Battle of Wolgast The Battle of Wolgast was an engagement in the Thirty Years ' War , fought on 22 August ( O . S . ) or 2 September ( N . S . ) 1628 near Wolgast , Duchy of Pomerania , Germany . Danish forces of Christian IV of Denmark had made landfall on Usedom and the adjacent mainland , and expelled the imperial occupation forces . An Imperial army commanded by Albrecht von Wallenstein left besieged Stralsund to confront Christian IV . Ultimately , the Danish forces were defeated . Christian IV and a faction of his landing force were able to escape by ship . Prelude . Christian IV of Denmark had started the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years ' War by invading the Holy Roman Empire in 1625 . Initially successful , tides turned when his armies were defeated in the battles of Dessau Bridge and Lutter am Barenberge in 1626 . In the following months , the Danish armies were forced to abandon their gains on imperial soil and parts of Denmark herself , and retreated to the Danish isles while the imperial army of Albrecht von Wallenstein subsequently occupied the North German plain . The Duchy of Pomerania , in which Wolgast was located , capitulated at Franzburg in November 1627 . The Baltic Sea however remained under Danish control , due to the lack of an imperial navy . Wallenstein was given the Duchy of Mecklenburg in January , and promoted " " General of the Oceanic and Baltic Seas " " in April 1628 , and together with Spain made plans for a Baltic imperial navy . Denmark and Sweden reacted by concluding an alliance , also in April . The Pomeranian port of Stralsund , some 70 kilometers west of Wolgast , refused to accept the Capitulation of Franzburg and successfully resisted Wallenstein ' s siege , with Danish and Swedish support . In addition to the support for Stralsund , Christian IV had resorted to a strategy of amphibious ambushs , using his naval superiority to make landfalls on Fehmarn and in Eckernförde , and to destroy the naval facilities in Ålborg , Greifswald and Wismar - all in imperial hands . Battle . On 11 August , Christian IV of Denmark with 7 , 000 troops landed on Usedom , separated from the town of Wolgast by the Peenestrom sound , and occupied the island . At the mouth of the sound , the imperial occupation forces since February had constructed a sconce at Peenemünde , which was taken by Christian IV ' s troops . On 14 August ( O . S . ) / 24 August ( N . S . ) , they took over Wolgast meeting no resistance . After the imperial garrison was expelled , Christian IV was met by an overwhelming support of the local population to turn Wolgast into a fortress like Stralsund . Reinforcements were on their way from Sweden . Christian IV then awaited Wallenstein , who withdrew from the siege of Stralsund and was heading east to face the Danish force . The battlefield Christian had chosen was half a mile west of the town , secured by the coast and marshes . Christian IV had 5 , 000 - 6 , 000 troops on the battlefield , including 1 , 500 cavalry and some 400 Scots from the Donald Mackay regiment , and the infantry organized in six regiments . Wallenstein advanced with a force of 7 , 000 - 8 , 000 troops , consisting of 33 infantry companies , 20 cuirassier companies , and 11 guns . Wallenstein attacked on 22 August ( O . S . ) / 2 September ( N . S . ) . He wiped out the Danish flank , killing 1 , 000 of Christian IV ' s troops and capturing another 600 . Thereafter , he was able to retake the town , where 500 Danish troops were now isolated from the main army and had no choice but to surrender . Thereby , Wolgast with its residence of the Pomeranian dukes was badly burned and looted . Only nightfall allowed for Christian IV and some of his troops to retreat and board their vessels . Aftermath . The battle was the last one between Christian IV and the Holy Roman Empire . The defeat at Wolgast , ending the most ambitious operation of the Danish 1628 amphibious assault series , was the decisive factor that led Christian IV to negotiate the Peace of Lübeck with Ferdinand II , Holy Roman Emperor . On the other hand , Wallenstein also needed a peace : The campaigns of Christian IV succeeded to keep imperial forces busy that were needed elsewhere , and with respect to Denmark , this was a major intent behind the assaults . Furthermore , the Danish - Swedish alliance that took shape constituted a veritable threat to Wallenstein ' s North German gains . The Peace of Lübeck then basically returned to Christian IV his pre - war possessions , while he had to promise not to intervene in the empire again . After Albrecht von Wallenstein had lost much of his reputation in the Battle of Stralsund , the victory at Wolgast postponed his dismissal . Though Ferdinand II had Ramboldo , Count of Collalto reduce Wallenstein ' s army , the passage about his dismissal was striken out . In 1630 , Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden started the Swedish invasion of the Holy Roman Empire , landing on Usedom near Wolgast - in the same spot as Christian IV did before . The imperial defenders of Wolgast , in charge since the battle of 1628 , were defeated on 7 August 1630 in the town , and on 25 August in the castle of Wolgast . While his success was longer lasting , he would return to Wolgast on 15 July 1633 in a casket , when his body was embarked for the final transfer to Sweden .