Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)
Second Battle of Svensksund in July 1790
by Johan Tietrich Schoultz
| date | June 28, 1788 to August 14, 1790 |
|---|---|
| place | Scandinavia |
| Casus Belli | Loss of territory of Sweden in the Peace of Nystad and Peace of Åbo |
| output | draw |
| Peace treaty | Peace of Värälä |
| Parties to the conflict | |
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| Commander | |
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The Russo-Swedish War from 1788 to 1790 ( Russian Русско-шведская война 1788–1790 ; Swedish Rysk-svenska kriget 1788–1790 ) ended with the peace treaty of Värälä . The Russo-Swedish War was linked to the Russo-Austrian Turkish War (1787–1792) and the Danish-Swedish War (1788).
Motifs
The Swedish King Gustav III. decided in 1788 to start a new war against Russia . His motives were varied. With a victory over his cousin Catherine II , he promised an improvement in his domestic political reputation in Sweden. The war was also intended to improve the country's financial situation and increase the fame of the Swedish army. After all, he wanted to make up for Sweden's military disgrace in the Seven Years' War . If possible, territorial gains were to be made in the areas that Sweden had to cede to Russia in the Peace of Nystad in 1721 and in the Peace of Turku in 1743 . In addition, the aim was to put an end to Russian influence over Swedish domestic politics.
Outbreak of war
Although enlightened absolutism prevailed again in Sweden after Gustav's coup-like abolition of parliamentarism in 1772 , the king had to take into account the resistance in the Swedish nobility and try to attract strong critical voices to his side through a clever start to the war. He rightly suspected that the Swedish population and the Swedish military were hostile to an armed conflict with Russia.
On June 28, 1788, the war began with a staging in which Swedish soldiers in counterfeit Russian uniforms fired at Swedish territory near Puumala . After that, Russia should be blamed for this incident. However, real Russian soldiers appeared at Puumala, and their intervention actually started the war.
Secretly, the great powers England , Netherlands and Prussia viewed the outbreak of war with benevolence. They hoped for a weakening of Russia, which had already achieved some military successes in the war against the Ottoman Empire that broke out in 1787 . Sweden, for its part, formed an alliance with the Ottoman Empire in 1789 so that Russia could be involved in a two-front war.
Liikala memorandum
Shortly after the start of the war, high Swedish officers in Finland wrote the so-called Liikala memorandum in August 1788, which turned against Gustav's policy. A few days later, 113 Swedish military members of the opposition Anjalabund signed a letter to the king in which they expressed their support for the memorandum. In it they declared war illegal and advocated a negotiated peace with Russia. They called for a Reichstag to be convened. Gustav III saw treason in it and had most of the leaders of the conspiracy sentenced to death . The verdict, however, was only one man enforced . Some were deported to the Swedish Caribbean island of Saint-Barthélemy since 1784 or were later pardoned.
Denmark enters the war and the cranberry war
In August 1788, Denmark-Norway renounced its neutrality and entered the war as an ally of Russia. The Danish King Christian VII fulfilled his obligations under the military assistance pact from 1773 ( Treaty of Tsarskoe Selo ) towards the Russian Tsarina.
On September 24th and 25th, 1788, around 10,000 Danish soldiers, mainly Norwegian troops, invaded the northern part of Bohuslän under the command of Prince Karl von Hessen-Kassel . The Danish Crown Prince Friedrich (later King Friedrich VI. ) Was also on the campaign. The few Swedish defenders withdrew.
The first major meeting between Swedish and Norwegian troops took place on September 29, 1788 in the battle at the bridge of Kvistrum (in today's Munkedal in the middle of Bohuslän), about 30 km north of Uddevalla . In the battle, 800 Swedish soldiers were surrounded by the superior Norwegian army. The fight lasted only 45 minutes and ended with the Swedish surrender. Five soldiers were killed on both sides, 61 Swedes and 16 Norwegians were wounded. On September 30th, Danish and Norwegian troops took Uddevalla almost without a fight, on October 3rd Vänersborg and later Åmål .
On October 6th, the Danish troops began the siege of Gothenburg and demanded the surrender of the city. King Gustav III received in Mariestad the news of the result of the battle of Kvistrum. He went immediately to Gothenburg, which he reached at midnight from October 3rd to 4th. The arrival of the king increased the city's will to defend, Gustav categorically refused to surrender.
Immediately thereafter, Swedish diplomacy, with English support, succeeded in winning Denmark over to a compliant stance on Sweden. On October 9, 1788, both states signed an armistice . It was initially valid for eight days, was extended to four weeks and finally until May 1, 1789. On November 12, 1788, the Danish troops withdrew across the border into Norway . On July 9, 1789, Denmark (also under pressure from England and Prussia ) declared itself neutral in the war between Sweden and Russia.
In Swedish history, the conflict between Sweden and Denmark is known as the " theater war " (Swedish Teaterkriget ) because the theatrical impact of the war dominated the actual disputes. In Norway, the war is known as the “ Cranberry War ” (Norwegian Tyttebærkrigen ), as the returning Norwegian troops had little food with them and were therefore forced to pick berries to support themselves. Because of these terrible conditions, around 1,500 men in the Norwegian army died of various diseases.
Course of war
The armed conflict between Sweden and Russia was much more bloody. In the course of the war, especially in Finland, there were nine major field battles between the Swedish and Russian armies :
| date | Field battle | winner |
| June 13, 1789 | First battle at Porrassalmi | Sweden |
| June 19, 1789 | Second battle at Porrassalmi | Sweden |
| June 28, 1789 | Battle of Uttismalm | Sweden |
| July 15, 1789 | Battle of Kaipias | Russia |
| July 21, 1789 | Battle of Parkumäki | Sweden |
| April 29, 1790 | Battle of Valkeala | Sweden |
| May 6, 1790 | Battle of Korhois | Russia |
| 19./20. May 1790 | Battle of Keltis | Sweden |
| June 4, 1790 | Battle of Savitaipale | Russia |
In addition, seven naval battles took place between Sweden and Russia, but without Sweden being able to achieve its main military goal, the siege and bombardment of Saint Petersburg :
| date | Naval battle | winner |
| July 17, 1788 | Battle of Hogland | Russia |
| July 26, 1789 | Battle of the southern headland of Öland | draw |
| August 15, 1789 | Battle of Korkiansaari | draw |
| 24./25. August 1789 | First skerries on Svensksund | Russia |
| May 13, 1790 | Battle of Reval | Russia |
| May 15, 1790 | Battle of the archipelago near Fredrikshamn | Sweden |
| July 3, 1790 | Running the gauntlet of Vyborg | Russia |
| 9/10 July 1790 | Second archipelago battle on Svensksund | Sweden |
The Second Archipelago on Svensksund in the Gulf of Finland in front of Kotka was a disaster for Russia, which lost between 7,400 and 14,000 men and a third of its fleet. It was the greatest military success in the history of the Swedish Navy . Shortly afterwards, Alexander Besborodko , the strong man in Russian foreign policy, sent peace signals to Stockholm .
Peace treaty
Towards the end of the summer of 1790, war fatigue also reached a decisive point in Sweden . Neither side saw any possibility of achieving decisive successes in the war. On August 14, 1790, Sweden and Russia signed the Peace of Värälä . It did not envisage any territorial changes. All prisoners of war should be released unconditionally. Sweden received some small economic advantages in trading with Russian ports. Russia refrained from interfering in Swedish domestic politics.
Result
On the Swedish side, 21,000 soldiers and 29,000 civilians are said to have died during the war. The Russian losses are unknown. Ultimately, the war had largely no consequences for Russia and Sweden. In any case, Catherine II's engagement was mainly directed against the Ottoman Empire . Europe itself was more concerned with the revolutionary movements in Poland and France .
Gustav III In 1791 he even signed a friendship treaty with Russia in order - supported by Prussia and Austria - to undertake an adventurous move for the monarchical principle against the French Revolution , which, however, could not be realized due to internal Swedish resistance. He himself was in the 1792 Royal Opera of Stockholm murdered.
literature
- Petri Karonen: Pohjoinen suurvalta - Ruotsi ja Suomi 1521–1809 . Porvoo W. Söderström, Helsinki 1999, ISBN 951-023739-6 (Finnish).