Skirmish at Bender

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Skirmish at Bender

The skirmish as depicted in 1894

Date	February 1, 1713
Location	Bendery in the Ottoman Empire (present day Moldavia)
Result	Ottoman victory

Belligerents

Sweden

Ottoman Empire

Commanders

Charles XII of Sweden ^#

Strength

1,000 men, of which 45 in the king's immediate proximity

10,000 ^[1]

Casualties and losses

Over 500 captured, including Charles XII ^[2]

Unknown

v • d • e Great Northern War

Narva – Daugava – Erastfer – Kliszów – Pułtusk – Jēkabpils – Poznań – Punitz – Gemauerthof – Warsaw – Grodno – Fraustadt – Kalisz – Holowczyn – Malatitze – Lesnaya – Poltava – Perevolochna – Helsingborg – Gadebusch – Bender – Pälkäne – Storkyro – Gangut – Stralsund – Dynekilen – Ösel – Stäket – Grengam

The skirmish at Bender (Swedish: Kalabaliken i Bender) took place on February 1, 1713 on Ottoman territory, in what is now the town of Bendery, Moldavia.

After the battle of Poltava and surrender at Perevolochna in 1709, Charles XII of Sweden fled together with a few hundred Swedish soldiers and a large number of cossacks to the Ottoman Empire, where they spent a long time. The Ottomans tired of their guests and attacked the camp on February 1, 1713 in order to force the king to leave.

Together with some 40 soldiers, Charles XII held a stand against many hundred Turks until the king tripped on his own spurs while running and was captured.

[edit] Popular culture

In Turkish the word for "crowd" is kalabalık, which after the incident has become a Swedish loanword, kalabalik, with the meaning "confusion" or "great disorder". The life guard Axel Erik Roos in particular excelled during the skirmish and accounts tell that he saved the king's life three times during the day.

The incident was the inspiration for Mats Ahren's 1983 film comedy Kalabaliken i Bender. Even in the early 1920's a big motion picture was produced with scenes from the skirmish.