Theatre War

The Theatre War (Swedish: Teaterkriget), Cowberry War, Cranberry War or Lingonberry War (Norwegian: Tyttebærkrigen, Danish: Tyttebærkrigen), was a brief war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, starting on 24 September 1788, formally lasting until 9 July 1789. Although the decision to launch the attack was taken in Denmark, the majority of the attacking soldiers were Norwegians from the Norwegian army.

The attack was directed towards the region known as Bohuslän in Sweden, and was supposed to act as a diversion to relieve Russia, which was an ally of Denmark–Norway, and had recently been attacked by Sweden (Gustav III's Russian War). This forced Denmark–Norway to honour their alliance between the two states that had been signed in 1773.

Background

When Gustav III of Sweden, on his own initiative and unconstitutionally, attacked Russia in 1788 and thereby started the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90, Denmark-Norway found itself in an awkward position. In the 1773 Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo, Denmark–Norway had committed itself to assist with 12,000 men, six ships of the line, and three frigates in the case Russia were to be attacked. Soon after the Swedish attack, the Russians demanded that Denmark–Norway keep its promise, and Denmark–Norway was thus forced to join the war. When Gustav III received news of this, he exclaimed, "I am saved!"

Considering that the attack on Russia was Gustav's own initiative, that many Swedish officers and the king's opponents were strongly against the war (see Anjala conspiracy), and that the war was not being fought very successfully, this exclamation might seem strange. However, Gustav III, the astute politician, saw this as a golden opportunity to turn the Swedish opinion in his favour. He left the battlefront in Finland and proceeded to Stockholm and then Dalarna, where he managed to incite several free corps to participate in the defense against the Danes and Norwegians.