Siege of Stettin (1659)
| Siege of Stettin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Northern War of 1655–1660 | |||||||||
Copper engraving depicting the siege from a bird’s eye view, by Erik Dahlbergh, 1696 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Swedish Empire |
Austria Brandenburg | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Paul Würtz Carl Gustaf Wrangel Gustav Adolf Horn von Schwerin |
Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches Friedrich zu Dohna | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
c. 2,600 men 36 guns 4 mortars |
6,500–7,000 men 13 batteries of heavy siege guns Numerous field guns | ||||||||
The siege of Stettin occurred from 19 September to 5 November 1659 during the Second Northern War of 1655–1660 in the Swedish city of Stettin (modern-day Szczecin, Poland) and resulted in a Swedish victory.
In mid-September 1659, an Austrian/Imperial army of 5,000 men under General Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches crossed the Reglitz and Oder rivers to besiege the city of Stettin. This Allied offensive into Swedish Pomerania was supported by 1,500–2,000 Brandenburgian reinforcements under Friedrich zu Dohna, possibly in addition to a Polish-Lithuanian force.
Having made an unsuccessful request for surrender, the Allied forces besieged the city. On 7 October, they captured a redoubt on the nearby Oberwiek Mountain, and by the middle of that month, they had dug their trenches right up to the Passauer bastion and the curtain that led to the Holy Spirit bastion. On 20 October, after the Allies had been reinforced with heavy siege guns, they began a new concentrated bombardment of the city after a second failed request for surrender. The city's burghers soon became discouraged, requesting reinforcements from the Swedish Lord High Admiral Carl Gustaf Wrangel in Stralsund, which were granted. On 1 November, the Swedes sortied with a force of around 900 men, catching the Austrians by surprise, killing and capturing hundreds and destroying a large number of the Allies' guns. On 3 November, Swedish forces made successful attacks on depots storing the besieger's goods and equipment.
On 5 November, Wrangel departed from the city, promising continued reinforcements. Later that same day, in the evening, the Allies raised their siege of Stettin, probably as a result of a combination of heavy losses and low morale due to Swedish reinforcements and Wrangel's presence in Stettin. The Austrians and Brandenburgians withdrew to Greifenhagen and Löcknitz, respectively, and later withdrew from Pomerania entirely, thus securing Sweden's dominion well into the 18th century.