| Battle of Hogland | |||||||
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| Part of Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sweden | Russia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland | Samuel Greig | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 15 ships of the line | 17 ships of the line | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 ship 1,000 killed or wounded |
1 ship 1,800 killed or wounded |
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The naval Battle of Hogland took place on 17 July (6 July OS) 1788 during the Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790).
Contents |
On the outbreak of war with Russia in 1788, Sweden planned to attack the Russian capital St. Petersburg. One Swedish army was to advance through Finland; a second army, accompanied by the Swedish coastal flotilla, was to advance along the Finnish coast into the Gulf of Finland; while a third army sailed with the Swedish battlefleet in order to land at Oranienbaum to advance on St. Petersburg. To succeed, the Russian Baltic Fleet had to be eliminated or blockaded in its ports at Reval (now Tallinn) and Kronstadt.
In early July, the Swedish battlefleet of 15 ships of the line sailed into the Gulf of Finland. A hastily assembled Russian fleet of 17 ships of the line under Admiral Samuel Greig met the Swedish fleet off Hogland Island on 17 July 1788.
The two fleets were fairly evenly matched, but while Greig was an experienced commander, Duke Karl seems to have spent much of the battle in his cabin. Duke Karl’s flagship was forced out of the line, shrouded in smoke. Greig’s flagship, the 100-gun Rostislav then attacked the 70-gun Prins Gustav, commanded by Vice-Admiral Gustav Wachtmeister, which was forced to surrender. Elsewhere, the Swedes disabled the 74-gun Vladislav, which lost its steering and was then surrounded by Swedish vessels before surrendering to the 62-gun Kronprins Gustav Adolf. The fighting continued for six hours, and the fleets only separated after dark with the Swedish ships beginning to run out of ammunition.
Unusually for a naval battle, both sides captured one ship. The Russians suffered the worst casualties, losing about 600 men killed compared with between 200 and 300 Swedes, but the battle was a strategic victory for the Russians because Greig had done enough to prevent the Swedish landing.
(1 180 guns)
(1 236 guns)