King Charles XII of Sweden (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718) having lost the disastrous Battle of Poltava to Peter the Great (8 July 1709) signalling the beginning of the end of Sweden as the superpower of Europe, was now called to the borders of Norway to attack the old foe Denmark. These battles were all part of the Great Northern War from 1700 - 1721.
It was at the siege of Fredrikshald (present day Halden) in November 1718 that Charles XII, still a young man at just 36 years old, met his end, by a projectile to his head.
Popular folklore and speculation has arisen ever since as to who fired the fatal shot. Some claim it was one of his own men from a musket, tired and fed up of the endless wars and trepidations. At Poltava men were poorly equipped or prepared, as compared to Peter the Great and the death toll was high. One myth is that he was shot by a button from his own lapel.
Oulu University researchers found that the projectile must have been much bigger than that of a musket and was likely fired from afar from a fortress 200m away and by the hand of the enemy.
Oulu University
Mystery solved.
Charles XII was an extremely able military leader but alas, was lacking in logistics skills as to ensuring adequate supplies and warmth to his troops in his longer campaigns. He was so used to winning, he became complacent.
It was at the siege of Fredrikshald (present day Halden) in November 1718 that Charles XII, still a young man at just 36 years old, met his end, by a projectile to his head.
Popular folklore and speculation has arisen ever since as to who fired the fatal shot. Some claim it was one of his own men from a musket, tired and fed up of the endless wars and trepidations. At Poltava men were poorly equipped or prepared, as compared to Peter the Great and the death toll was high. One myth is that he was shot by a button from his own lapel.
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Researchers at the University of Oulu, under the leadership of Docent Juho-Antti Junno, now say they know the real cause of the death of Charles XII. Research into the cause of death of King Charles has continued for centuries, involving three autopsies (1746, 1859 and 1917). In the last autopsy, the mummified remains of Charles, buried in the church of Riddarholmen, were also X-rayed. <snip> Musket balls with a diameter of 29.5 millimetres were fired into model skulls at different speeds, and the path of the wound was investigated using computer-assisted tomography. The test firing was conducted using a 10-calibre shotgun and a 28 millimetre black powder cannon. According to Juho-Antti Junno, the study indicated that the projectile that killed the king was probably not a lead musket ball, as the damage to the model skulls were of different sizes than with King Charles, and a lead ball would have left traces of lead that would have been visible in an X-ray picture. |
Oulu University researchers found that the projectile must have been much bigger than that of a musket and was likely fired from afar from a fortress 200m away and by the hand of the enemy.
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The study concludes that it is most likely that Charles XII was killed by iron grapeshot with a diameter of well over 20 millimetres. The damage to the skull suggests that the projectile's speed on impact was probably about 200 m/s, which would correspond well to the speed of ammunition fired from a fortress about 200 metres away. This means that Charles XII met his fate not at the hands of assassins among his own men, but most likely from a shot fired from the enemy side. |
Mystery solved.
Charles XII was an extremely able military leader but alas, was lacking in logistics skills as to ensuring adequate supplies and warmth to his troops in his longer campaigns. He was so used to winning, he became complacent.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/hc02Sjl
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