Battle of Jakobstadt

Battle of Jakobstadt

Part of: Great Northern War

date	July 26, 1704
place	Jakobstadt , today's Latvia
output	Victory of the Swedes

Parties to the conflict
Sweden Lithuanian Sapieha faction	Russia Poland-Lithuania Lithuanian aristocratic faction of the Oginski
Commander
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt General Sapieha	General Wiśniowiecki General Oginski
Troop strength
about 6000 men	approx. 16,000 men, 5–6,000 of them Russians
losses
238 dead, 181 wounded	2,300 dead, 517 prisoners

The Battle of Jakobstadt in the Great Northern War took place on July 26, 1704 near Jakobstadt between the Swedish army and the Russian army .

prehistory

Battle of Jakobstadt

Location of the battlefield

Shortly after the election of Leszczyński , the Polish-Swedish counter-king to Augustus the Strong , the Swedish general Lewenhaupt was taken over by Charles XII. tasked with enforcing its recognition in Lithuania and Courland. Since 1702 the aristocratic war between the noble families of the Sapieha and the Oginski had flared up again in Lithuania . The Sapiehas had allied themselves with the Swedes, while the Oginskis stood by August II and were supported by Russian troops. At least 20 villages and lands belonging to Lithuanian aristocrats who did not recognize Leszczyński were then burned and the nobles expropriated.

In spring 1704 Gregor Anton Oginski returned to Lithuania with 6,000 Russians, supported by 10,000 Poles, they wanted to drive the Swedes out of Lithuania. However, both commanders shied away from direct combat with the Swedes and avoided any confrontation. The Russian commander in chief asked the Poles to take a separate oath on the Russian flag so that they would not leave the battlefield in wild panic. This oath was taken and the United Army advanced against the fortress Selburg on the Daugava . The Count Lindstjöld occupied it with about 300 soldiers. Lewenhaupt and Sapieha immediately rushed to help. A sham move on Birze should deceive the Russians to have more time to defend the fortress.

The Poles were so overwhelmed by the Swedish armed forces that they immediately vacated Birze Castle, unloaded all the cash and the castle's rich treasures and wanted to bring them to Wiśniowiecki headquarters. The whole train was attacked by Sapieha's men. They fell into their hands with 36 tons of powder, 300 carts with groceries and 24,000 thalers in cash. Shortly before Jakobstadt, the Swedes reached the Russian and Polish forces. Lewenhaupt decided to attack despite the double superiority of the enemy. Jakobstadt lies on the southern bank of the Daugava. Both armies were positioned west of Jakobstadt, bounded by the Daugava.

The battle

On the Swedish side, 3,085 soldiers were led by Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt and a little over 3,000 men were under the command of General Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger . On the Russian side, 6,000 Russians were led by Field Marshal Wiśniowiecki and over 10,000 Poles by General Oginski .

Lewenhaupt divided his force into two meetings. The first was the Swedes and the second was the Poles under General Sapieha. The Swedish commander in chief did not intend to involve the Poles in the battle. After the victory, only the Polish light cavalry was to pursue and capture the fleeing.

After the order of battle had been established and the psalm song had been held, the Swedes marched on a broad front towards the Russian lines. In the center, some battalions attacked too early and were repulsed by the Russians. The son of Sapieha now marched with his contingent on the Russians as well. This interference with the order of the battle meant that the Russians gained the upper hand in this part of the battle and the Poles already saw the battle as lost. They left the battlefield in a panic. The repulsed Swedish wing regrouped and proceeded to the second attack in perfect order. The second attack was supported by artillery . The first direct hits from the cannons caused the enemy Poles to flee and once again to leave the Russians alone on the battlefield. The sun setting in front of the Russian front obstructed the Russians' view of the enemy so much that they no longer knew where and to what extent the Swedes were attacking. Lewenhaupt had succeeded in curbing overzealousness through iron hardness; he arranged a combined volley of all battalions on the Russian battle line. When the powder mist lifted, the extent of the shot could be seen. The battlefield was littered with dead and wounded Russians. The remaining troops withdrew to their wagon castle .

From this they were able to repel the attack of the light cavalry and brought considerable losses to the Polish riders.

Consequences of the battle

The Swedes captured over 300 supply wagons with supplies, 23 cannons and 39 troop flags.

Due to the success of the Swedes and the retreat of the Russians, the fortress and castle of Birse were almost defenseless. The crew was only 800 men. Although these were battle-tested, they had almost nothing to oppose the Swedes.

Since the Swedes did not have sufficient artillery or mortars available, Lewenhaupt wanted to lead his troops into winter quarters. It was only when a Swedish prisoner escaped from Birze fortress that the Swedish field marshal realized how weak the crew was. To avoid bloodshed, he had Sapieha write a letter to the commanding officer of the fortress.

The letter was written in the benevolence of General Sapieha so as not to harm his Polish compatriots. He made it clear in the letter that an attack was imminent which the crew would never survive. The commandant sent a negotiator to Lewenhaupt to surrender with the troops free to withdraw. This agreed and the Swedes occupied the Birze fortress without fighting.

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 Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1865.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Н. П. Волынский. Постепенное развитие русской регулярной конницы в эпоху Великого Петра. СПб. 1912.
2. ^ Gustavus Adlerfeld: The Military History Of Charles XII. King Of Sweden, pp. 328f
3. ^ Andreas Fryxell, Anton von Etzel: History of Karl the Twelfth. , Chapter 11, p. 176, G. Senf's Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1865.
4. ^ Andreas Fryxell, Anton von Etzel: History of Karl the Twelfth. , Chapter 11, p. 177, G. Senf's Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1865.
5. ^ Andreas Fryxell, Anton von Etzel: History of Karl the Twelfth. , Chapter 11, p. 178, G. Senf's Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1865.