Storming of Lviv

Storming of Lviv

Part of: Great Northern War

Contemporary depiction of Lviv in the 17th century

date	August 27th July / 7th September 1704 greg.
place	Lviv , today's Ukraine
output	Victory of the Swedes

Parties to the conflict
Sweden	Poland-Lithuania
Commander
Charles XII.	Franciszek Gałecki
Troop strength
3 regiments of dragoons	k. A.
losses
30 dead	n / a

Campaigns of Charles XII. from May 1704 to December 1705

Franciszek Zygmunt Gałecki

The storming of Lemberg in the Great Northern War took place on August 27th ^July. / 7th September 1704 ^greg. instead of. The Swedish King Charles XII. stormed the city walls of Lemberg , the then capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship in Poland-Lithuania , with only three cavalry regiments .

In advance

At the end of May 1704, Charles XII broke. from his winter quarters to Warsaw to protect the planned royal election . The army consisted of 17,700 infantry and 13,500 cavalry. After Charles's arrival in Warsaw, Stanislaus I. Leszczyński was elected king on July 12, 1704, against the will of the majority of the Polish nobility , under the protection of the Swedish army .

After the election, Karl went with a strong army corps against the breakaway territories which the new king refused to follow. August II , the previous Polish king did not recognize the election and gave way with his army to the advancing army of Charles XII. out. When the Swedish army advanced to Jarosław in July , August took the opportunity to move back to Warsaw and overthrow the opposing king. Karl decided not to pursue the Saxon troops and sent Count Magnus Stenbock to Lemberg to demand arson . The city was one of the richest and most important cities in Poland-Lithuania during the Northern War .

The commandant of the fortress Franciszek Gałecki , who was a loyal supporter of August II, convinced the city council not to make this payment and pointed out that the Lviv fortress was never conquered in the last wars. Charles XII. then proceeded with only three cavalry regiments (Dragoons Krassow , Buchwald, Dücker ) in the direction of Lemberg and left the infantry and artillery behind in Jarosław.

Storming the fortress

The Swedes arrived near Lviv on September 5th. Parts of the regiments got lost in a dense forest area, so that the king had to postpone the attack planned for the next day. The forest was so densely grown that the regiments could only be reunited with the help of signal horns . In the steady rain that set in, the attack could not be carried out the following day either. Karl used the remaining time to train the newly recruited riders. They had hardly any combat experience and were trained in handling hand grenades . These were the key to conquering the city wall. Karl instructed his colonels on the evening of September 6th.

Lemberg was protected by a wall with towers. Furthermore, there was a protective wall with a wooden palisade wall in front of the wall. The moat was still there, but dried out. The Jesuit monastery had been reinforced with cannons and with a garrison. The storm on Lviv began on the morning of September 7th. The regiments advanced under strong cannon and rifle fire from the pylons of the monastery. Each of the colonels led his dismounted regiment. Buchwald's regiment led the right flank , Dücker's regiment the left flank and Krassov's regiment the center.

The Swedish king, who was at the head of the attack formation, was also one of the first on the wall. Within a quarter of an hour the gate was under control of the Swedes. The gate was occupied by Colonel Torstenson and a detachment from the Krasov Regiment. Colonel Buchwald advanced with his regiment into the city and occupied the market square, with that the city was conquered. The conquest of the city wall and the capture of a considerable part of the defenders was a surprisingly short battle with little losses for the Swedes. Only 30 horsemen were killed during the storm.

The garrison commander, Gałecki, had disappeared. He sought protection in the Jesuit monastery. A Swedish satellite discovered him during a search and took him prisoner.

spoils of war

171 cannons, large ammunition and food supplies were captured in the Lviv garrison. The cannons had to be blown up because the Swedes were unable to carry them. Boxes of silver and gold are also said to have been brought to the Swedish warehouse. Furthermore, the citizens of the city of Lemberg were supposed to pay 300,000 thalers in contribution to Sweden. Most of the money was waived for the citizens after a petition from the Polish king Stanislaus I. Leszczyński , who was loyal to Sweden .

Charles XII. had promised his soldiers a 24-hour pillage of the captured city before the attack . After the residents of the city stood asking for mercy from the king, he ordered his soldiers to stop immediately with the looting.

consequences

By the rapid advance on Lemberg had Karl XII. the Polish capital left almost uncovered. During the conquest of Lemberg, August II recaptured Warsaw and the opposing king had fled. So stayed Charles XII. not much time to celebrate his success. After a short time the Swedish army moved towards Warsaw. The King of Sweden tried to fix his mistake as soon as possible.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Fryxell, page 213ff
2. ↑ Anders Fryxell: History of Charles the Twelfth. Leipzig 1860, new edition 1865, p. 103 .
3. ↑ Georg Tessin, p. 207
4. ↑ ^{a b} Knut Lundblad, Volume 1, page 301ff
5. ^ Voltaire, page 453
6. ↑ ^{a b} Knut Lundblad, Volume 1, page 303
7. ↑ Anders Fryxell, page 214

literature

• Anders Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden , Volume 1, Braunschweig (1861)
• Knut Lundblad: History of Charles the Twelfth King of Sweden , Volume 1, Hamburg (1835)
• Voltaire : History of Carl XII. , Frankfurt am Main (1761)
• Georg Tessin: The German regiments of the Crown Sweden: Under Karl X. Gustav (1654-1660) , Böhlau (1967)