Siege of Mitau
Ordensburg Mitau, 1703
| date | August 25 to September 3, 1705 |
|---|---|
| place | Mitau , at that time the capital of Courland , today's republic-city in Latvia |
| output | Russian victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| 900 infantrymen | 10,000 men |
| losses | |
|
k. A. |
k. A. |
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 siege of Jelgava , the former capital of about Poland-Lithuania belonging Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , in the Northern Great War ended on 3 September 1705 with the surrender of the Swedish occupation.
The parties
The garrison of the capital of Courland was commanded by Colonel Knorring . A large part of Mitau's original garrison had withdrawn in advance and placed under the command of the Livonian army under General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt . General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt was the commander in chief of all Swedish troops in Livonia and Courland. When the Russian army was enclosed, the crew numbered only 900 men. At the same time, the Bauske fortress was besieged by the Russian army.
In advance
 
| |
Due to Lewenhaupt's successes in the previous year ( Battle of Jakobstadt ), Marshal Sheremetyev received the order to cut off Lewenhaupt's 7,000-strong army from Riga with a 20,000-strong army. In addition, the King of Poland , who was allied with Russia , August II , was to be supported by opening another front. The advance should be kept secret for as long as possible to avoid a concentration of Swedish forces. However, this did not succeed, so that Lewenhaupt was able to gather his troops in time.
On July 13th, a Russian regiment (around 1400 strong) under the command of Major General Rodion Christianowitsch Baur briefly conquered the city of Mitau, albeit without the associated castle. They killed around 100 Swedish soldiers in this commando operation and took six officers and 72 soldiers prisoner. After the attack, the Russians withdrew and united with the main force of Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev .
On July 16, 1705, Lewenhaupt and his entire army took up battle formation against the advancing Russian army. After four hours of fighting, the Swedes won the battle of Gemäuterhof with a loss of 1,500 men, while the numerically superior Russian army lost 6,000 men. The Swedish victory did not last long. After the defeated Russian army withdrew to Vilna , Peter I gave Field Marshal Sheremetyev the task of besieging Riga. Prince Repnin was to take over the siege of Mitau. Together with the Division Prince Repnin and the Preobrazhensky Regiment , the Russian army towards Kurland marched off. The Russian army only marched at night to keep the operation secret for as long as possible. Nevertheless, Swedish scouts learned of the recent Russian advance, so that Levenhaupt, who was promoted to Lieutenant General, was able to gather his troops in and around Riga. The Russian army command then directed the planned advance to the smaller fortresses Mitau and Bauske instead of Riga.
The siege
On August 25, 1705, under the command of Prince Repnin, the Russians began to siege the city and Mitau Castle . There were large quantities of military supplies and food in the castle of Mitau. The castle consisted of four bastions . The west and north facing sides were protected by a moat . The east side of the castle was covered by a moat and in the south the river Aa covered the castle. The garrison of the castle was over 1000 men. The command of the Swedes was held by Colonel Knorring.
The castle was surrounded by the Russian infantry. Since the artillery was not yet ready, the Russian general Prince Repnin contented himself with the temporary blockade of the castle. On the night of August 28th, the Swedes tried to break through the siege ring. Driven by the will to survive and with no prospect of relief from Riga, the Swedes fought their way through the siege ring. The Russians now had to leave their siege positions and were successfully pushed back. The attack was stopped only by the decisive opposition of the Preobrazhensk bodyguard regiment, and the Swedes were pushed back into the castle.
On September 1st the Russian artillery took up position behind the river Aa and began to bombard the castle. Within 24 hours, the Russian gunners had breached the fort's defenses, and two of the four bastions were razed to the ground by over 100 projectiles.
On September 2, the commandant of the castle received an offer from Prince Repnin to hand over the castle. Knorring asked for until the next day to think it over. In order to emphasize his request, the Russian general had the castle bombed all night. The surrender negotiations began the next morning. The commander was allowed to leave the castle with "sounding game, waving flags" as well as 12 artillery pieces and a mortar plus 13 charges for each artillery piece. Furthermore, it was agreed that the Swedes from the Dragoon Regiment of Lieutenant General Carl Ewald von Rönne were escorted up to Riga.
The consequences
The town of Bauske, located near Mitau, and its castle were subsequently besieged by Russian troops . The garrison, consisting of less than 500 men, surrendered on September 15th. The fortifications of the castle were blown up by the Russians and the castle was badly damaged, so that it subsequently remained uninhabited. The conquest of the border town of Bauske gave Russian troops access to Poland.
With the conquest of Mitau and Bauske, the last two Swedes fortifications in Courland passed into Russian hands. The Russians had completely conquered Courland in just two weeks. But the conquest could not be permanently secured. Because after the conquest of Mitau, Charles XII marched. for the first time since the battle of Narva with the Swedish main army in the Baltic States to help the oppressed Swedish forces there. The starting point was Warsaw, where he had stayed for the entire autumn of 1705. At the end of 1705 the army began to advance across the Vistula and the Bug to Lithuania. In the autumn, Swedish reinforcements from Finland had brought Lewenhaupt's army, which had gathered in Riga, to a strength of 10,000 men. The Russian forces in Courland feared that they would be gripped by Levenhaupt's troops in Riga and by the approaching Karl. After the fortifications in Mitau and Bauske were blown up, they initially withdrew from Courland to Grodno, so that Lewenhaupt was able to occupy Courland again.
literature
- Eduard Pelz: History of Peter the Great , Leipzig (1848)
- Daniel Ernst Wagner : History of Poland . Part III, Leipzig 1777 ( full text )
- Knut Lundblad: History of Charles the Twelfth King of Sweden , Volume 1, Hamburg (1835)