Siege of Vyborg (1706)

Siege of Vyborg (1706)

Part of: Great Northern War

Vyborg around 1700

date	October 11, 1706 - early November 1706
place	Vyborg Fortress , today's Russia
output	Swedish victory

Parties to the conflict
Sweden	Russia
Commander
Georg Johann Maydell	Fyodor Matveyevich Apraxin Robert Bruce
Troop strength
1000-3000 men	12,000 infantry 5,000 cavalry 2,000 Cossacks 15 siege guns 10 mortars

The siege of Vyborg from October 11 to early November 1706 in the Great Northern War was an unsuccessful siege of the Swedish fortress on the border with Finland by Russian troops under the command of Fyodor Apraxin .

The lack of siege guns and the absence of the Russian fleet made it impossible to capture the fortress. In addition, the Russian troops could not get enough food. Thereupon the siege was broken off and the troops withdrew to Saint Petersburg .

In advance

From the spring of 1706 the Russian army had to support its ally, the troops of the beleaguered electoral king of Poland, Augustus the Strong . The Swedish king Karl XII. had invaded Poland deeply in 1701 and in 1704 appointed Stanislaus I. Leszczyński, who was loyal to Sweden, as the anti -king of Poland. The Saxon troops were far inferior to the Swedes. After the defeat in the Battle of Fraustadt in 1705, the Saxon troops withdrew to Krakow . Charles XII. advanced against the Russian troops who had advanced as far as Grodno and pursued them as far as Pinsk . The Russian Army High Command sent more and more troops to Poland and bared the border to Finland. Only the new city of Saint Petersburg had sufficient military cover .

Under the command of General Georg Johan Maidel , the Swedish troops devastated large parts of the Russian province of Ingermanland . In June Maidel marched with 4,000 men against Petersburg, but was unable to conquer the city. Startled by this danger, the tsar marched with about 20,000 men towards Vyborg to besiege and take the fortress.

Vyborg Fortress was in very poor condition. After the fortresses of Nöteborg , Nyenschantz and Kexholm became the new border fortresses between Sweden and Russia as a result of the Peace of Stolbowo , the Swedish occupiers had let the fortifications of Vyborg fall into disrepair. Only after the Schlüsselburg and Narva had fallen into the hands of the Russians by 1704 did the Swedes start building the fortifications . But this work was carried out so slowly and hesitantly that in October the Russian troops stood in front of a fortress with no intact defense. The supply situation in Vyborg with its 5,000 inhabitants was also poorly organized and relied on the limited auxiliary capacities of the Swedish Navy.

The siege

The Russian troops reached the city gates on October 11th and began the siege on land. The crew of the fortress had set the suburbs on fire in advance so that the Russians could not find any cover within range. One of these houses was the Vyborg poorhouse. The inhabitants of the suburbs found shelter in the fortress. Every male citizen was used to defend the city. However, due to the lack of the Russian Navy, the Russians were unable to seriously besiege or attack the fortress.

During the siege was the fortress commander multiple failures of smaller riders departments perform (200-300 riders) and take prisoners. In these minor skirmishes, the horsemen were supported by the artillery of the Swedish garrison . The Russian artillery, on the other hand, did not manage to direct the fire precisely at the riders in order to effectively support their own infantry and cavalry. Russian soldiers were captured several times and were immediately sent to Stockholm by ship . Swedish riders were also captured and taken to Moscow .

On October 17th a Russian captain with three dragoons and a drum appeared in front of the Karje gate. He brought letters from the Swedish prisoners and requested entry into the fortress to act for Major General Roman Bruce . He also received letters from the Russian prisoners in Stockholm and a prisoner exchange was discussed. General Maidel dispatched the agreed goods to the Russian commander four days after the negotiations.

On October 20, 200 horsemen on land and 150 infantrymen on water managed to sift as far as Rexwohauda, ​​and the Russians were driven from their positions. After two hours of fighting, the Swedish troops returned to the fortress. This venture cost the crew 40 soldiers, but also brought relief at this point in the siege ring.

The Russian artillery reached a hill near the fortress on October 22nd. After the batteries were in position, the gunners began firing cannon and incendiary balls at the city. From 22. to 27. In October the Russians fired 1,098 bullets at Vyborg. Many houses were destroyed by the bombardment . Part of the fortress wall also collapsed as a result.

On October 28, the commandant sent another drum of letters to the Russian camp. He returned with the news of the departure of the Russians, who had completely burned their camp. A cavalry unit dispatched to them took three sick Russians prisoner, who confirmed the army's departure. The Russian troops withdrew because the Swedish commander-in-chief, General Maidel, with his requested army threatened to encircle the Russians from the north.

Several days later, Swedish riders captured some stragglers in Systerbäck . They were pleased because the tsar had ordered all stragglers to be hanged in Petersburg. The return of the Russians cost many victims. Hundreds of soldiers and horses died every day from a lack of food.

The consequences

The Russian troops then limited themselves to defending the borders with Finland. In 1710, 18,000 men marched towards Vyborg under the command of General Admiral Fyodor Apraxin in order to besiege it again. This siege was carried out with the support of the Russian Navy and the fortress had to surrender on June 12, 1710.

literature

• Christian Kelch: The Liefland History from 1690–1707 , Ed. Schnakenburg, Dorpat (1875)
• Knut Lundblad: History of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden Volume 1, Hamburg (1835)
• Not so Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Volume 2, Friedrich Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1861.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Knut Lundblad: History of Karl the Twelfth, King of Sweden Volume 1, Hamburg (1835), p. 386.
2. ^ ^{A b} Knut Lundblad: History of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden Volume 1, Hamburg (1835), p. 385
3. ↑ Christian Kelch: The Liefländische Geschichte from 1690-1707 , Ed. Schnakenburg, Dorpat (1875), p. 548
4. ↑ ^{a b} Christian Kelch: The Liefländische Geschichte from 1690 - 1707 , Ed. Schnakenburg, Dorpat (1875), p. 549
5. ↑ ^{a b} Christian Kelch: The Liefländische Geschichte from 1690–1707 , Ed. Schnakenburg, Dorpat (1875), p. 550
6. ↑ Anders Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Volume 2, Friedrich Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1861, p. 45
7. ↑ ^{a b} Christian Kelch: The Liefländische Geschichte from 1690–1707 , Ed. Schnakenburg, Dorpat (1875), p. 551