Pomerania During The Early Modern Age - Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The first years of the Great Northern War did not affect Pomerania. In 1713, Holstein and Prussian diplomats held talks about Swedish Pomerania, aiming at Prussian occupation of the southern parts and in turn guaranteeing neutrality of this territory. An according treaty was signed on June 22, 1713, by Holstein, Prussia and the Swedish Empire. Only Stettin commander Meyerfeldt refused to hand over the towns without receiving direct order of Swedish king Charles XII. Stettin was subsequently besieged by Russian and Saxon forces led by prince Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, and surrendered on September 29. According to the Treaty of Schwedt on October 6, Menshikov was paid his war costs by Prussia, and Stettin was occupied by Holstein and Brandenburg troops.

On June 12, 1714, king Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg-Prussia concluded a treaty with the Russian Empire confirming her gains in Swedish Ingermanland, Karelia and Estonia, and in turn received Russian confirmation of his gains in southern Swedish Pomerania.

On November 22, 1714, King Charles XII of Sweden returned from Turkey to lead the Swedish defense in Pomerania in person. In turn, Holstein's forces in Stettin were arrested as a Swedish ally by Prussia. On February 1715, Charles seized Wolgast in an advance to reestablish Swedish control in Western Pomerania.

On May 1, 1715, Prussia officially declared war on Sweden. In the same month, Hanover and Denmark joined the Russian-Prussian treaty of 1714. The allied forces subsequently occupied all of Pomerania except for Stralsund. In the Battle of Stralsund Charles XII of Sweden led the defense until December 22, 1715, when he evacuated to Lund.

After the Battle of Stralsund, Danish forces seized Rügen and Western Pomerania north of the Peene River (the former Danish Principality of Rugia that later would become known as New Western Pomerania or Neuvorpommern), while the Western Pomeranian areas south of the river (later termed Old Western Pomerania or Altvorpommern) were taken by Prussia, who had managed to get France to confirm her gains. Charles, who was not willing to cede any part of Swedish Pomerania, was shot on December 11, 1718. His successor, Ulrike Eleonora of Sweden, entered negotiations in 1719. By the Treaty of Frederiksborg, June 3, 1720, Denmark was obliged to hand back control over the occupied territory to Sweden, but in the Treaty of Stockholm, on January 21 in the same year, Prussia had been allowed to retain its conquest, including Stettin. By this, Sweden ceded the parts east of the Oder River that had been won in 1648 as well as Western Pomerania south of the Peene and the islands of Wolin and Usedom to Brandenburg-Prussia in turn for a 2 million Taler payment.