and dismissed him summarily. The Norwegian Army had been weakened in early 1716 by withdrawal of 5000 of the best troops to support the defense of Denmark; further Norwegian Commander-in-Chief Barthold Heinrich von Lützow was not famous as a visionary leader. When rumors reached Christiania that Charles XII was preparing to invade, all remaining troops in Østerdal and Gudbrandsdal were ordered to the border at Halden and Fredrikstad. The Norwegians anticipated attack from Sweden might occur at Kongsvinger, Basmo or Halden. It was Basmo where Charles XII struck, crossing the border and establishing his headquarters at the Høland parsonage on March 8, 1716. The Norwegian commander of the district did not lack courage, and without waiting for his full forces to assemble, he attacked Charles’ superior forces with only 200 dragoons, fighting valiantly but suffered serious losses including his own capture. Upon hearing of this defeat, General Lützow withdrew his forward troops and established a defensive position at Christiania. The Swedish forces advanced and, leaving a greatly strengthened garrison in Akershus fortress at Christiania, on March 19 Lützow withdrew to Bragernes in Drammen. The Norwegian scorched earth policy and guerrilla raid interdiction of supply chains by the residents of Bohuslän denied Charles of supplies. Further, the Norwegian fortresses behind his lines threatened his retreat if he became seriously weakened in combat. Charles took the city of Christiania, but without heavy siege artillery was unable to take Akershus Fortress. After a brief occupation of Christiania, Charles retraced his steps to the Norwegian fortresses in south-eastern Norway with the objective of capturing them, particularly Fredriksten. This would remove the threat at his back, and they were to serve as the base for his offensive later that year, as well as capture of the harbours at mouth of the Glomma river, which would allow him to land the necessary provisions for a successful siege of Akershus. Charles' troops attempted to take Fredriksten by storm on July 4. His troops took the town after fierce fighting, but the citizens set fire to their homes and Charles, unable to take the fortress, was forced to retreat and await the arrival of heavy guns in the aftermath of the Battle of Dynekilen. Commodore Johan Vibe of the Dano-Norwegian fleet off Bohuslän was charged with interdicting supplies. Peter Wessel, a Norwegian captain serving in the fleet had distinguished himself in numerous engagements off the coast of Swedish