snapphane

A snapphane was a member of a 17th-century pro-Danish guerrilla organization, auxiliaries or paramilitary troops that fought against the Swedes in the Second Northern and Scanian Wars, primarily in the eastern former Danish provinces that had become southern Sweden in these wars. The term was a derogatory reference for those the Swedish authorities considered illegal combatants.

==Categories== were of five general categories: Regular special forces from the Danish army sent to work behind enemy lines to disrupt communications and supply lines, obtain intelligence, prevent Swedish tax collection, catch traitors, and help Danes escape from enemy territory. Captain Pieter Sten, who the Swedes considered the fiercest of , spent part of his time in the regular army and ran a spy central at the Ringsøe lake (now Ringsjön). Nicolai Hermansen held similar roles. The King's were lightly armed cavalry units who fought in the rear and did the same tasks as the first category but on a day-to-day basis. Specialists like Pieter Sten would organize the into companies or assign volunteers to companies and constitute a link between the and the Danish authorities. Their role verged between that of paramilitary and auxiliaries in that they were paid by the state, worked on the orders of the Danish military headquarters. They were sent over to lodgings in Denmark proper, similar to regular soldiers when the campaign season was over. units were often set up on a regional basis so that all volunteers from one hundred () signed up for the same company, but as the war continued, the companies shifted shape many times. There were at least two student companies, with recruits from the universities of Copenhagen and Lund. Some units were mainly for soldiers and veterans from both the Danish and Swedish armies. The vast majority of were Scanian, but there was also a mix of Danes, Germans, Poles, and Swedes. These cavalry units of 40–100 operated over large areas. Their main task was to attack the Swedish army's supply lines, although all of the functions listed for category 1 were valid for them as well. They also worked with highly specialized units of Croat cavalry hired by the Danish king. Major General Meerheim in the regular Danish army was ultimately responsible for the operations. Ordinary peasants and yeoman farmers who continued their day-to-day lives but took up arms against approaching Swedish forces when necessary; this category was most common in the initial stages of a war but continued throughout. These combatants were similar to modern partisans or guerrillas. Another group of snapphanar were Danish bailiffs (), who supervised Danish tax collection and foraging and often clashed with Swedish troops with the same intentions.