• Source: Battle of Botkyrka

The Battle of Botkyrka was an incident where an army under Eric XIV and the Pontus De la Gardie, along with the dukes Charles and John met in Botkyrka in 1568 during the ongoing uprising against Eric XIV. It resulted in a victory for Eric, forcing the dukes to retreat.




Background


On 19 August, in the midst of his rebellion against the king, Eric XIV, Duke John rode out at the head of ten banners of German and Scottish and eight banners of Swedish cavalry towards Södermanland all while the troops still loyal to the king gradually switched sides and joined the rebels.
When word reached Eric that the rebels had reached Södertälje, and was now on its way towards Stockholm, he quickly organized the troops who were still loyal to him and quickly marched to meet the rebels head on. The forces still loyal to Eric were:

Hovfanan
Upplandsfanan
One banner of "black cavalry" (Svarta ryttare)
Eight Fähnlein's of cavalry from Finland, Norrland, Dalarna, and Roslagen
Gårdsfanan
Life Guards
Altogether, the size of Eric's army was some 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry.
It is not known how large the rebel army was, but it consisted of nine banners and 15 Fähnlein's, therefore likely larger than Eric's force. However, one historian has claimed that the rebel vanguard consisted of:

670 pikemen
400 cavalry
120 hand cannon shooters




Battle


On 31 August, the two vanguards of the armies clashed at Botkyrka's church. Eric personally led 700 men in an assault against the advanced vanguard of the rebel army, led by Pontus De la Gardie. Eric sent a group of shooters to take up positions behind the churchyard wall and disrrupt the rebel advance. This succeeded, and Eric managed to break into the rebel forces, sword in hand. It was the first time he had personally participated in a battle and he did so bravely.
After the successes of Eric's forces, the rebel vanguard pulled back to the main rebel force, chased by Eric's entire force.




Aftermath


After the successes of Eric's forces, the rebel vanguard pulled back to the main rebel force, chased by Eric's entire force. When the main rebel army saw the retreat, they followed along, retreating backwards without having to fight. The Dukes decided it was best to make a tactical retreat and reorganize their foirces north of Mälaren, and on the way, they captured Gripsholm castle.
Despite his victory, Eric did not have enough troops to combat the rebels, even if the navy and thousands of cavalrymen was still loyal to him.
According to the historian Dick Harrison, if Eric XIV had followed up his victory at Botkyrka, it is likely that he would have remained on the throne.




Notes






References






Works cited


Isacsson, Claes-Göran (2006). Vägen till stormakt : Vasaättens krig [The road to great power: The wars of the Vasa dynasty] (in Swedish). Norstedts. pp. 223–224. ISBN 9789113015026.
Adolfsson, Mats (2007). Fogdemakt och bondevrede: 1500-1718 [Bailiff power and peasant rage: 1500-1718] (in Swedish). Natur & Kultur. pp. 166–167. ISBN 9789127026322.

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