all the way to Landskrona, he decided to return to his army instead.
The battle at Lund renewed, and the Swedes were forced back once more. At sunset (about 15:00) the Swedish king returned from the north with his cavalry, combined with some cavalry units from the scattered Swedish left wing. He decided to try to circle the Danish army to the west to join the remains of the Swedish center. Danish commander Arensdorff made the decision to halt the offensive on the Swedish center and instead tend to the enemy cavalry in the northwest.
Charles XI, two generals, and three guards broke through the Danish lines to join the diminished Swedish center. While Arensdorff was still attacking the cavalry in the north, the return of the Swedish king inspired the exhausted troops, who attacked the Danish forces in the back. Though the Danes still outnumbered the Swedes, by approximately 4,500 to 4,000, Arensdorff had lost the initiative and after half an hour his army disintegrated. Charles XI wanted to clear the field of Danish soldiers. The remaining Danish cavalry quickly disappeared into the night. Although Danish General Siegwert von Bibow protected the infantry retreat, many of the Danes were massacred until Field Marshal Helmfelt ordered the killing to stop and the surrendering Danish soldiers were spared. At 17:00 a ceasefire was sounded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lund
The Game
Our buddy DF set up the game and provided all the terrain and troops, with the exception of some trees provided by TJ. We decided to use Valor and Fortitude rules, using the ECW variant. The troop sheets were updated to reflect the armies in play (Danes and Swedes). The units were set up in their historical positions. The board had two parallel wall sections that represented walled roads. These were treated as heavy terrain, which proved to be a mistake, as it resulted in a much slower and static game early, as the troops defending the walls were unassailable!
We got started with the Swedes advancing on the left in the open terrain with their cavalry. The Swedish center and right consolidated on the right flank, to protect one of the two objectives. The Danes decided to just hold the wall with their army, as they shifted to the left.
The Swedish cavalry attack on the left went quite badly, as the Danes managed to rough them up. Fortunately for the Swedes, the Danish cavalry did not follow up their initial victory, giving the Swedes time to reorganize and get back into the fight.
Both sides ground it out until they were both spent, with the far objective (Danish camp), saying under Danish control.
On the right, the Swedes held back, while the Danes continued to hold the wall. Once the Danish center reinforced the flank, the Danes moved forward across the wall to take the objective to their front. The Swedes were now heavily outnumbered, but waited for this chance to fight the Danes in the open, so launched into the attack to catch the Danes, before they could outnumber them. The fights turned bloody, but the numbers against the Swedes were just too great and their qualitative advantage did not work out. However, the attack did delay the Danes enough for the Swedes to hold the hill until the end of the game.
We totaled up the points and the game turned out to be a very pyrrhic victory, with the Swedes taking larger losses. However, they did better on their fortitude and managed to gain the win and have a somewhat historical victory!
Manteuffel