The Great Sortie of Stralsund (Swedish: Stora utfallet från Stralsund) was fought in the Franco-Swedish War (part of the War of the Fourth Coalition) on 1–3 April 1807, in Swedish Pomerania (present-day Germany). A French army under Édouard Mortier invaded Swedish Pomerania in early 1807 and initiated a blockade of the Swedish town of Stralsund, to secure the French rear from enemy attacks. After several smaller sorties and skirmishes around Stralsund, Mortier marched part of his army to support the ongoing Siege of Kolberg, leaving only a smaller force under Charles Louis Dieudonné Grandjean to keep the Swedes at check. The Swedish commander Hans Henric von Essen then commenced a great sortie to push the remaining French forces out of Swedish Pomerania. The French fought bravely on 1 April at Lüssow, Lüdershagen and Voigdehagen, but were eventually forced to withdraw; the Swedes captured Greifswald the next day, after a brief confrontation. The last day of fighting occurred at Demmin and Anklam, where the Swedes took many French prisoners of war, resulting in the complete French withdrawal out of Swedish Pomerania—while the Swedes continued their offensive into Prussia. After two weeks Mortier returned and pushed the Swedish forces back into Swedish Pomerania. After an armistice the French forces once again invaded, on 13 July, and laid siege to Stralsund, which they captured on 20 August; all of Swedish Pomerania was captured by 7 September, but the war between Sweden and France continued until January 6, 1810, when the Swedes were finally forced to sign the Treaty of Paris.
Background
Because of his hatred towards Napoleon, the Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf declared war on France—against the advice of his counsellors—and entered the War of the Third Coalition, on 31 October 1805, after having remained neutral for several years since the events of the French Revolution. The first year of war turned out to be a major disappointment for the Swedes, as only half-hearted attempts were made by the Swedish king to advance his positions, combined with several decisive defeats for his allies. Further setbacks occurred in late 1806, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, as 1,000 unarmed Swedish soldiers were forced into captivity in the Battle of Lübeck, as they were caught in the process of shipping away towards Stralsund. In the beginning of 1807, as the Swedes under Hans Henric von Essen remained passive within Swedish Pomerania, a French army under Édouard Mortier crossed the Swedish border with 12,000 men, and subsequently initiated a blockade of Stralsund on January 30, after some Swedish resistance. The Swedes had about 13,000 men in Stralsund and on the vital island of Rügen, including a Landwehr of 3,000 men.
After several skirmishes with shifting luck, and as the French numbers quickly dwindled as they were needed at the Siege of Kolberg—while the Swedish force progressively received reinforcements—the Swedes started planning for a breakout by way of a great sortie. As Mortier quit Stralsund with the bulk of the French army he left a 5,000–6,000 strong division, under Charles Louis Dieudonné Grandjean, to oppose the Swedes. Grandjean, however, soon also sought to leave with the rest of his troops. For this reason he requested a cease-fire, informing Essen of his intention to leave Swedish Pomerania on the condition that the withdrawal would proceed unhindered; it would not be regarded, he noted, as if he had been forced to leave, as a rumoured military defeat could weaken the diplomatic state of France.
Battles
Essen disregarded the request and instead, on 31 March, prepared his army for a great sortie by splitting it into two columns; the right column, led by Tawast with Essen himself in command, would encircle the left flank of the French forces—it consisted of one battalion each from the Uppland, Jönköping, Dalarna and the Queen's regiments, with six squadrons from the Mörnerian Hussars and four guns, in all 2,500 men; the left column, led by Eberhard von Vegesack with Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt in command, would attack the French center—it consisted of one battalion each from the Skaraborg, Södermanland, Västgöta-Dals, Närke-Värmland and Engelbrecht regiments with one squadron hussars and nine guns, in all 2,300 men. Two battalions of the Bohuslän and Västmanland regiments, in all 900 men with two guns under Cardell, were also left inside Stralsund as reserve.