Battle of Erastfer

Battle of Erastfer

Part of: Great Northern War

date	December 29, 1701
place	Erastfer ( Erastvere ), Swedish Livonia
output	Russian victory

Parties to the conflict
Sweden	Russia
Commander
Wolmar von Schlippenbach	Boris Sheremetev
Troop strength
3470 men 6 guns	18,087 men 20 guns
losses
Swedish figures: 700 dead, 350 prisoners	1000 dead 2000 wounded

In the Battle of Erastfer in the Great Northern War on December 29, 1701 , the army of Russia defeated the Swedish army near Erastfer in Swedish Livonia .

prehistory

Battle of Erastfer

Location of the battlefield

Sweden and Russia had been at war since 1700. At first the Swedes managed to repel all attacks on their territory. Since the main Swedish army was tied up in Poland, much too few Swedish forces had to protect a large territory. Because of the numerical superiority of the Russians, they succeeded less and less. Despite the lost battles at Rauge in mid-1701, the Russian army units remained offensive.

The aim of the Russian efforts was to capture the fixed places in Livonia. In addition to Narva, the Swedes also owned Dorpat near Lake Peipus, in which a Swedish garrison of about 2,000 men was stationed. Dorpat controlled the eastern center of Livonia, including the western shore of Lake Peipus. Two hours away (50 kilometers south) was Schlippenbach's base of the Livonian army, near Erastfer . Schlippenbach tried to maintain control of the entire territory and divided his troops, which prevented a rapid concentration of forces in the event of an attack. The Swedes had also made little effort to scout out the Russian army movements and had gone to winter quarters and prepared for the Christmas holidays. Schlippenbach himself received his family in Erastfer because he did not expect any combat activities.

In December 1701, General Sheremetev and 20,000 men advanced from Pskov across the ice of the frozen Lake Peipus undetected to Livonia to destroy the Livonian army that was celebrating Christmas. The infantry and 30 guns were transported on 2,000 sleds. The Russian army was led by Field Marshal Sheremetev .

The battle

The Swedish possessions in the Baltic States

The news of the approach of the Russians reached the headquarters via scattered outposts . When Schlippenbach was informed of the approach of the Russians, not all the troops of the Livonian Army could be mobilized in time. It was only possible to mobilize the battalions of the infantry regiments of Liewens , Skytte , De La Gardie and Stackelbergs, each 250 to 300 men in size, as well as the equestrian regiments Aebo and Esthland and Karelian dragoons of 600 to 700 riders each. Another 150 riders of the Upplanddragon stenbocks completed the Swedish cavalry that day. In terms of artillery, the Swedes had six field cannons. About 1000 Swedes could not be mobilized in time for the battle.

With this detachment of about 3,500 men , Schlippenbach went to meet the Russian armed forces. This consisted of seven infantry regiments of 800 to 950 soldiers each, two Strelitzen regiments of 730 and 770 men each, seven dragoon regiments of 300 to 970 men each, eight Cossack regiments with a total of 3800 men and traditional aristocratic regiments with a total of 1750 men. The Russian artillery consisted of 20 to 30 field cannons carried along. The total force in the battle itself was about 18,000 men. The Swedish reports on the battle speak of a total of 50,000 Russian soldiers. The difference is partly explained by the Russian supply train carried along as well as the tendency of the reporters to present the opposing forces more strongly than they were in order to be able to appease a defeat better or to be able to add more glory to a victory.

At Kamar ( Kaagna ) near Erastfer, the Swedes met the 12,000 strong Russian avant-garde . The rest of the Russian armed forces covered the entourage. No sooner had the fight begun than the individual Swedish columns were surrounded and cut off by the Russians. Von Schlippenbach was forced to retreat. First, the infantry should leave the battlefield and seek a protected position in a nearby forest. The cavalry regiments should cover the retreat. These had been replenished with many new soldiers, inexperienced recruits. The Aebo and Karelia regiments in particular were seized with panic when they saw the infantry in decline. They believed the battle was lost.

The officers tried to bring their riders to order, but they fell into the ranks of the retreating infantry. The infantry was left alone in the battle by the bulk of the cavalry; only a few dragoons under the command of Majors Horn and Lewenhaupt remained behind to cover the retreat. Almost all of the infantry were killed on the battlefield. Only a few soldiers escaped. Among them von Schlippenbach and von Liewen. The loss of dead and missing on the Swedish side amounted to 1,200 men, while the Russians lost around 3,000 men. The Swedes' cannons fell into the hands of the Russians. The infantry had fought so vigorously that the Russians had no more strength to pursue the rest of the Swedes. General von Schlippenbach collected them near Sagnitz .

The consequences

Peter I considered winning this battle to be morally very important. His troops had fought the Swedes with awe and fear. With this victory, the Russian soldiers realized that they could defeat the Swedes. He had rewards distributed to the officers. He also made Sheremetev Field Marshal and Knight of the Order of St. Andrew . In Moscow, the church bells rang as a message of victory to the residents, cannon shots were fired and a solemn thanksgiving service was held . Peter gave a big banquet with fireworks in the Moscow Kremlin . When the Swedish prisoners reached Moscow, Peter sat at the head of the prison train and moved with them to Moscow.

The defeat depressed the mood of the Livonians. With so few soldiers they could not overcome the Russian superiority. In addition, the Swedish troops' belief in their own superiority was dampened.

literature

• Not so Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Volume 1, Friedrich Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1861.
• Andreas Fryxell, Anton von Etzel: History of Karl the Twelfth. G. Senf`s bookstore, Leipzig 1865.
• Dr. phil. A. von Richter: History of the German Baltic provinces incorporated into the Russian Empire up to their unification in the same volume 2, published by Nicolai Kymmel's bookstore, Riga 1858

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nordisk familjebok, Uggleupplagan. 7. (1907). P. 738.
2. ^ Peter the Great's Unknown War, Vjatšeslav Krassikov
3. ↑ Anders Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Volume 1, Friedrich Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1861, p. 7
4. ↑ Dr. phil. A. von Richter: History of the German Baltic provinces incorporated into the Russian Empire up to their unification in the same volume 2, published by Nicolai Kymmel 's bookstore, Riga 1858, p. 80