Battle of the Neva (1708)

Battle of the Neva Part of Great Northern War Date August 29, 1708 (O.S.) August 30, 1708 (Swedish calendar) September 9, 1708 (N.S.) Location Neva River, Russia Result Swedish victory Belligerents Swedish Empire Tsardom of Russia Commanders and leaders Georg Lybecker Fyodor Apraksin Strength 2,000 men[1] between 4,000[1] and 8,000 men[2] Casualties and losses 380[3] 900[2]

Great Northern War Campaigns Denmark Russia and the Baltic provinces Poland-Lithuania/Saxony Ottoman Empire Sweden and Northern Germany Norway Finland Battles 1st Riga 1st Tönning Humlebæk 1st Narva Petschora Düna Rauge Erastfer Druskininkai Vilnius Klissow Hummelshof Nöteborg Saladen Pultusk Systerbäck Wesenberg Thorn Jakobstadt Posen 2nd Narva Punitz Gemauerthof Warsaw Praga 1st Grodno Fraustadt Kletsk Kalisz 2nd Grodno Holowczyn Neva Malatitze Rajovka Lesnaya Desna Koniecpol Veprik Oposhnya Krasnokutsk–Gorodnoye Sokolki Poltava Perevolochna 2nd Riga 2nd Vyborg Pruth Campaign Helsingborg Køge Bay Gadebusch 2nd Tönning Bender Finland Hogland Pälkäne Storkyro Gangut Stralsund Fehmarn Rügen Stresow Dynekilen Göteborg Strömstad Fredriksten Carolean Death March Ösel Stäket Grengam Treaties Charles XII invasion of Russia Grodno II Holowczyn Neva Malatitze Rajovka Lesnaya Desna Baturyn Koniecpol Veprik Oposhnya Krasnokutsk–Gorodnoye Sokolki Poltava Perevolochna

The Battle of the Neva was a battle which took place on September 9, 1708 during the Swedish invasion of Russia in the Great Northern War. While Charles XII had started his offensive against Russia from his winter quarters in Saxony, the Swedish–Finnish army of 12,000 men under the command of Georg Lybecker went in field to interrupt and possibly capture the newly ports and town of Saint Peterburg, which had been built on Swedish land. This to draw the attention and troops from the main Russian army facing Charles. The Russian forces stationed in Ingria consisted of 24,500 men of which the command had been appointed to Fyodor Apraksin. While having reached the river of Neva the Swedes under Lybecker prepared their crossing. Apraksin had fortified the opposite bank with about 8,000 men and several boats patrolling the river.

Lybecker first confused the Russian command of where the possible crossing were to be made and so, on September 9, close to Teusina, his forces started the construction of the bridge. Meanwhile, two Russian brigantines spotted the work and started firing. The Swedes, however, responded with their own cannons and soon the Russian boats had to retreat. Later after some smaller skirmishes, about 1,200 Swedes were across the river constructing fortifications, the Russians then counterattacked in full force, possibly 8,000 men. However, the Swedes made a fierce stand and the Russians were after an hour of fighting including a hasty bayonet charge from the Swedes, soundly defeated leaving 900 men dead behind while having an unknown number of wounded. The Swedes had in this action lost 86 men dead and 291 wounded. The battle had no real strategic effect as Lybeckers' force could not master to take Saint Peterburg due to lack of heavy artillery. Instead, after some further campaigning, Lybecker ran out of supplies and had to retreat to the open water to get his army evacuated back to Finland, in doing this he had to slaughter and leave many of his well–needed horses behind which served for great consequences in the Russian invasion of Finland.^[3][1]

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