War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund ( " Kriget mot Sigismund " ) was a war between Duke Charles , later King Charles IX and Sigismund , King of Sweden and Poland . Lasting from 1598 to 1599 , it is also called War of Deposition against Sigismund , since the focus of the conflicts was the attempt to depose the latter from the throne of Sweden . The war eventually resulted in the deposition of Sigismund , with Duke Charles taking over the government and later also acceding to the throne . Background . When King John III died in 1592 his son Sigismund , King of Poland since 1587 , acceded to the Swedish throne . Then conflicts arose . Duke Charles , the oldest living son of Gustav Vasa , did not approve the accession of Sigismund , his nephew and a Catholic , to the government of a realm that could just as well be his . After Sigismund had been crowned King of Sweden February 19 , 1594 , he decided that no Parliaments ( " riksdagar " ) could be summoned without the King ’ s consent . Despite this , Charles summoned a Parliament at Söderköping in autumn 1595 , at which he managed to get his will through . The Duke was appointed Regent with “ the advice of the Council ” , meaning that he was to govern Sweden together with the Privy Council during the King ’ s absence from the Realm . Soon afterwards , the nobility of Finland , led by the Sigismund - appointed Governor , Klaus Fleming , rejected these decisions . They sympathised with the King and considered Charles a rebel . As a counterattack , Charles instigated a rebellion against Fleming , the Cudgel War , among the farmers in Ostrobothnia . Fleming managed to quell the revolt but died in April 1597 . Roughly at the same time , a letter arrived from Sigismund ’ s headquarters in Poland stating that he would not accept Charles as regent . The Duke then used a tactic which his father had employed , namely to resign from office . However , the response was not what Charles had been hoping for : the King accepted Charles ’ s resignation and invested complete power in the Privy Council . Despite the difficult situation , Charles summoned another illegal Parliament the same year , this time in Arboga . Only one of the Privy Councillors showed up . The reason was that Charles ’ s goal of deposing Sigismund had now been revealed , and the men understood that a serious revolt was brewing . When Duke Charles threatened the absent men with severe punishment some of them lost courage . Erik Gustavsson Stenbock , Arvid Gustavsson Stenbock , , and fled immediately to Sigismund . Thus , Duke Charles was able to assume control over a large share of the powerful castles in the country , and in this manner achieved control over almost all the Realm . The problem was Finland , where Klaus Fleming ’ s widow guarded Åbo castle . But after psychological warfare , Charles and his followers managed to take the castle in Turku ( ) . It is said that when the Duke entered the castle chapel he saw Klaus Fleming ’ s body lying in a coffin . He is said to have said : “ Hadst thou now been alive , thy head would not have been in great safety . ” Then Fleming ’ s widow Ebba Stenbock is said to have approached the Duke and responded : “ If my late husband had been alive , Your Grace would never have entered herein . ” When Sigismund found out about what had happened in Finland he lost his patience . The King could not accept Duke Charles ’ s unrespectful actions . He decided to use force . The Sausage Campaign and the Fall of Kalmar . In February 1598 Sigismund assembled an army consisting of merely 5 , 000 men . A larger army had been proposed , but had been dismissed since Sigismund expected Swedish forces to join him , and also did not want to come into conflict with them . The advisers and the King expected military support from Finland and Estonia ( homes of the Swedish gentry formerly commanded by baron Klaus Fleming ) . They also wanted help from Denmark – Norway and pro - Sigismund parts of Sweden . The diplomat Laski was dispatched , but Denmark did not show any interest . In May , Sigismund ’ s men started to advance northwards . The army gathered in Marienburg , where the Livonian Jürgen Farensbach was appointed commander . The army was to be transported from Danzig to Sweden on Swedish ships , but the Swedish Estates declined . They refused to lend him ships as long as he stayed with a foreign army . There was widespread suspicion against Sigismund and his Catholic warriors . Thus the Estates promised to protect Duke Charles and the others who rebelled against the King . Since the Swedes refused to help with the transport , Sigismund had to buy and capture ships . When he had got hold of a hundred ships , the army was able to begin its journey to Sweden . Due to bad winds , the journey across the sea took a long time . Hence , a coordinated attack by the Finns and Sigismund ’ s Polish soldiers could not be undertaken . The Finnish soldiers , commanded by Governor Arvid Eriksson ( Stålarm ) , landed in Uppland one week ahead of Sigismund ’ s landing . Duke Charles was on his way to Kalmar when the Finns invaded Uppland . He immediately rode towards Stockholm to defend the city . Meanwhile , three Protestant leaders , Nicolaus Olai Bothniensis , and , attempted to stop the Finnish Sigismund loyalists . They were able to get the support of the farmers of Uppland , and after some minor fighting , Stålarm ’ s men withdrew . They felt threatened by Duke Charles ’ s navy , and were ordered not to get involved in any major battles . This event has been somewhat peculiarly named “ The Sausage Campaign ” , because the farmers captured the Finns ’ bags , containing sausages . The Sausage Campaign was a minor victory for Duke Charles . The greatest threat was coming from the south . At the end of May 1598 Sigismund landed on Swedish soil at Avaskär . The King opened peacefully by sending the diplomat Laski to Kalmar for negotiations . His task was to convince the city ’ s commanders to open the gates . However , the negotiations led nowhere . Instead , the King took his soldiers and marched on Kalmar . The army halted just outside of the city . The plan was to frighten the commanders into opening the gates . To make his message even more terrifying , Sigismund threatened the city with severe punishments and to withdraw the nobility of all children in the city . The propaganda worked well and Sigismund was able to make his long - desired entry on August 1 . Decisive events . After the fall of Kalmar , Duke Charles found himself with major trouble on his hands . The Polish army attracted Swedish followers and Stockholm , lacking military defence , was easily taken with the help of the nobility and officers of Götaland . After this event , the cavalry of Uppland joined up , and new forces were mobilised in Finland and Estonia . A group of envoys from Brandenburg , Prussia and Mecklenburg shuttled back and forth between Duke Charles ’ s and Sigismund ’ s camps for three weeks , trying to rescue the peace . Despite their great efforts , they failed . Sigismund sailed with his infantry to Stegeborg Castle on August 11 . The cavalry went to the same place by land . Charles ’ s situation was hardly optimal . The only bright spots were the escapement of , the ex - commander of Stockholm , from the city , and the Swedish navy ' s refusal to join forces with the Poles . Sigismund now had control over Stockholm , the key to Sweden . However , Sigismund and his fleet sailed into a violent storm : hundreds of men were thrown overboard and perished . This incident dramatically changed the situation . Suddenly , the King was in an exposed position . On August 22 he landed at Stegeborg with merely 100 men , a position worsened by the presence of Charles ’ s rested army nearby . Sigismund ' s men had anyway taken the fortresses of Älvsborg and Gullberg in other parts of the country . In the area around Stegeborg , Duke Charles had withdrawn to Linköping , from where he could block the troop supply to Sigismund . The King was surrounded by in all 5 , 000 men . On August 28 , Duke Charles and his men set out from Linköping . They camped at Mem , a few kilometres northwest of Stegeborg . At the same time , negotiations between the parties were ongoing . The Duke requested clear - cut answers from Sigismund , which the King interpreted as indicating that an assault was impending . His own army was in a trap , but he counted on help from other forces elsewhere . Hans Vejer was ordered to attack the Swedes in the back , from the west ; another commander , Farensbach , drew up his forces in order of battle in front of the enemy . Charles immediately responded . At the morning of September 8 , the Swedes attacked Sigismund in the Battle of Stegeborg . The Swedes got off to a real nightmare start , and after a few hours , Sigismund ’ s victory was clear . Being magnanimous , the King ordered the killing to stop . The losing Swedes quickly withdrew to their camp at Mem . The losses amounted to 300 men , but the loss of prestige hurt Charles the most . He felt himself extra humiliated by Sigismund ’ s magnanimous behaviour . The strain grew so big that the normally stubborn Charles wanted to abdicate and escape the country with his family . A few senior officers managed to persuade Charles to stay , however . The negotiations were resumed and they led to a two day ceasefire . During these days , there was plenty of maneuvering among the forces . Sigismund summoned more soldiers from Poland , at the same time as the Swedish navy sailed towards the coast . The King was in charge of the situation until the Swedish navy , commanded by Joachim Scheel , anchored outside Stegeborg . Because of unfavourable winds , they had not been able to do this before . But once they had got there , the tables turned again . Since Scheel brought with him new forces , Charles could raise the stakes in the negotiations . The navy also blocked any reinforcements to Sigismund from Poland . Sigismund immediately felt threatened and treated the blockade as a declaration of war . For this reason , he and the Poles left Stegeborg on September 20 to march on Linköping . Duke Charles ’ s army immediately followed . The night to September 25 minor detachments skirmished with each other . The morning of September 25 , 1598 the armies clashed in a major engagement at the Battle of Stångebro . Duke Charles won a decisive victory which forced Sigismund to agree to harsh terms . Charles demanded that the King send home his entire army , but that he himself was to stay and await a Parliament . Also , a number of Swedes who had sided with Sigismund were captured . These were later executed in the Linköping Bloodbath of 1600 . The agreement was sealed with a dinner between Charles and Sigismund on Linköping Castle . The King , who was under pressure , fearing for his life without his army and having realised that he had lost the political battle , fled during the coming days to Poland . At the same time as the peace treaty was being signed in Linköping , conflicts were taking place in Dalarna . There , a pro - Sigismund bailiff , , had tried to raise up the Dalecarlian s against Duke Charles . Chaos ensued . Näf was executed , and the Dalecarlians set out on the so - called Neaf Campaign ( 1598 ) , burning and killing down to Brunnbäck ferry . In Västergötland , Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm , illegitimate son of Duke Charles , defeated the rebellion . Year 1599 . The King had planned to return to Sweden , which raised morale among his followers . However , these plans were never put into action . But the war had not ended . It continued for a few months , as Charles tried to reclaim the cities that were still in Sigismund ’ s hands . He started by appointing a new city government in Stockholm . Then he scolded the burghers , who he claimed hadn ’ t defended the city enough . It all finished with a lot of people being jailed , among them Archbishop Abraham Angermannus , who had supported Sigismund . Then Swedish forces , led by Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm , marched towards Kalmar to lay siege to the city . Johan Larsson Sparre defended the walls and the castle in the hope that the King would return to Sweden . But he never got any assistance and the night between March 1 and March 2 the city was assaulted . Gyllenhielm and Samuel Nilsson were ordered to attack the north gate . Duke Charles himself led the attack on the western gate . After a short and sharp fight , Charles ’ s men managed to scale the walls . Since the soldiers began looting the city , however , the opportunity to capture Kalmar Castle in the same stroke was lost . The coming days , the castle proved more tenacious than expected . Johan Larsson Sparre kept the Swedes away , and finally six Polish ships arrived . These , however , were driven back by four smaller Swedish ships and Swedish artillery fire from within the city . When the Polish ships were unable to do anything , hope disappeared for the defenders inside the castle . On May 12 , they surrendered . After that , Johan Larsson Sparre and his closest men , including Christoffer Andersson Stråle and , were captured . After the assault and capture of Kalmar , the focus of the war moved to Finland . Stronghold after stronghold began to be captured in July . At first , Hans Klasson Bielkenstierna and Peder Stolpe commanded the battle against Sigismund ’ s followers , but on August 19 , Duke Charles personally assumed command . With the help of the navy , he crushed the last remnants , and by September all of Sigismund ’ s followers were gone , detained or executed , e . g . in the Åbo bloodbath . Aftermath and consequences . Sigismund was officially deposed from the throne of Sweden by a Parliament held in Stockholm on July 24 , 1599 . He was given six months to say whether he wanted to send his son Vladislav to Sweden as his successor , under the condition that the boy would be brought up in the Evangelical faith . Otherwise the Estates would look for a new king . In February 1600 , Duke Charles summoned the Estates of the Realm to Linköping . Since Sigismund had not provided a reply , the Estates elected Duke Charles as King Charles IX of Sweden . The consequences for those who had supported Sigismund were devastating . The most prominent among them were killed by the new King , in what was called the " Linköping Bloodbath " . During the winter and spring of 1600 , Charles also occupied the Swedish part of Estonia , as the castle commanders had shown sympathies towards Sigismund . This occupation led to the Second Polish - Swedish War . See also . " This article is a translation of the equivalent article at Swedish Wikipedia . "