The Opposing Forces
After the Copenhageners had withstood about six months of siege, bombardments and attacks, the Swedes attempted to take the city by a grand assault, as a prolonged siege no longer offered any hope of success, now that the sea lanes had been opened by the Dutch.
The Copenhageners had been forewarned by spies, so they had planned their defences well and stockpiled weapons and ammunition.
The walls of Copenhagen bristled with about 300 pieces of cannon, mortars and other artillery, while a diverse mixture of weapons, ranging from muskets and arquebuses to morningstars, scythes, boiling water and tar had been readied for action. Craftsmen, students and other civilians were divided into nine companies, and each of these companies was allocated a part of the wall to defend. The professional soldiers were stationed at the outer field works, the Kastellet and the Slotsholmen.
The Swedish army consisted of about 9,000 professional soldiers, while the Danish defenders, a mixture of professionals (among them a mercenary regiment paid by the Dutch), militia and raw civilians, were of an equal number.
Read more about this topic: Assault On Copenhagen (1659)
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