Siege of Szczecin (1713)

Siege of Szczecin (1713)

Part of: Great Northern War

Plan of the fortress and the surrounding area with the positions of the Lüneburgers and the Brandenburgers. including a 1 mile long stick dam

date	Beginning of August - September 29th, 1713
place	Szczecin , today's Poland
output	Surrender of the Swedish occupation and sequestration by Prussia and Holstein-Gottorp

Parties to the conflict
Sweden	Russia Poland-Lithuania
Commander
Johan Meyerfeld	Alexander Menschikow Jacob von Flemming
Troop strength
3,000-4,000 men	24,000 men 50 cannons 20 mortars 2 howitzers
losses
	184 dead, 364 wounded

The siege of Stettin by the Russian and Saxon armies in the Great Northern War lasted from the beginning of August to September 29, 1713 and ended with the handover of the city to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I.

prehistory

In August 1711, the combined forces of the Russians, Danes and Saxons moved into Swedish Pomerania . General Ernst Detlof von Krassow took over the command of the fortress Stettin and transferred the command of the fortress Stralsund to General Dücker . Krassow then concentrated his troops in Stettin and Stralsund . The allies freely occupied and pillaged the open country and advanced against the last two bastions of the Swedish army. However, the lack of food and supplies as well as the early onset of winter led to the Russian and Saxon operation being canceled. These withdrew to the winter quarters in Poland . The Danes withdrew to Schleswig .

During the winter of 1711/12, the threatened fortresses of Stettin and Stralsund received reinforcements from motherland Sweden. In a spring offensive they confronted the allies offensively. General Dücker managed to defeat the advancing Danes in a battle near Ribnitz . He also claimed the Stralsund fortress against the Russians and Saxons. At the same time Russian and Saxon troops advanced on Szczecin. The Russian commander-in-chief Alexander Menshikov appeared at the gates of the city on May 24, 1712 to investigate the location of the fortress . With his 500-strong cavalry regiment , he attacked a Swedish outpost and set two windmills on fire. Menshikov decided only to encircle and besiege the city . He himself wanted to take the strategically more important fortress Stralsund first. But the attack on Stralsund on June 18 and the landing on Rügen were successfully repulsed by the Swedes. After a successful landing on Rügen, the Swedish General Magnus Stenbock moved into Mecklenburg with 9,000 men and opposed the Danes. His goal was to relocate the war to Denmark.

General Menshikov broke off the siege of Stettin on October 25, 1712 and the combined forces withdrew towards Mecklenburg. They rushed to the aid of the beleaguered Danish soldiers who had been defeated in the battle of Gadebusch . After the invasion of the Duchy of Schleswig , the tide turned to the disadvantage of the Swedes and General Stenbock and his army had to surrender to the united armed forces after they had withdrawn into the Tönning fortress . Tsar Peter I's troops looted and burned the cities of Gartz (March 16) and Wolgast (March 27) in retaliation for the cremation of Altona and the bombing of Stade . Also Anklam and Demmin should be destroyed, but the Danish King Frederick IV. Prevented further atrocities.

The governor of Pomerania, Count Mauritz Vellingk , therefore felt compelled to negotiate a neutral peace for Stettin with the King of Prussia , Friedrich Wilhelm I and the Duke of Holstein . He feared the destruction of the city by the Russians and Saxons. The two cities of Stralsund and Stettin were the last unoccupied areas in Swedish Pomerania. The cities were to be placed under Prussian administration. The parties agreed to station Prussian troops in Stettin and Holstein troops in Wismar . But the Swedish commander of the fortress Stettin, General Meyerfeldt , refused to hand over the city to Prussia. The Prussian king saw his neutrality between the conflicting parties endangered and withdrew the treaty. Friedrich Wilhelm I also worried that this step would lead the King of Sweden to war against Prussia.

Preparations and beginning of the siege

At the same time, a 24,000-strong Russian-Saxon army reached Swedish Pomerania. At the beginning of August 1713 they established their first positions some distance from the fortress. The artillery was brought in from Stade and Saxony (60 cannons). The artillery positions were completed in mid-September. On August 5, 1713, Russian soldiers captured the first Swedish ski jump in Grabow by the water . The French corps fighting on the Swedish side then went back to the Vogelstangenberge and buried itself there. From this position the Russians were heavily shelled and suffered heavy losses. The French forced the Russians to evade on September 13, 1713 and they bypassed the mountains and attacked again from Pomeränsdorf , Scheune and Krekow.

On the same day, Russian and Saxon troops stormed the Sternschanze . Your crew captured and the trenches opened in front of the New Gate. The loss of this position created chaotic conditions among the defenders. The Swedish occupation, including their commander, and the residents of Szczecin did not show the will to defend as they did during the last sieges of the city. The Swedish troops left the important position in the neighboring dam on September 16, 1713 . Damm was immediately occupied by Russian troops from Gollnow . The commander of Szczecin ordered the reconquest of this key position, which was important for the defense of the city. The Russian occupation was captured, but the previous commanding officer of the fortress, Major Grand Cross, and many Swedish soldiers were killed in the storming of the Russian positions.

The bombing of the city

simple drawing of the bombing of Szczecin in 1713

After the Russian and Saxon artillery positions were completed on September 22, 1713, the bombardment of Szczecin began. The occupying forces of Szczecin returned fire and kept the Russian and Saxon troops away from the fortress. On September 28, 1713, the Allied positions fired from all batteries at the same time on the city.

The city was in flames within a short time when it was fired with incendiary bombs . The fire fighting work of the fire brigade and the citizens of the city were so severely hindered by the constant rain of bombs. Over 70 houses were destroyed. The commander of the fortress realized that the fortress could not be held. The option of a foreign administration of Szczecin was now considered as a way out in order not to leave the city to the Russian and Saxon troops.

Negotiations and handover of the city

Commander Meyerfeld got in touch with the Holstein ambassador von Bassewitz on September 28th and tried to win him over as a negotiator for an armistice. On the same day, under the parliamentary flag , he went to the Russian camp and established contacts with General Menshikov. Bombs and fireballs continued to be fired at the city as negotiations began.

It was not until the morning of September 29th, when the armistice came about, that the general stopped the shelling of the city. A brisk trade began immediately between the besiegers and the inhabitants of Szczecin.

General Menshikov visited the fortress and the camp of the Swedish troops on October 2nd. These had left Stettin and camped on the bird pole mountains.

Under the direction of the Holstein Minister von Görtz and the Saxon Count Flemming , the contract of Schwedt was signed. They managed to allay the concerns of the King of Prussia and approval was also wrested from General Menshikov.

The contract stipulated that Friedrich Wilhelm I had to pay his allies Russia and Saxony-Poland 400,000 thalers to replace the war costs. Furthermore, the city of Stettin, the Western Pomerania district up to the Peene , the city of Wolgast, the island of Usedom and the city of Wollin were placed under Prussian sequestration .

In addition, Prussia, together with the Holstein-Gottorp House, took on the obligation to ensure that the Swedes, from Pomerania, do not carry out any attacks on Poland or Russia; Furthermore, the defense of Pomerania against possible attacks from outside had to be guaranteed.

The lands were to remain under Prussian and Holstein sequestration until they had repaid the 400,000 thalers in compensation to Prussia. After that they would be under the Swedish crown again .

After the conclusion of the contract, the Swedes vacated Stettin and withdrew to Stralsund. This city and the Western Pomerania district between the Peene, Trebel and Recknitz as well as the island of Rügen remained in Swedish hands.

Two Swedish battalions , a total of around 1,600 men under the command of Arvid Horn , entered service in Holstein until other troops arrived and remained in Stettin. At the same time, on October 6, 1,600 men of the Prussian army entered Stettin. Under the command of General von Borcke , together with the Holstein troops, they provided the provisional garrison of Stettin. The King of Prussia arrived in Stettin on October 7th. He stayed in the city for three days and visited the fortress and the garrison.

On October 16, the Russian and Saxon troops marched home.

The consequences

The Swedish influence on Pomerania had shrunk considerably with the surrender of this fortress and part of the province. When the King of Sweden returned in 1714, Friedrich Wilhelm I tried to pay Karl XII his 400,000 thalers for war costs . to collect. But he made it clear that he did not recognize the Schwedt Treaty. He demanded the unconditional return of Stettin and the Prussian sequestration areas.

Since both sides were already arming themselves for a war over Pomerania, the King of Prussia considered it advisable to withdraw the Holstein troops, which had once fought side by side with the Swedes, from Stettin. In April 1715, the commander of Stettin managed to disarm the Holstein troops by means of a ruse and lead them out of the city.

On May 28, 1715, Stettin and the sequestered areas went into Prussian administration and were administered from Stargard .

In 1720, the Peace of Stockholm brought Stettin under Prussian sovereignty and on August 10, 1721, the Stettiners swore the oath on the King of Prussia. Friedrich Wilhelm I had the Pomeranian capital , which had been destroyed by the Great Elector during the Swedish-Brandenburg War in 1677 , rebuilt as a fortress, administrative and garrison town with numerous new buildings.

literature

• Fr. Thiede: Chronicle of the City of Stettin , Stettin (1842)
• Emil von Cosel : History of the Prussian State and People under the Hohenzollen Princes Volume 1, Leipzig (1869)
• Friedrich von Restorff : Topographical Description of the Province of Pomerania , Stettin (1827)
• Karl Friedrich Pauli : General Prussian State History Volume 8, Halle (1767)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ by Cosel, p. 434
2. ^ Johann Friedrich Hartknoch: Contributions to the history of Peter the Great, first volume, 1774, p. 478.
3. ↑ Thiede, p. 786
4. ↑ Böhmer The Sieges of Stettin , p. 81
5. ↑ Thiede p. 787
6. ↑ Freiherren von Pöllnitz Memorien II , p. 46
7. ↑ Thiede, p. 789
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Thiede, p. 790
9. ^ Pauli p. 55
10. ↑ Thiede p. 794
11. ↑ von Restorff p. 95