Attacks on Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg 1704 with the island of Kotlin
| date | October 14 to November 2, 1704 |
|---|---|
| place | Saint Petersburg , Russia |
| output | Russian victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 22 warships 8,000 men |
over 50 warships 1500 men crew in Kronslot 2000–6000 in Petersburg |
| losses | |
|
1,000–1,500 dead and wounded |
about 1,000 dead |
1st phase: Swedish dominance (1700–1709)
Riga I • Jungfernhof • Varja • Pühhajoggi • Narva • Pechora • Düna • Rauge • Erastfer • Hummelshof • Embach • Tartu • Narva II • Wesenberg I • Wesenberg II
Arkhangelsk • Lake Ladoga • Nöteborg • Nyenschanz • Neva • Systerbäck • Petersburg • Vyborg I • Porvoo • Neva II • Koporje II • Kolkanpää
Vilnius • Salads • Jacobstadt • Walled Courtyard • Mitau • Grodno I • Olkieniki • Nyaswisch • Klezk • Ljachavichy
Klissow • Pułtusk • Thorn • Lemberg • Warsaw • Posen • Punitz • Tillendorf • Rakowitz • Praga • Fraustadt • Kalisch
Grodno II • Golovchin • Moljatitschi • Rajowka • Lesnaja • Desna • Baturyn • Koniecpol • Weprik • Opischnja • Krasnokutsk • Sokolki • Poltava I • Poltava II
2nd phase: Sweden on the defensive (1710–1721)
Riga II • Vyborg II • Pernau • Kexholm • Reval • Hogland • Pälkäne • Storkyro • Nyslott • Hanko
Helsingborg • Køge Bay • Gulf of Bothnia • Frederikshald I • Dynekilen Fjord • Gothenburg I • Strömstad • Trondheim • Frederikshald II • Marstrand • Ösel • Gothenburg II • Södra Stäket • Grönham • Sundsvall
Elbing • Wismar I • Lübow • Stralsund I • Greifswalder Bodden I • Stade • Rügen • Gadebusch • Altona • Tönning II • Stettin • Fehmarn • Wismar II • Stralsund II • Jasmund • Peenemünde • Greifswalder Bodden II • Stresow
The attacks on Saint Petersburg were battles in the Great Northern War . In the years 1704 and 1705 the Swedish navy and the Swedish army tried several times to storm and conquer the newly founded city at the mouth of the Neva .
In advance
On May 16, 1703 the foundation stone for the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid. Up to 20,000 workers built the new capital at the mouth of the Neva and the Baltic Sea . The construction was supervised by the Italian builder Colonel Andrei-Tresin. After four months the fortress was built. A city was built at the foot of the fortress. This city should become the gateway to Western Europe and underline the supremacy of Russia in the Baltic Sea region.
Carl Ewald von Rönne became the first in command of the Petersburg Fortress . After completing their work, several workers stayed in the newly built city, shying away from the long journey back to their homeland. Since the city was also built as a trading center, Finnish, Swedish and Livonian merchants and traders settled in Saint Petersburg. In addition, the city developed into a center of handicrafts and the arts. The establishment of the naval command in Petersburg attracted sailors from all the countries bordering the Baltic Sea who were hoping for employment in the Tsar's new navy.
In the autumn of 1703, construction of Kronschlot began on the offshore island of Kotlin to protect the city from Swedish sea attacks. There was only one place where heavy warships could pass the island and attack Petersburg. On the coast opposite this passage, the forest was cut down and the fortress was built. It was armed with 14 6-inch cannons. Over 8,000 workers and just as many horses died in the course of their construction. Its first commandant was Menshikov .
The attacks on the city
1704
The Admiral De Prou sailed at the beginning of the summer with a liquor consisting of a liner , five Frigate and five Brigantines of Karlskrona direction Petersburg. His mission was to take the city and the fortress in front of it and destroy the emerging Russian navy .
When the flotilla reached the bay in front of Petersburg, the Kronslot fortress was fully armored and in the shadow of the island lay 42 galleons , 7 frigates and several other vessels of the Russian fleet. The Swedish admiral did not feel equal to this overwhelming force and sailed to Wiborg . Together with the current commander, General Maidel, they decided to launch a combined water and land attack against Petersburg. Maidel had 1000 infantrymen loaded onto the ships and De Prou sailed again to Kronstadt . The Russian fleet had already withdrawn and so the Swedes could land almost unhindered. The 1500 men of the crew were forced to flee and the fortifications that had begun were torn down. In addition, the Swedes began bombing the Kronslot fortress, both from land and sea. After two days the bombardment of the fortress was stopped because the walls were too strong to cause any significant damage.
After the capture of Kronslot, De Prou actually wanted to unite with Maidel at the gates of Petersburg in order to conquer the city. Since Kronslot could not be taken and access to the bay was blocked, De Prou sailed back to Finland. Maidel, for his part, had marched via Systerbäck to its destination and was waiting for De Prou. When this did not appear, Maidel also withdrew to Finland.
1705
In January 1705, General Maidel ordered Colonel Armfelt to march with no small power from the coasts of Finland across the ice towards Petersburg and to attack Kronstadt and Kronslot. The Swedish troops got lost in the darkness, and when it dawned they found themselves south of Kronstadt, on the Ingrian coast. The colonel realized that a surprise attack was no longer possible, yet he attacked the Russians. However, these had already been warned and prepared, so that the Swedes only managed to drive the post from Kronstadt and set fire to a few houses and several merchant ships frozen in the ice. But he was no longer able to attack the Kronslot fortress, and they were greeted with artillery fire from a distance. So the Swedes withdrew to Finland again.
In the spring an armada of 22 warships, under the command of Admiral Cornelius Anckarstjerna, with 462 cannons and 2,340 men, hoisted anchor in Karlskrona to attack Petersburg again. They first sailed to Wiborg to take 1,000 infantrymen from General Maidel on board. Maidel refused to release the troops. Instead he wanted to attack Petersburg from the land side with his whole army.
On June 7, the fleet attempted a landing, but the water near the island was so shallow that the heavy ships were slow to reach land. The gunners of the warships began to fight the Russians who were hastily positioned on the beach. The Russians holed up behind the dunes and waited for the Swedes to come ashore. Some of the Swedes whose boats got stuck in the sand jumped into the water and waded ashore. When the Swedes reached the dunes, the Russians pounced on the landed people and caused a bloodbath with a hail of rifle bullets and grape-shooting from several howitzers. The Swedish soldiers fled back to the beach and tried to escape with the boats. In this failed attempt at landing, the Swedes lost several sloops and a few hundred men.
General Maidel appeared on June 25 with 4,000-5,000 men near Petersburg. However, he encountered a mass of Russian troops far superior to him and completed fortifications. In addition, Anckarstjerna had already withdrawn, and Maidel had to return to Finland again without having achieved anything.
Anckarstjerna first crossed the Gulf of Finland and decided to take revenge for the defeat. The third attack on Kronstadt took place on July 15, this time from the northern side. But this attempt also failed. The warships ran into a shoal well in front of the stand . The soldiers got into the water again and waded towards the beach. As they neared the bank they encountered a furrow that made it almost impossible for them to get across. The Russians were waiting for the Swedes with howitzers as in the last attack, but this time there were 15 of them and they started firing when the Swedes were within range. 600 soldiers fell victim to the grape fire.
Admiral Anckarstjerna cruised the Gulf of Finland after the second defeat and disrupted merchant shipping as best he could. Russian merchant ships were boarded and ships from other countries were prevented from passing. In this way at least part of the losses of the expensive expedition could be made good.
1706
In the summer General Maidel and his army corps again advanced against Petersburg. But his troops were too weak to encircle and besiege the city. Therefore, after winning a few skirmishes, he retired.
consequences
The Russian Army High Command saw General Maidel as a permanent threat to Petersburg. Feldzeugmeister Jacob Daniel Bruce should therefore besiege Vyborg. The Russian generals hoped that by taking the capital of Karelia, the situation in the Baltic Sea region around Petersburg would calm down.
In October 1706 an army of 18,000 men set in motion and besieged the city. This had to be canceled, however, because the Swedes had provided Wiborg with sufficient provisions and soldiers from the sea and the onset of winter made it very difficult for the Russians to replenish them. On November 4th, the Tsar let his troops march into the winter quarters. In 1710, Tsar Peter I made Saint Petersburg his capital. The Swedes made no further serious attacks on Petersburg.
literature
- Not so Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Volume 1. Braunschweig, 1861
- Ernst Herrmann : History of the Russian State. Volume 4. Hamburg, 1849
- Birgit Borowski: Baedeker Allianz travel guide St.Petersburg. Ostfildern, 2009. ISBN 978-3829710480