On 19 August, in the midst of his rebellion against the king, Eric XIV, Duke John rode out at the head of ten banners of German and Scottish and eight banners of Swedish cavalry towards Södermanland all while the troops still loyal to the king gradually switched sides and joined the rebels.

[1] It is not unclear how large the rebel army was, but it consisted of nine banners and 15 Fähnlein's, therefore likely larger than Eric's force.

The Dukes decided it was best to make a tactical retreat and reorganize their foirces north of Mälaren, and on the way, they captured Gripsholm castle.

[7] Despite his victory, Eric did not have enough troops to combat the rebels, even if the navy and thousands of cavalrymen was still loyal to him.

[8] According to the historian Dick Harrison, if Eric XIV had followed up his victory at Botkyrka, it is likely that he would have remained on the throne.