This page is a work in progress, which is the reason why the history of the Danish army organisation ends in 1709 and the Norwegian army only cover the period of 1716-1718. The latter is a remnant of a previous version of this page. It is my intention that the finished page will cover both armies during the entire reign of Christian V and Frederik IV (that is the period 1670-1730). However, I expect it will be a long hiatus before I resume work on this page

Denmark's standing army has its origins in the wars against Charles X Gustav in 1658-1660 and the introduction of absolute rule by Frederik III in 1660. Before that, the armies were raised at the outbreak of war and disbanded after peace had been concluded. During peacetime, only small forces were retained, which were used as garrisons in the country's fortresses. However, when Frederik III introduced absolute rule, the nobility could no longer prevent the king from strengthening the military as they had done before. Thus, he was now able to retain a large part of the army that had been raised for the unfortunate war against Sweden that saw the loss of the eastern half of the of the Danish kingdom.

When peace was concluded in 1660, the king had 11 enlisted cavalry regiments and 9 enlisted infantry regiments, as well as some independent companies. But the finances of the Danish kingdom did not allow such a large force to be maintained and a series of major reductions of the army took place so that in November 1661 it had an enlisted force consisting of 2,000 cavalry and 6,400 infantry. The cavalry consisted of one regiment with six companies and ten independent companies ("free companies"). The infantry consisted of four regiments with eight companies each. Not included are the Horse Guards, which only consisted of 132 officers, as well as the even smaller Drabant Guard, which also only consisted of officers. In addition, there were 7 cavalry companies (about 900 men) and 13 infantry companies (about 2,600 men) that were financed by the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. A small artillery also existed, but this troop had not yet received any permanent organisation. All in all, this constituted an enlisted force of almost 12,000 men. However, further minor reductions in the following years would reduce the total to around 10,000 men in 1666. This was done by reducing the size of the company and the disappearance of free companies.

In addition to the enlisted regiments, there were also four so-called "national" infantry regiments in 1661 (two in Jutland and one each on Funen and Zealand). These were recruited by conscription according to a system that could trace its origins to an army reform from 1614. Although, for financial reasons, their strength was not maintained in the early 1660s and only the officer positions were filled. However, the regiments were put on a war footing during the mobilisation for a short war against England in 1666 and then had a strength of 5,347 men. This strength does not include a fifth national regiment that was raised in 1664 in Schleswig-Holstein but which was plagued by recruitment problems. In addition, the nobility was obliged to contribute a six-company cavalry regiment (Rostjeneste) in exchange for their privileges. However, this regiment was not recruited until the war against England in 1666 and was disbanded in 1669.

(1670-1699)

When Frederik III died in 1670, the Danish army had a strength of slightly over 17,000 men, of whom 40% were national (= conscripted) while the rest were enlisted. The Norwegian army of about 11,500 men consisted almost exclusively of conscripts. In addition, there were five conscripted infantry companies and a smaller number of artillerymen and fortress personnel in the County of Oldenburg, which had been ruled by the Danish king since 1667. They are not included in the table below, which shows the composition of the Danish-Norwegian army:

As the new king, one of Christian V's first measures was to raise four Danish national cavalry regiments, each of them 1,000 men strong and divided into 8 companies. These were recruited and maintained in the "Swedish manner" (i.e. individual proprietors were responsible for each cavalryman). A fifth national cavalry regiment was raised in Schleswig, but this was only half as large. The formation of a national cavalry was at the expense of the enlisted cavalry, which, except for the Horse Guards, was disbanded. However, a new enlisted regiment was raised in 1672. In addition, a thousand-man strong cavalry regiment was added in 1673 when the nobility's horse service (Rostjeneste) was reintroduced. The nobility of Schleswig-Holstein was also obliged to raise such a regiment, but in this case too their regiment was only half as large. In Norway, the development went in the opposite direction when its only cavalry regiment was reduced to half (500 men were divided into 4 companies).

Only minor changes were made to the Danish infantry. The strength of the four Danish national regiments was reduced by about 800 men in 1673. Two free companies were disbanded and in 1672 a special marine company was raised to guard the Elbe River. Here too, the development went in the opposite direction in Norway, where a six-company (1037 men) strong marine regiment was raised in 1670 and another free company was raised in 1674. The Norwegian artillery was also slightly expanded.

Danish Mobilisation in 1675

Christian V had set his sights on a war that would take back the territories lost to Sweden and in 1675 he saw his chance when Sweden was drawn into a major European war as an ally of France. Christian V reinforced his army, which almost doubled in size, and then sent a declaration of war to Sweden in September of that year.

The five old enlisted infantry regiments were expanded from eight to twelve companies and six more regiments were recruited in Germany. Several of the latter regiments were reinforced with companies from the Holstein-Gottorp army that the Danish king had disbanded after he invaded the duchy in 1675. The national infantry regiments were doubled in strength by each Danish recruiting district raising an additional regiment. The old regiments now consisted of 12 companies of 100 men, while the new ones consisted of 8 companies of varying sizes. The regiment in Schleswig-Holstein was also divided, but the additional men came mainly from previously conscripted soldiers transferred from the Holstein-Gottorp army. An eleventh national regiment was raised in Oldenburg, while the enlisted companies that were previously there became part of one of the newly raised enlisted regiments (Baudisson’s). The regiments that had 12 companies formed 8-company strong field regiments, while the other 4 companies were used as garrison troops.

The national cavalry regiments were expanded from eight to twelve companies and then partitioned so that the old 4.5 regiments became 9 regiments, each consisting of 500 men divided into 6 companies. The Horse Guards were expanded to a full-size regiment, and three more enlisted cavalry regiments were raised in Germany. Dragoons made their return to the Danish army in the form of three enlisted regiments and one free company.

A special field artillery was organised consisting of a staff of 19 men and four companies of 111 men. The field artillery had 58 cannons, and each infantry battalion also had 2 three-pounder cannons.

All in all, when the Scanian War began, the army consisted of 22 infantry regiments (11 enlisted and 11 national). The cavalry consisted of 16 regular cavalry regiments (5 enlisted, 9 national and 2 from the Nobility's Horse service) and three newly raised dragoon regiments. The independent companies are not included. Additional new short-lived regiments were raised during the war, but the high casualties, recruitment problems and mergers during the Scanian War meant that these did not constitute a real expansion of the army.

Danish Infantry Organisation during the Scanian War

In January 1676, a reorganisation took place of the enlisted infantry regiments, which consisted of 12 companies. Four of these companies became garrison companies with a strength of 100 men while the remaining eight field companies became 107 men strong and now included 4 grenadiers and 2 pioneers.

Each infantry battalion (4 companies) was allocated 3 three-pounder cannons, each manned by an artilleryman (if one existed) and assisted by 4-5 privates and possibly by the sappers introduced in 1676.

In January 1677, the company size was increased to 150 men, of whom 132 were rank-and-file. However, the high casualties during the war made this organisation purely theoretical and hardly something that was actually achieved. In the spring of the same year, all pioneers were transferred to a separate company, while the number of grenadiers per company increased to six. In September 1677, the proportion of officers was increased by reducing the nominal strength of rank-and-file to 125 per company, while the total strength was still to be 150 men.

During the war, the Danish army was also strengthened by auxiliary troops from Hesse, Münster and Austria, which had a different organisation

Danish Cavalry Organisation during the Scanian War

A Danish cavalry regiment consisted of just over 500 men divided into six companies. In battle, this regiment was formed into two or three squadrons led by the staff officers (colonel, lieutenant colonel, major). The staff officers were also company commanders and their companies therefore lacked captains. However, the other companies consisted of 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 cornet, 5 non-commissioned officers, 3 trumpeters, 2 craftsmen and 71 cavalrymen (a total of 84 men). The colonel's company was larger and had 94 men, but it is unclear whether the officers are included in that number. I lack information about the composition of the regimental staff. In total, a cavalry regiment should therefore have consisted of at least 514 men.

The dragoons had largely the same organisation as the cavalry, but like the infantry, part of the rank-and-file were so-called gefreiters and they were converted to grenadiers in 1677. According to Hasselager/Snorrason, their number was 10 per regiment (misprint for company?).

In 1678, the combined strength of a cavalry regiment's six companies was reduced to 453 men. The Horse Guards and the Life Regiment were exempt from this reduction and retained their original size. This also applied at the conclusion of peace in 1679 when the size of a cavalry company was set at 75 men (of which 62 were privates).

Norwegian Mobilisation

At the outbreak of war, the national regiments were reinforced by the conscription of so-called reserve men, and some of these regiments were also temporarily partitioned during the war. The Marine regiment, on the other hand, was disbanded in 1675 and then resurrected after the peace. The cavalry was reinforced so that it again consisted of 1000 men, and the strength of the dragoons was also increased to 800 men. This was done partly by activating the nobility's horse service and partly by the conscription of so-called parish cavalrymen.

Interwar Period 1679-1699

According to the organisation established in 1680, the Danish army was to have a peacetime strength of 20,846 men. This entire force was now enlisted, except for 550 men in the Bornholm militia. The reason for this was consideration for the poor finances of the common people after the war. The "national" cavalry regiments remained national only in the sense that they were still maintained by their proprietors, but recruitment was now by enlistment. The strength of a national cavalry regiment was reduced to four companies of 100 men (of which 92 were privates). The nobility's horse service (Rostjeneste) was abolished and replaced by a tax (the same thing happened in Norway in 1682).

All infantry regiments now consisted of twelve companies of 125 men (of which 6 were grenadiers, 10 were corporals and 93 were privates). The exception was the Oldenburg regiment, which had only eight companies. The 10 independent companies were stationed in Copenhagen, Frederikshavn, Kronborg (Helsingør), Nakskov, Nyborg, Fredericia, Hals and Fladstrand, Rendsborg, Frederiksort and Glückstadt. Grenadiers had been introduced in the Danish army in 1676 and each regiment was to have six per company, while the free companies had four each. Not included here is the Marine Regiment (six companies of 200 men) which until 1692 belonged to the navy.

During a mobilisation in early 1683, the army was expanded to 38,500 men, but it shrank already during the winter of 1683-1684 to a new peacetime organisation of 26,000 men. The reduction was carried out so that the number of companies and officers remained unchanged and only the number of privates decreased.

The eight old infantry regiments now each consisted of 1 grenadier company and 18 musketeer companies, while the Oldenburg Regiment had 1 grenadier company and 12 musketeer companies. The Foot Guards companies consisted of 113 men, while for the other regiments the grenadier company had 112 men and the musketeer companies had 102 men. The Free Company in Frederikshavn had been expanded to a battalion consisting of six companies under the command of Schack. The other new units that had been created during the mobilisation were disbanded and the number of free companies was reduced to 5, each with 102 men.

All 13 cavalry regiments now consisted of 9 companies. In the now 10 national regiments, the company strength was 36 men, while the other regiments had 46-man companies. At the mobilisation, eight dragoon squadrons had been raised. These were reformed in 1686 into two dragoon regiments that had the same organisation as the national cavalry regiments.

The new peacetime organisation was in effect until 1688, when a new mobilisation increased the army's strength to 33,000 men. The Foot Guards received an additional grenadier company, while the Oldenburg Regiment and Schack's battalion were given the same size as the other regiments. A new infantry regiment (Courland) was raised, while two free companies were disbanded. Musketeer companies were given the same strength as grenadier companies (112 men). All cavalry regiments were given a company size of 57 men, and a new dragoon regiment was raised with the same organisation as the two older ones.

When the threat of war was averted by the Treaty of Altona in 1689, the army was reduced back to its previous peacetime strength of 26,000 men. This time, however, the surplus soldiers (6,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry) were not dismissed but were incorporated into an auxiliary corps that was in the service of the Maritime Powers from 1689 to 1697. The auxiliary corps consisted of three cavalry regiments (formed from detachments from the 10 national regiments) and eight infantry battalions consisting of one battalion each from the nine older infantry regiments (four companies were captured by French privateers before they arrived and were not replaced). Similarly, a 2,400-strong auxiliary corps was formed and sent to the emperor in 1692. It consisted of the First Jutland (Jyske) Cavalry Regiment, the recently raised Dragoon Regiment, and one battalion each from Schack’s and Courland’s regiments. In addition, a dragoon regiment was loaned to Holstein-Gottorp in 1694-1697.

All in all, the Danish army then consisted of 22,000 men with a further 10,000 men in foreign service. The Oldenburg and Courland regiments consisted of 5 and 4 companies respectively. The other infantry regiments had an organisation consisting of 1 grenadier company and 12 musketeer companies, all 112 strong. The cavalry and dragoon regiments consisted of six companies of 82 men each.

When the auxiliary corps in the service of the Maritime Powers returned, they were reincorporated into their parent regiments. For the cavalry, the number of companies remained unchanged, while the infantry regiments now once again received 18 musketeer companies (the Foot Guards also received two grenadier companies). The exception was Oldenburg, which did not see the return of any soldiers. The size of the companies of both corps was, however, reduced (see tables in the following section) so that the total strength of the army was now down to 23,000 men. Part of the reduction was also because the regiments in foreign service had been disbanded.

The auxiliary corps that had been in imperial service from 1692 to 1698 continued to serve as auxiliary troops from 1698 to 1699, although this time in Saxon service. The infantry and dragoon regiment in this were sent to Poland where they were disbanded after the Peace of Karlowitz in 1699. The First Jutland (Jyske) Regiment, on the other hand, was stationed in Saxony where they were also joined by three battalions each from the Funen, Zealand and Courland regiments. However, upon their return to Denmark, the latter regiment was disbanded, and the First Jutland Regiment was reduced to a strength of four companies.

(1699-1709)

When Frederik IV became king in August 1699, he inherited 11 infantry regiments of varying size as well as two free companies and a militia on Bornholm that included 429 infantrymen. Except for the militia, which was mostly made up of conscripts, the infantry consisted entirely of enlisted soldiers. All in all, the infantry's strength was just over 16,000 men.

However, war was imminent and when the bulk of the army was ordered to march to Schleswig-Holstein in October, a decision was also made to increase its strength. But the original organisation was as follows:

Danish Infantry Organisation 1699

The Oldenburg battalion had a smaller staff that lacked an adjutant, an assistant to the regimental surgeon and a oboist, and had one and the same person as judge-advocate and regimental quartermaster.

There were also several ensigns which, like the number of companies, varied for each regiment:

The regiments which had partly been part of the auxiliary corps in the service of the Maritime Powers in 1689-1697 had at the outbreak of war in 1700 still an excess of staff officers (colonel, lieutenant colonel and major) because the battalions in foreign service had had their own set of such. However, the excess officers are not included above.

Mobilisation 1699-1700

When most of the Danish army was ordered to march to Schleswig-Holstein in October 1699, a decision was also made to increase its strength. A regular infantry company would be expanded from a strength of 70 men to 80 men strong (that is, as strong as a Guard company). But this was not enough because on 13 January 1700 it was decided that each musketeer company would get another 10 men so that they would have 90 privates. A regiment with 18 musketeer companies thus received a total of 360 men. Further changes were made later so that each company received an extra furér and two extra pioneers, but these do not appear to have been retained after the end of the war. In addition, the Free Company in the Hitler redoubt was to be expanded so that it became as strong as a regular company, and the Marine Regiment was increased by five companies (two in January and three in April) while the old ones were strengthened to 125 men strong (this figure included 10 pioneers).

On 6 March, 1700, it was decided that the regiments that had 19 companies would get one more grenadier company and that the Oldenborg battalion that had 6 companies would get a musketeer company, so that together with Schack's regiment ("Copenhagen Garrison Regiment"), it would be 20 companies strong (of which 2 were grenadier companies).

In April, a 500-strong levy consisting of conscripted peasants had been formed in northern Jutland because of fear of a Swedish landing there. On 8 May, it was decided to expand the levy so that it covered the entire country. However, the military value of these hastily recruited and untrained peasants was very limited. The only time the levy was used in battle was during the Swedish landing at Humlebæk.

On 17 May, it was decided that each company that did not have an ensign would receive one. But if these were recruited, they were in any case not left in 1701 when the number of ensigns was back at the pre-war level. The exception was the Marine Regiment, which even before the war had had an ensign in each company, but in 1701 only had one ensign per battalion, like all other regiments except the Guard.

The reinforcements that had been ordered during the autumn were quickly recruited, but thereafter the supply of recruits became progressively worse. When war broke out, many regiments had not reached the strength that had been ordered in January. The extra companies that were to be raised after 6 March also did not have time to become fit for battle before the peace of Traventhal was concluded in August. If the regular infantry ever came up to the planned strength, it should have been reinforced by just over 6,000 men.

The Interwar Period 1700-1709

Similar to what had happened in 1689, no demobilisation was carried out after the Peace of Traventhal. (the free company in Hitler's redoubt, however, returned to its pre-war strength). The enlarged army was maintained and supplied by sending parts of it as auxiliaries to other states. This already happened in October 1700 when Saxony received an auxiliary corps whose infantry consisted of eight battalions separated from eight parent regiment. A year later, seven of these battalions were transferred to a new auxiliary corps in the Emperor’s service . A reorganisation of this corps in 1703 then resulted in that they came to form three new regiments and were thus permanently separated from their parent regiments. A further nine battalions were part of an auxiliary corps in the service of the Maritime Powers from the autumn of 1701 and would not return to Denmark until 1713-1714. The effect of all this was that the infantry regiments that remained in Denmark consisted of no more than two battalions.

The Marine Regiment was increased by two companies in April 1701 which resulted in a total strength of 18 companies. But five of its companies then formed part of the Saxon and later the Emperor’s Auxiliary Corps and were disbanded in 1703. The strength of 125 men per company ordered during the mobilisation does not appear to have been maintained. The companies of the auxiliary corps had only 90 musketeers and the same applied to the home companies in 1709.

The twelve grenadier companies that were not part of any auxiliary corps abroad were permanently separated from their parent regiments in the autumn of 1701 and formed the Grenadier Corps. This regiment was equal in rank to the Guard and had the same composition of its regimental staff. At first, the Grenadier Corps had no colours and thus no ensigns, but at the request of the colonel, they received two of each in 1709.

In 1704, grenadiers were reintroduced in the regular regiments (except the Marine Regiment) when the number of lance corporals ("gefreiter") in each company was reduced from 10 to 2, adding 8 grenadiers instead. The company size of the enlisted infantry regiments (except for the Guard, Grenadier Corps & Marine Regiment) was also increased in the same year so that each company would have 100 enlisted soldiers. Finally, a third free company was formed in Korsør in 1706.

The National Militia

Already during the mobilisation in 1699-1700, there was a proposal to support the regular army by forming a national militia. This would be recruited through conscription and then used as garrisons in the fortresses so that the enlisted regiments could instead serve in the field army. The king resisted this reform for a long time because he believed that the country's economy would suffer if its agriculture was deprived of labour. But the need for manpower for a possible new war against Sweden was great and eventually the king agreed. On 22 February 1701, he issued a decree on the establishment of a national militia in Denmark. This was then recruited during the spring, when six regiments were formed with 12 companies each, which were distributed among three battalions (Fynske national militia, however, had 13 companies). Each company was to consist of at least 150 privates, but they could be up to 200 strong depending on the availability of manpower in the recruiting districts.

Some farms had been exempted from conscription of national militia soldiers because it was intended that they would later raise land dragoons. But because so many tried to avoid the conscription by moving to these farms, the conscription of dragoons was brought forward to 1702. These were included in the infantry regiments of the national militia until they formed their own regiments in 1704 (two of nine companies each which were distributed to three squadrons).

In 1704, each national militia company was to equip two men as pioneers and eight men as grenadiers. In the same year, the conscription was finally carried out also in Oldenburg, whose national militia regiment came to consist of only eight companies with a total of 1,222 privates plus 109 men "prima plana" (= staff personnel).

According to the regulation, the national militia was only to be used for the defence of the homeland and not to be sent outside the country's borders. But when war broke out again in 1709, a land dragoon regiment and four infantry battalions became part of the field army that invaded Skåne (Scania). After the Battle of Helsingborg, national militia soldiers were also used to replace losses in the enlisted regiments which then would wage war in Sweden's German provinces.

Danish Infantry Organisation August 1709
(excluding the national militia described above)

The home army which had the above organisation consisted of eight infantry regiments. There were also four infantry regiments from the auxiliary corps in the Emperor’s services which returned to Denmark in September 1709. However, these were in poor condition and needed to be reconstructed (their combined strength in November was only 2,000 men).

There were also pure garrison units in the form of three free companies in the Hitler redoubt, Fladstrand & Hals and Korsør as well as three infantry companies on Bornholm. They had the same organisation as in 1699 except for Korsør's free company which had 45 privates instead of 40.

(1699-1709)

At the time of Frederik IV's accession to the throne in August 1699, the Danish army had fifteen mounted regiments. These consisted of the Horse Guards, two enlisted cavalry regiments, ten national cavalry regiments and two dragoon regiments, as well as a company in the Bornholm militia. All regiments had six companies except the Fourth Jyske National Regiment which had been temporarily reduced to four companies in the summer of 1699 when it returned to Denmark after serving in first the Emperor’s and then a Saxon auxiliary corps. Already in October, however, a decision was made to restore it to its former strength. All in all, the Danish cavalry consisted of almost 5,400 men.

Danish Cavalry Organisation 1699

Mobilisation 1699-1700

When most of the Danish army was ordered to march to Schleswig-Holstein in October 1699, a decision was also made to increase its strength. The dragoon companies' strength increased from 60 privates to 75 (to a total of 450 privates per regiment) and the First Jyske Regiment received two more companies so that it would have the same size as the other cavalry regiments.

In the spring of 1700, a decision was made that the companies that did not have an ensign/cornet would get one. But if these were recruited, they were in any case not left in 1701 when the number of ensigns was back at the pre-war level. However, the Horse Guards then had two majors.

Later during the summer all cavalry regiments except the Horse Guards were increased so that each company went from 50 to 60 privates while the dragoon regiments were increased so that they came to consist of 500 privates. In addition, new units were to be raised with the same strength: two dragoon regiments (led by Duke Philip Ernst of Glücksburg and Christian Rodsteen) and a cuirassier regiment (led by Cay Burchard Count Ahlefeldt-Eskildsmark). However, these did not have time to be fully recruited before the war ended and the two new dragoon regiments were then merged with the two older ones so that these received 12 companies each. Its organisation is reported in the page about the auxiliary corps in Saxony 1700-1701, which it was part of after the end of the war

The Interwar Period 1700-1709

The two above-mentioned dragoon regiments were reorganised in 1701 when they were in Saxony. This happened so that they were first split and then joined again, but this time they were paired in a different way. The two older halves returned home to Denmark where they merged under the name Livregiment Dragoons. The two younger halves were combined into a dragoon regiment which formed part of the auxiliary corps sent to the Emperor. On its return to Denmark in 1709, this regiment had the informal name "Hungarian Dragoon Regiment” but was actually named after its colonels. The same was true of the auxiliary corps’ cuirassier regiment which had been raised in 1703 to form part of it and which was named "Hungarian Cuirassier Regiment" on its return.

In addition, eight cavalry regiments were included in the auxiliary corps that was sent to the Maritime Powers in 1701 and that did not return to Denmark until 1713-1714. Thus, there were only six enlisted cavalry regiments and one dragoon regiment left in Denmark, which had a combined strength of 3,400 men. To increase the strength of the cavalry in Denmark, a conscription of 2,195 land dragoons was therefore carried out in 1702. At first, they were organised as part of the corresponding infantry regiments in the national militia. But in 1704 they formed two separate land dragoon regiments each consisting of nine companies of irregular size.

Danish Cavalry Organisation 1709

Including the cavalry company on Bornholm (163 men), the cavalry in Denmark consisted of just under 6000 men in August 1709. The following month it also received reinforcements from the two "Hungarian" regiments that had served in the Emperor’s Auxiliary Corps. These were on paper larger units than the regiments at home, but were in a greatly weakened condition, and therefore numbered not more than 800 men together.

Bornholm's militia was established in 1611 by Christian IV, who decreed that the island's four districts would each raise an infantry company. Artillery was added in 1613 and cavalry in 1624.

The island became Swedish in the Peace of Roskilde in 1658, but already in December of that year the population rebelled against Swedish rule and returned it to Denmark. When peace was concluded in 1660, Bornholm's militia consisted of four enlisted companies (of which one was a cavalry company) and 11 national companies (of which one was a cavalry company). This force was reduced in 1661 to two enlisted infantry companies of 150 men, a 150-man national cavalry company, two national infantry companies and some artillerymen. In addition, there were four "district captains" who were intended to lead a "general levy" that would be divided into 8 companies and consist of 1,500 men.

The militia was reduced by a couple of hundred men in 1670 after repeated complaints from the Bornholm population about the heavy burden of paying for it. The enlisted part was reduced to around 50 infantrymen and artillerymen who formed the Hammershus garrison. The national part was determined to be one cavalry company (154 men) and three infantry companies (133 men each). In total, the militia thus consisted of 603 men. The number of officers remained unchanged and so did the organisation of the general levy.

In 1678, a force of 54 enlisted infantrymen, 64 enlisted artillerymen, 175 national cavalrymen, 413 national infantrymen (3 companies) was reported. In total, they constituted 706 men and to this were added 10 companies of the general levy which had around 1,100 able men. The enlisted soldiers consisted almost exclusively of Scanians and Blekinge men.

In 1680, the militia consisted of 664 men who were distributed among a staff (3 men), Artillery (14 men), an enlisted infantry company (56 men), three national infantry companies (each 143 men) and a national cavalry company (162 men).

In 1699 the militia consisted of 613 men as well as an unknown number of artillery men "taken from the country". The militia was commanded by lieutenant colonel Andreas Burgenhagen who was also the captain of the cavalry company and the first infantry company. North of Bornholm was also the fortified island of Christiansø whose garrison consisted of a free company belonging to the navy.

In 1709, the militia was led by a brigadier general (Valdemar Reedtz) instead of a lieutenant colonel. The staff had a deputy commander and a gun maker ("bøssemager"), but no judge-advocate. Otherwise, the staff was the same as in 1699. The infantry and cavalry also had the same organisation. However, it seems that the artillery personnel had been strengthened as it now consisted of 9 gunners ("konstabler") and 206 crewmen ("håndlangere"). The militia thus had a total strength of 820 men.

The militia's uniforms are almost completely unknown. The only information is a resolution from 1703 mentioning that the Northern and Eastern Infantry Companies were to wear light grey coats with either green or orange cuffs. The Southern Infantry Company was to wear a dark grey piecoat with feuille morte cuff and the Cavalry Company was to have grey piecoats with red cuffs.

(1716)

I have collected the information about the Norwegian army's organisation from Daniel Schorr's article on the now defunct website www.northernwars.com. Schorr describe in detail all the numerous changes that occurred during the Great Northern War. I have however chosen to only show the organisation that was in effect during the Norwegian campaign of 1716. It is for the most part also valid for the campaign in Bohuslän 1711 and the first half of the 1718 Norwegian campaign. In the middle of the latter campaign a large reorganisation occurred which resulted in all Norwegian national regiments being split into two regiments each (the two Trondhjemske regiments were reorganised into three regiments).

References

Hasselager, Olaf – Snorrason, Torstein. Danish Uniforms, Colours and Standards 1675-1679. (2000) *
Rockstroh, K. C. Udviklingen af den nationale Hær i Danmar i det 17. og 18. Aarhundrade. Copenhagen(1909-1926)
Schorr, Daniel. Notes on the Norwegian Army 1700-1720 (2008) *
Skjold Petersen, Karsten. Kongens klæder. Copenhagen (2014)
Tuxen, A. P. – With-Seidelin C. L. Bidrag til den store nordiske krigs historie. Copenhagen (1899-1934)

* = articles published on the now defunct website www.northernwars.com