Prelude
Early in April 1676 a Danish fleet of 13 vessels set sail and was reinforced by an increasing number of ships, including the Swedish Caritas that was captured on April 22. Danish forces landed on Gotland and quickly seized the important port of Klintehamn and the fortification of Visborg in Visby.
The Swedish fleet was ordered out on May 4, but was held back by adverse wind conditions and was delayed until May 19. Juel had by then already left Visby and sailed for Bornholm to combine with a smaller Danish-Dutch force. The Swedish fleet consisted of 17 large and 15 medium ships, 8 armed merchants, 11 minor vessels and 8 fireships divided into four squadrons: the first squadron was under the Admiral of the Realm Lorentz Creutz on Kronan with the other squadrons divided among his three admirals Claes Uggla on Svärdet, Johan Bär on Nyckeln and Johan Bergenstjerna on Victoria. Bergenstjerna, however, died after a brief illness on May 20 and the ships of his squadron were divided among the other commanders. According to official records, the fleet had close to 2,200 guns and about 11,400 men, 8,300 sailors and 3,100 soldiers.
Juel had moved his fleet between Scania and the island of Rügen to prevent the Swedish navy from landing troops on the North German coast. He had also been reinforced with Dutch and Danish ships along with the able commanders Philip van Almonde and Jens Rodsten. The two forces sighted each other on May 24 and cam in contact the day after.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Bornholm (1676)
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