Crossing to the island of Als

Course of events

Stefan Czarniecki’s corps joined the allied crossing to the Danish island of Als. The Danish campaign took Commonwealth soldiers far beyond their own borders.¹

A closer look

The famous story has Czarniecki’s cavalry swimming across the strait. The Polish Army Museum contrasts that tradition with participant Jakub Łoś’s account: boats and rafts carried the men and some horses, while other horses were towed behind. This separates a memorable legend from a plausible December crossing.¹

Why were Polish troops in Denmark?

After Danish-Swedish fighting in 1658, John II Casimir's allies moved to support Frederick III. According to the museum, Czarniecki led about 4,500 soldiers. They operated alongside Brandenburg and imperial troops: this was a coalition campaign far from the Commonwealth.¹

One strait, two accounts

The museum gives a crossing of roughly 450–500 metres, with depths reaching about 10 metres and a shallower stretch midway. Jan Chryzostom Pasek popularised an image of cavalry swimming across. Another participant, Jakub Łoś, described boats and rafts carrying the men and some horses, with other horses pulled behind. The difference shows how a vivid story could obscure the operation's logistics.¹

In public memory

The Danish campaign entered literature and painting, and the crossing appears in Poland's national anthem. That commemoration does not establish exactly how each soldier and horse crossed the strait.¹