NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 2025

On August 14th Susanne Blendulf (speaking from Dals-Ed in Sweden) spoke about One who came creeping: The curious battlefield death of Karl XII of Sweden, 30 November 1718.

By 1660 the Swedish Empire stretched from parts of Norway in the west, to Russia in the East and as far south as what is today Ukraine. Finland, Latvia, Estonia and even Germany were not yet their own countries while Denmark, Poland and Saxony were all trying to gain freedom on their Baltic coasts, alongside Russia.

Susanne went back a full century recounting the main events from the reign of Gustav Adolf II (1611-1632) whose thirty year war only ended in 1648 after his demise. His daughter Cristina being too young to rule, a Privy Council under the guidance of Axel Oxenstierna - Gustav's right-hand man - ran the country and handed out land grants and gifts, almost doubling the number of aristocrats. Christina abdicated in 1654 - largely because she wanted to convert to Catholicism.

Queen Cristina was followed by Karl X Gustav who managed to achieve peace in the Empire but on returning to his palace in 1660, where he saw his 4 year old son for the first time, the king contracted an illness and passed away within a month. Again the Privy Council ran affairs for a minor because his mother was not interested in political matters. Upon his coronation in 1672 Karl XI was regarded as undereducated, too close to his mother and easy prey for the Danish. They invaded the southern part of Sweden, the area of Skane but were massacred at the Battle of Lund in 1676 with peace following in 1679. This is still regarded as the bloodiest battle in Swedish history.

King Karl XI now set himself up to rule and restore Sweden, invoking absolutism as a monarch; secondly the reduction of the nobility which refilled some of the country's coffers but made enemies of erstwhile aristocrats. His third action was allotment in order to raise and keep a standing army to defend the Empire.

Citizens were to live in groups of about ten in houses which had land attached, allowing subsistence farming for their families, with a training ground nearby so that they could be trained as soldiers and be available when the state needed them. The region would also contribute to their warfare requirements.

When Karl XII crowned himself at the age of 15 Sweden's enemies again attempted to take advantage of perceived weakness but in 1700 at Nava on the Baltic coast, a Russian force four times larger was defeated by the Swedes; again in Riga a Swedish force managed to defeat a force from Denmark, Norway, Poland and Saxony. Leading his army himself, the King was soundly defeated at the Battle of Poltava in Russia in 1709 when his supply lines had simply become too long. Very few survivors got home; he and about 1000 others fled to the Ottoman Empire and he remained as the Sultan's guest from 1709 to 1714. His welcome ran out and after a skirmish he was forced to return to Sweden.

In 1716 and again in 1718 Karl XII undertook ambitious raids to attack Norway overland. A severe winter storm halted his progress and forewarned the Norwegians in the first campaign where he had 8 000 troops involved. The second campaign was better planned and had three simultaneous prongs - the main attack by 40 000 men overland to Halsen where the Frederiksten Fort protected the seaside town; an overland trek of almost 40km by 12 boats which would be launched in the Idelfjord and sail towards the town to attack from the water; and a long trek further north to attack Trondheim by 8 000 soldiers.

The troops were trying to dig trenches close to the Fort when the King joined them; he was hit in the head and killed along with 8 others while the Norwegians were shooting from the Fort much higher up the slope. Once it had been confirmed that the King had died the Swedish army was not particularly interested in carrying on the campaign. His younger sister's husband, Frederick of Hessen, took over as King when she abdicated and the Swedish Empire collapsed around 1721.

Karl XII's early battle successes earned him various nicknames (e.g. Lion of the North) and the populace had come to regard him as supernatural so there was great shock when he was killed. Two years after the death his doctor started a rumour that would insinuate that he had been assassinated by one of his own side rather than killed by the enemy. His remains have been exhumed four times with a fifth exhumation permitted (but not done) in 2012. But examination seems to indicate that cannon shot from the Fort likely was responsible.

Susanne went through several theories and ended her lacture with the question what do you think?

Her lecture is recorded in the Society's Video Library on the website.

Monday 8th September 2025 at 19h30 and then at 20h15:
Speaker Anne Irwin
Subject "Fighting talk: how wars and the military have influenced language".

The next RPC (Request the Pleasure of your Company) Zoominar will be on Monday 29th September 2025.

Details will be on the invitations

Thursday 11^th September 2025 at 19h30 and then 20h15

Speaker: Walter Volker

Subject: "The Owls and the Shadow War" - Lifting the veil on the secret world of military intelligence

For the first time the veil will be lifted somewhat on the Top Secret world of Military Intelligence in the form of a comprehensive history covering all aspects of this important Staff Division of the SADF, stretching from the early 1960s to the 1990s. Walter is publishing a series of books on the history. The series is entitled "The Owls and the Shadow War" as the Owl has been adopted as the official symbol - depicting vigilance, wisdom, alertness, and the ability to swoop on its prey silently and under cover of darkness. Members of the division are generally known as "Uiltjies" (Afrikaans for little owls).

The introductory DDH will be a short presentation by Vice-Chair Charles Whiteing on "The Poppy".

The main speaker will be Kevin Jordan of Glenwood High School on "Traditional Natal Schools and their contribution to both World Wars". He will give details from his extensive research into the past pupils of the schools who paid the supreme sacrifice, in addition to describing some of the characters and their experiences.

The venue returns to our usual; the St Cyprians Church Hall off Umbilo Rd, with secure parking and liquid refreshments for cash.

Entry is free and open to all, with visitors welcome, but a donation of R20 for the car guard and entry into the monthly raffle is requested from all attendees.

Malcolm Kinghorn, Chairman of the Eastern Cape branch, extends an invitation to ANY interested member of SAMHS:
SAMHSEC has a WhatsApp group to exchange military history between members. We avoid invading one another's privacy by using the group for anything else. We don't discuss politics, religion or each other. We don't send messages between 2100 & 0700.

Please let me know if you want to be on the WhatsApp group &, if so, what number to use.
Contact details at foot of newsletter.

Eastern Cape details contact    Malcolm Kinghorn    041-373-4469    culturev@lantic.net

Gauteng details contact    Joan Marsh     010-237-0676    joan@rfidradar.com

KwaZulu-Natal details contact    Prof Phil Everitt    084-437-1636     everitt@iafrica.com

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