The preparation of a detailed plan for the crossing was delegated to Carl Gustaf Wrangel, who would also prepare for possible Danish landing attempts on Jutland. On 9 January 1658, Charles X Gustav held a military conference in Kiel with his senior officers and civilian officials, including Wrangel, count palatine Philip Florinus of Sulzbach and Margrave Charles Magnus of Baden-Durlach. During the conference, most of its participants agreed the Swedes would conduct a landing operation on Funen, with a small squadron of five warships from Wismar led by "skeppsmajor" Tönnes Specht. By mid-December 1657, the squadron had assembled in Sønderborg and seized several transport vessels from Vendsyssel and Samsø that were carrying grain to Lübeck. But the ice cover came closer every day, and it was uncertain whether the entire Swedish cavalry could be transferred across the strait. As ice spread quickly and the cold persisted, getting to Funen with transport ships became impossible. This left only one alternative—a march across the frozen Little Belt, the strait between Jutland and Funen. Several conference participants reported ice formations along Jutland's east coast, at Assens' ferry, at Haderslev, and at Flensburg.