Skirmishes at Rauge

Skirmishes at Rauge

Part of: Great Northern War

date	September 15, 1701
place	Rappin, Casseritz and Rauge, Swedish Livonia
output	Victory of the Swedes

Parties to the conflict
Sweden	Russia
Commander
Wolmar von Schlippenbach	Boris Sheremetev
Troop strength
2000 men	20,000 men about 13,000 men in the fighting
losses
about 500 dead	2000-5000 men

The skirmishes at Rauge include three minor, local clashes between the Swedish Army and the Russian Army in the Great Northern War . The three battles took place in Rappin ( Räpina ), Neu-Casseritz (also: Kasaritz , today: Vastse Kasaritsa ) and Rauge ( Rõuge ). The three battles took place on the same day, September 15, 1701, and ended with a victory for the Swedes.

prehistory

Skirmishes at Rauge

Location of the battlefield

In 1701 the Swedish main army was under the command of Charles XII. focused on the Polish theater of war. Only a small occupation force remained in Livonia under the command of Schlippenbach.

Meanwhile, the Russian army was rebuilt after the defeat in Narva in late 1700. During the course of 1701, Sheremetev troops began minor raids on Swedish Livonia . On September 3, 1701, Livonia invaded Livonia with three armies . The Russian army was led by Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev . The largest of the three armies was under the command of Boris Sheremetev's son, Major-General Mikhail Borisovich Sheremetev . About 11,000 men were subordinate to him, including 2,400 dragoons , 4,200 line infantry and 4,000 Cossacks , Tatars and Kalmyks . The second army was under the command of Major Savva Vasilyevich Aigustova. It consisted for the most part of line infantry, about 5,200 men. The third army was under the command of Jakow Nikititsch Rimsky-Korsakow. It consisted of 350 hussars , about 400 spearmen, 2250 infantrymen and 1400 dragoons with a total strength of 4400 men. The total strength of the Russian Army at Rauge was almost 20,000 men.

The Swedish army was led by Colonel Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach . The Swedish troops spread across Livonia. At Rappin 550 men were commanded by Major Anders Ludwig von Rosen . The crew of Neu-Casseritz was only 160 Swedish riders under the command of Baron Berndt Rehbinder . 100 marines and 150 horsemen were stationed at Rauge under the command of Captain Otto Reinhold Brusin. The bulk of the Swedish troops (around 2,000 men) were in the village of Kirrenpää (Kirumpya), Colonel Schlippenbach's headquarters .

Battle at Rappin

On the morning of September 15, 1701, the vanguard of Mikhail Sheremetev's army reached Rappin. The Swedish occupation took advantage of the advantageous position of the defenses and repulsed the first attack by the Russians. To lure the Swedes from their positions, Sheremetev sent three regiments of dragoons against the front of Rappin. The mock attack was repulsed by 150 Swedish dragoons under the command of Captain Herman Reinhold of Strasbourg. This part of the crew pursued the Russians and thereby weakened the ranks of the defenders.

The remaining parts of the Russian cavalry in the meantime approached from the southwest and occupied the rear of the city. From the church and the rectory, the Russian infantry began attacking the remaining defenders. These were now surrounded on all sides. Despite the hopelessness, the Swedes defended the place for another four hours before they were overrun by the superior Russians. Only 100 Swedes managed to escape. 80 Swedes were captured, of which only 30 survived their injuries. The remaining 400 men, including the commander of Rosen and the captain of Strasbourg, died defending the city.

Sheremetev's army captured three banners from the Swedish dragoons. Also 65 pairs of swords, 14 rifles, 37 pistols and two cannons. In the personal notes of Mikhail Borisovich Sheremetev, nine dead and 51 wounded Russians are mentioned. Modern research assumes that 200-300 Russians have died.

Battle at Neu-Casseritz

The Swedish possessions in the Baltic States

At the same time as the attack on Rappin, the attack on the Neu-Casseritz manor also took place. The commander of the manor sent a messenger to the Swedish headquarters the day before and asked von Schlippenbach for reinforcements.

Colonel v. Schlippenbach came to the rescue immediately, at the head of the auxiliary corps was his own dragoon regiment (Livlander Dragoon von Schlippenbach). The numerically small Swedish garrison managed to hold off the superior enemy until v. Schlippenbach could reach the manor house with his dragoons. Unsettled by the approaching support, the Russians withdrew behind the Livonia border.

Battle for Rauge

The defenders of Rauge withdrew to the village cemetery and took a stand. The highest elevation of the cemetery was surrounded by rye and a strong border, the fence was reinforced with Spanish riders and planks. In addition, it was covered on the east side by a swamp as a natural barrier. First, the Russians attacked the lightly guarded mansion and captured 35 Swedes.

As Colonel v. Schlippenbach was on his way to Neu-, fleeing farmers told him about the attack on Rauge. Schlippenbach immediately sent 300 riders to Rauge to liberate the manor house. He dispatched another 180 infantrymen and 60 dragoons with two cannons to support the troops in the cemetery. This unit was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Baron Hans Henrik von Lieven . When the Russian troops withdrew from Neu-Casseritz, Schlippenbach sent another 60 infantrymen with another two cannons, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Carl Adam Stackelberg, towards Rauge. This was followed by von Schlippenbach with the rest of his soldiers.

On the way from Casseritz to Rauge, the first group of riders met a group of Russian soldiers who had captured about 30 Estonian farmers. The horsemen freed the peasants and killed all the Russians. Following this battle, the Swedes attacked four squadrons of horsemen and drove them away.

Upon arrival in Rauge, the Russian troops who were besieging the cemetery were attacked immediately. The riders had to give way and waited for the unit of Colonel von Lieven. Together with the 180 musketeers and 60 horsemen and two cannons, the Swedes began the second attack on the cemetery. The attack is reinforced by the incoming Swedish troops of Lieutenant Colonel Carl Adam Stackelberg. The Russians evaded and withdrew.

Colonel Schlippenbach reached Rauge only after the fighting had ended. On the way to Rauge he was attacked several times by scattered Russian cavalry bands. These were all cut down. Seven standards were captured.

Losses at Rauge and Casseritz

The losses at Rauge and Casseritz amounted to about 2,000 men among the Russians. Among them Colonels Fyodor Fyodorowitsch Ussiakow and Iwan Michailowitsch Kakoskin. Furthermore, a relatively large number of members of the lower officer ranks fell. On the Swedish side, 30 soldiers and Rittmeister Cölert were killed, and there were around 50 wounded.

consequences

The Russians withdrew again behind the national border. Colonel von Schlippenbach took advantage and described the fight as a victory of the few against the many. The strength of the Russians was grossly exaggerated in all European newspapers. It was spoken of 100,000 Russians who were defeated by only several hundred Swedes. The King of Sweden raised von Schlippenbach to the rank of major general .

Sheremetev did not see himself as a loser in the battle either. In his diary he described significantly lower numbers of victims - only 23 people killed and 62 wounded; for the Novikov Dragoons regiment alone, he reported 15 killed and ten wounded.

In December of the same year, the second meeting between Sheremetev and von Schlippenbach took place. In the Battle of Erastfer , the Russians defeated the Swedish army for the first time in an open battle in this war.

literature

• Kelch, Christian (1875); The history of Liefland from 1690 - 1707 , published by Schnakenburg, Dorpat
• JE Palli (1966); Between the two battles for Narva. Estonia in the early years of the Northern War 1701-1704 years. , Tallinn

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Ullgren: The Great Northern War 1700-1721, Stockholm 2008, Prisma, ISBN 978-91-518-5107-5 , p. 86f
2. ↑ Chalice, p. 240
3. ↑ Palli (1966)
4. ↑ Chalice, p. 241
5. ↑ Chalice, p. 242