finnish war 1808

Small boat actions took place during the night time of 17-18 July which became known as the skirmish at Lövö (Finnish: Lövön kahakka). After starting the siege on 21 February, the Russians issued a surrender demand for the fort, but this was refused by the Swedes. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden lost, and Sweden lost its Eastern third. A few months later, on 6 January 1810, the Russian government mediated the Treaty of Paris between Sweden and France. Under Colonel Carl Johan Adlercreutz the Swedish army counter-attacked at Siikajoki and began to halt the Russian offensive. A cross found on the body of a Russian soldier who died in the Finnish War of 1808-09. The first occurred on 03 July with several others taking place soon after. A different Finnish War. The presence of the British naval units kept the Russian battlefleet strictly confined to Kronstadt, and after the British constructed artillery batteries to the Porkkala cape they cut off the coastal sea route from Russian ships. In the south, the Swedish battle fleet remained anchored within the Finnish archipelago, blocking some of the deeper coastal sea routes from Hangö towards Åbo. Referring to the treaties of 1780 and 1800, the emperor demanded that Gustav Adolf close the Baltic Sea to all foreign warships. The plan involved using the series of fortifications built after 1790 as staging grounds for the Russian advances into Finland. Swedish Offensive. However, the Swedish fleet dropped its blockade on 22 August, allowing the Russian coastal units to unite. The war was fought as part of her time world wars, the Na SCAN-PI-0000033240 The king was quite unprepared for the attack, especially as war was not declared until April. Date: 20 September 2008 (original upload date) Source: Tracé des côtes et des frontières : World Data Base II, corrigé sur la côte occidentale du golfe de Botnie et pour le lac Saimaa par le tracé issu du GSHHS. The allied fleet moved on 25 August 1808 to engage the Russian fleet, which turned and attempted to reach the relative safety of Baltiyskiy Port. [9], The Russians had advanced considerably but they had also gained the long and vulnerable coastline with it. In August, Charles XIII, anxious to improve his position at a peace settlement, ordered General Gustav Wachtmeister to land in the north of Sweden and to attack Kamensky's rear. In the end instructions which the new Swedish commander in Finland, General Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor, received from the king were an unsuccessful and open-ended mixture of ideas from these very different plans. The allied fleet moved on 25 August 1808 to engage the Russian fleet, which turned and attempted to reach the relative safety of Baltiyskiy Port. He instead entered into negotiations with Britain in order to prepare a joint attack against Denmark, whose Norwegian possessions he coveted. Ордин К., Покорение Финляндии, ч. Before the engagement started Klingspor finally arrived on 2 March and assumed command. [citation needed], According to two 2015 studies by political scientists Jan Teorell and Bo Rothstein, Sweden's loss in the Finnish War led to reforms of the Swedish bureaucracy. The Russians, however, were able to send reinforcements to the area which were, in addition to being numerically superior, both far better trained and equipped than the peasants and militia the Swedes had raised. The level of detail was so great that Russian maps of Finland were in many respects more accurate than their Swedish counterparts. Forces in Savolax (Finnish: Savo) were to press hard against the Swedes and reach the Gulf of Bothnia towards Uleåborg (Finnish: Oulu) and Vasa (Finnish: Vaasa) to cut off the retreat of the main body of the Swedish army.[5]. With the Royal Navy supporting the Swedish battle fleet there was little the Russian battle fleet could accomplish. [14], Having been alerted to the approach of additional Russian coastal units from Sveaborg, the Swedish forces moved to intercept them before they could link up with the Russian coastal unit now bottled up at Åbo. If you have any queries regarding material, then please contact us using the contact form. Swedish landings were invariably made with poorly equipped and trained forces, often with troops who had very low morale. Hostilities thus continued until May, when Shuvalov finally reached Umeå, where he was succeeded by Kamensky. In Savolax, Russians also advanced rapidly and took Kuopio on 16 March. In the south, the Swedish battle fleet remained anchored within the Finnish archipelago, blocking some of the deeper coastal sea routes from Hangö towards Åbo. Furthermore, Swedish strategy relied on the outdated plans for Finland which took into account neither the advances in weaponry, mobility of the armed forces or the greatly improved road networks of Finland. The surprised Russians garrisoned at Åbo reacted quickly, however, and deployed over 3,000 men to stop the landing force. On 17 September, the Swedes landed again, this time at Lokalax (Finnish: Lokalahti), while the coastal fleet covering the landing managed to keep the Russians away in the Battle of Palva Sund on 18 September. Prevalence & Risk Factors for Piriformis Syndrome. [23], The 200th anniversary of the Finnish War was selected as the main motif for a high value commemorative coin, the €100 200th Anniversary of Finnish War commemorative coin, minted in 2008. Swedish patrol ships (consisting of armed merchant vessels) scouted and raided the coast, taking Russians prisoners to Åland. On 17 September, the Swedes landed again, this time at Lokalax (Finnish: Lokalahti), while the coastal fleet covering the landing managed to keep the Russians away in the Battle of Palva Sund on 18 September. Before the end of March 1808 even Vasa was taken. Most of the Swedish plans assumed that warfare would be impossible during winter, disregarding the lessons from recent wars. [12] In addition, Colonel Johan Bergenstråhle landed 1,100 Swedes just a few kilometers northeast of Vasa on 25 June and managed to quickly advance to the town. The fortress surrendered on 6 May 1808 after prolonged negotiations with the Russians as the commanding officer Carl Olof Cronstedt and his council believed that resistance was futile. By the morning of 20 June, the Swedish forces were forced to withdraw. After the Russians were driven from Central Finland, their forces stretched along the line of Pori – Tampere – Mikkeli. Borgå (Finnish: Porvoo) was captured on 24 February and Helsingfors (Finnish: Helsinki) on 2 March. Total British control of the Gulf of Finland was a large obstacle to the Russian supply network and required sizable garrisons to be posted all along the Finnish coast. By the end of July the small forces Sweden had landed and the men that had supported them were either beaten or withdrawn back to their ships.[16]. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire. Meanwhile, on 30 December 1807 Russia announced that should Sweden not give a clear reply Russia would be forced to act. He instead entered into negotiations with Britain in order to prepare a joint attack against Denmark, whose Norwegian possessions he coveted. Although most Swedish officers were skeptical about their chances in fighting the larger and more experienced Russian army, Gustav Adolf had an unrealistic view of Sweden's ability to defend itself against Russia. Swedish attempts to land troops and artillery in support of the gunboats at Vestankärr on 02 August ended in failure, though the attempt came very close to capturing General Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden. King Gustav Adolf did this after securing an alliance with Britain on 8 February 1808. This forced the Swedes to allocate forces to southern Sweden and along the Norwegian border (23,000 troops). Abandoned Swedish fortifications on the Hangö Peninsula (Finnish: Hanko) were taken and manned on 21 March and on the same day the Russian army took Åbo (Finnish: Turku) while a small detachment was sent to Åland. This category contains historical battles fought as part of the Finnish War (1808–1809). The Russians utilised the guns from the burned ships, and from those which burned during the winter, and constructed several fortifications on the coast, both in Hangö as well as along narrow passages leading to Åbo. Check your email addresses on a wide range of military- and fitness-related topics were forced to.., support, and Russian responses to them thinned their strength along the Norwegian.. A force of 3,000 men to stop the landing force the fleet under Admiral Rudolph chose! 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