Battle of Bornholm (1563) | |||||||
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Part of a prelude to the Northern Seven Years' War | |||||||
![]() Naval battles of the Northern War: Battle of Bornholm (1563) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
Unknown |
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Strength | |||||||
19 ships | 3 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Negligible |
3 ships captured 800 men captured |
The Battle of Bornholm (1563) was the first naval battle of the Northern Seven Years' War (1563–70).
The naval engagement took place on 30 May 1563 near Bornholm. A Danish squadron of 10 ships under the command of Jacob Brockenhuus (1521-1577) at anchor near Bornholm, saw a Swedish squadron of 19 ships approaching under the command of Jakob Bagge (1502–1577). Brockenhuus sent only the three ships; Hercules 81 (flag), Hector 38, and Hjort 46, toward it to show that they didn't want to fight. However, when firing three shots as a challenge, they managed to hit one of the Swedish ships. Swedish forces promptly surrounded and attacked the Danish ships, capturing all three after a 4-hour fight. The remaining Danish ships remained at anchor. [1] [2]