| Second Battle of Svensksund / Rochensalm | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790) | |||||||
The battle as depicted by Swedish painter Johan Tietrich Schoultz |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sweden | Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Gustav III of Sweden Lieutenant-Colonel Carl Olof Cronstedt |
Prince Charles of Nassau-Siegen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 6 frigates 16 galleys 154 gun sloops and gunboats 12,500 men |
c. 20 frigates 15 middle-sized vessels 23 galleys 77 gun sloops 10+ support vessels 14,000+ men |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 300 killed or wounded 1 udema 5 minor vessels |
At least 7,400 killed, wounded or captured 19 frigates 16 galleys 16 smaller vessels sunk 22 ships captured[1] |
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The Battle of Svensksund (Finnish: Ruotsinsalmi, Russian: Rochensalm) was a naval battle fought in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9 July 1790. The Swedish naval forces dealt the Russian fleet a devastating defeat that resulted in an end to the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90. The victory has been named the biggest Swedish naval victory of all time.[2]
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Circumstances in the 1780s, including the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, and the moving of a portion of the Russian Baltic Fleet to the Black Sea, prompted the Swedish King, Gustav III to attack the Russian Empire in 1788. It was also initiated to distract domestic attention from domestic political problems and for the king to be able to fulfill his role as a successful and powerful monarch.
Gustav's main aim was to recapture some of the territory in Finland that had been lost to the Russians in the disastrous war of 1741-43. In 1788, he launched a surprise attack against the Russian fleet, intending to catch it by surprise. The plan was to attack Kronstadt and land a force to assault the capital of St Petersburg.
The war was intended to be short and to be won by the assault aton St Petersburg, conducted by the navy and skärgårdsflottan (the "archipelago navy"). The latter, officially designated as Arméns flotta ("navy of the army") was a separate branch of the armed forces designed for coastal operations and amphibious warfare in the Baltic. Since its formation in 1756, it had been something of an elite within the Swedish armed forces. However, after the Battle of Hogland (1788) (a tactical tie but a strategic failure for the Swedes) Gustav lost the initiative and tensions in Sweden rose. The first battle of Svensksund on 24 August 1789 ended in a Swedish defeat.
In 1790 an attempt to assault Viborg failed, and the Swedish navy along with King Gustav himself was caught in the Bay of Viborg. It manage to escape during the dramatic "Viborg gauntlet" on 3 July, though with heavy losses to the deep-sea navy. After retreating Svensksund, King Gustav along with his flag captain Lieutenant-Colonel Carl Olof Cronstedt waited and prepared the fleet for the expected Russian attack. On 6 July, the final decisions were made for the defences, and early in the morning on 9 July 1790 the order of battle was determined and the battle started.
Russian coastal fleet was eager to attack, especially on 9 July, the anniversary of Catherine the Great's proclamation as Empress of Russia. Recognizing the failure to decisively defeat Swedish archipelago fleet year earlier at same location Nassau-Siegen chose to commit his whole force from the south. This was done to prevent Swedes from escaping to the shelter of Svartholm fortress since Nassau-Siegen was expecting a clear victory having clear superiority in ships, artillery as well as in men.[3]
The battle started very well for the Swedes. Although the Russians were superior in both men and guns, the Swedish forces were anchored in a strong horseshoe-shaped formation. The Russians attacked from the south, but soon became disordered. They took a battering from the Swedish coastal forces, including shore batteries, anchored frigates, galleys and gunboats.
The Swedes then counter-attacked with gunboats down the left flank, forcing the Russian gunboats to retreat. This in turn led to the Russian galleys being overcome by waves and sea, and either sunk or run aground. Several sailing ships, anchored in position, were boarded and either captured or burnt.
At dawn of July 10, the Swedes consolidated their position with an attack and succeeded in driving the Russian fleet off.
The Russians lost around 7,400 of at least 14,000 men dead, wounded and captured, compared with Swedish losses of one udema, four minor vessels and 300 men. Among the Russian ships that were lost were 10 "archipelago frigates" (sail/oar hybrids) and xebecs, 9 "half-xebecs" (schooners), 16 galleys, 4 gun prams and floating batteries, 7 bomb vessels, 5 gun sloops and several other small vessels.[4] Along with 21 other ships the Swedes captured the Catarina, flagship of Nassau-Siegen.
The battle of Svensksund is the biggest naval battle ever fought in the Baltic sea: 500 ships (including supply ships and other ships not involved in combat), over 26,000 men and several thousand cannons. At Svensksund, the Swedes boasted to have destroyed 40 percent of the Russian coastal fleet. It qualifies among the largest naval battles in history in terms of the number of vessels involved.
This defeat encouraged Russia to negotiate with Sweden eventually signing the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790. Neither side gained any territory, however all provisions in the peace treaty of Nystad from 1721 that formally infringed upon Swedish sovereignity were cancelled.
After the war the Russians started a massive fortification programme on the eastern, Russian, side of the Kymi river, building the sea fortress Fort Slava and the land fortress Kyminlinna. The forts later grew into the port city of Kotka.
The Russian frigate Sankt Nikolai was sunk in the battle. She was found in 1948 almost intact off Kotka. Over 2,300 objects have been recovered from her hull by divers. [1]