Battle of Rødenes The Battle of Rødenes was a series of skirmishes that took place in late April and early May 1808 from Lund in Hemnes to Ørje as a result of the Swedish invasion of Norway during the Dano - Swedish War of 1808 - 1809 . Background . On 15 April 1808 , a day after the Swedish 2nd Brigade had crossed the border into Norway , the Swedish 3rd Brigade crossed the Swedish - Norwegian border from Töcksmark and occupied the eastern side of Rødenessjøen and Øymarksjøen . From there , the Swedes had also established outposts to the south and up to Hemnes . The Swedish commander , Colonel Bror Cederström , also ordered the creation of barricades , especially at Ørje , where he had his headquarters . Battle . The first skirmish . At the time of the Swedish 3rd Brigade ' s invasion , Prince Christian August ' s primary concern was the Swedish breakthrough after the battle of Lier and the Swedish advancements towards Kongsvinger , but he was however , concerned that the Swedish 3rd brigade could move northward and cut off large numbers of Norwegian troops . So on the 20 April , he sent two companies under Captain Heyerdahl and Captain Zarbell against Hemnes to stop a possible Swedish advance . When the rumor that the Swedes were advanceing reached the Norwegian companies , Captain Heyerdahl decided to pull his company back to Fetsund , while Captain Zarbell stationed his troops west of the farm Lund , east of Hemnes Church . From there he eventually moved towards the farm where his troops clashed with a Swedish Jäger Corps who after the brief skirmish withdrew almost half a mil back to Opsal and Krok in Rødenes , where the most northern Swedish positions were located . When Colonel Cederström was told about the retreat he ordered the company commander to advance back and confront the Norwegian company , which had stationed itself at Lund . The order was carried out and the Swedish forces tried repeatedly to drive Zabell ' s company out of Lund , but in vain . When they had lost a quarter of their troops , the Swedes chose to withdraw back to Opsal . Engagement at Opsal . After the victory at Trangen , Christian August felt that the Swedish pressure against Kongsvinger had calmed down and choose to send more troops to face the Swedes 3rd brigade at Rødenes . So on the 4 May , Major Andreas Samuel Krebs was sent over Aurskog against Hemnes to regroup with Captain Zarbell together with three companies from the Jäger Corps , four grenadier companies , some sharpeshooters and a division from the " Akershus Dragoon Regiment " . That same evening Captain Zarbell and his sharpeshooters , together with Lieutenant Hegge and his 3rd Jäger Company , was sent forward to the Swedish positions at Opsal . There he at once chose to attack the Swedish positions , but was not able to drive the 150 Swedish troops from the " 1st Södermanland battalion " from their positions . It was not until he got support from Major Krebs ' main force that the Swedes were driven back to Krok farm , further east , where they entrenched themselves . Major Krebs chose to continue to pursue the Swedes and began to advance towards their position . But it turned out that the Swedes had a relatively strong position since the Norwegians first had to cross the river Opsal , and then attack the Swedish position on the hill where Krok farm was lying . Captain Butenschøn ' s company was the first Norwegian company who managed to get across the river and then went on to attack the Swedish right flank . But soon the rest of the jägers got across and started to threatened the Swedes from several positions , this resulted in that the Swedes abandoned their position at Krok and retreat back to a new position at Jåvall , about a mile farther south . This position was also after a short time abandoned after several assaults from the Norwegians and the Swedes fell back to Åseby , only to be forced to retreat once again . It was only at Askerud , only about a mile north of Ørje , that the Swedes managed to halt the Norwegian advance , and since the Norwegian troops were exhausted , Major Krebs chose not to carrie out any new assaults on the Swedes position . On the morning of the 6 May , Krebs however , received an order from Prince Christian August to fall back . This was done in silence , and the Norwegians avoided that the Swedes started to pursue them . Attack on Ørje bridge . The same day that Major Krebs had been ordered to retreat , Major Fischer , who was in position at Mysen , was ordered to move against the Swedish positions near Ørje bridge . So on the next morning , on 7 May , Fischer began to advance with the " 4th Jäger Company " and two companies from the " Nordenfjelske Regiment " against Ørje bridge . Near the bridge the Swedish outposts was quickly defeated , and the Norwegians moved up to the fortified bridgehead , which the Swedes had built on the west side of river , defended by 120 men of the " Dal Battalion " . But since Fischer chose to stop the attack in order to prepar before storming the bridge , the Swedish commander , Captain Törnblad , managed to get across , and subsequently managed to give the order to set fire to the bridge . Thus it was impossible for the Norwegians to get across , and Fischer thereby decided to pull his troops back . Aftermath . Although the Swedish forces still stood on Norwegian soil , the Norwegians troops had managed to stop their advance and to drive them back . This ment that the Swedish initiative to reach and capture Christiania by advancing through Smaalenenes Amt was greatly reduced , or gone . Many of the Norwegian soldiers , especially the jägers , who had fought in Rødenes received awards . Lars Opsal received the most prestigious since he was awarded a sword with silver booklet for his boldness , courage and knowledge in the fighting .