Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790): Difference between revisions

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* [[Russian Empire|Russia's]] right to interfere with [[Gustavian era|Swedish]] [[interior affairs]] from the [[Treaty of Nystad]] expressly [[revoked]].

| territory = ''[[Status quo ante bellum]]'':

*All [[conquests]] made by both sides are returned

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} [[Valentin Musin-Pushkin]]

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} [[Ivan Saltykov]]

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} [[Ivan Ivanovich Michelson|Ivan Mikhelson]]

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} [[Iosif Igelström]]

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} {{ill|Fyodor Denisov|ru|Денисов, Фёдор Петрович}}

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire|naval}} [[Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen|Karl von Nassau-Siegen]]

* {{flagdeco|Russian Empire|naval}} [[Vasily Chichagov]]

* {{flagdeco|Sweden|naval}} [[Gustaf Wachtmeister]]

* {{flagdeco|Sweden|naval}} [[Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt|Gustaf Armfelt]]

* {{flagdeco|Sweden|naval}} [[Jakob Karl Gripenberg|Jakob Gripenberg]]

* {{flagdeco|Sweden|naval}} [[Rudolf Cederström]]

* {{flagicon image|Sweden-1761-army-fleet.svg|border=no}} [[Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)|Sidney Smith]]

}}

| strength2 = 38,000{{sfnp|Viinikainen|Mäki|2015|pp=12–17}}

| casualties1 = 2,640 killed or wounded<ref>{{cite web|last=White|first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew White (historian)|date=November 2010|url=http://necrometrics.com/wars18c.htm |title=Statistics of Wars, Oppressions and Atrocities of the Eighteenth Century (the 1700s)|website=Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century|access-date=10 September 2021}}</ref><br />6,000 captured

In an attempt to prevent Russian ships from cutting off coastal sea routes, the Swedes built several fortifications at Hangö and on its surrounding islands during the winter of 1788/1789. Additional fortifications were constructed west of Hangö, near [[Korpo]]. However, [[Porkkala|Porkala]] cape was left without fortifications.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|pp=160–161}} The bulk of the Swedish army in Finland, consisting of 13,000 men under General [[Johan August Meijerfeldt the Younger]], was placed at the [[Kymi (river)|Kymmene]] river, with a further 5,000 men in [[Savonia (historical province)|Savolax]]. While the troops still lacked supplies, their discipline and morale had been greatly improved from what it had been in 1788. On the naval front, Sweden had not been so lucky; the crews of the open sea fleet based at Karlskrona suffered heavily from fever, making both fitting and manning the ships very difficult, and it took until 6 July before the fleet was able to set sail, under command of Duke Charles of Södermanland, who had the experienced naval officer Admiral {{ill|Otto Henrik Nordenskjöld|sv}} as his flag-captain.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|p=162}}

 

[[File:Swedish and Russian navies during a battle in July 1789, Öland, Sweden (8737204991).jpg|thumb|Swedish and Russian navies during a battle in July 1789, [[Öland]]]]

In stark contrast to Swedish troubles, the Russian open sea fleet had set sail already in mid-May; by 22 May a few ships reconnoitered the Swedish defences at Hangö, but after a short engagement the Russian ships chose to break off. The main body of the Russian fleet under Admiral [[Vasily Chichagov]] met the Swedish fleet on 26 July, and engaged it in what became known as the [[Battle of Öland (1789)|Battle of Öland]]. As in the previous year, the battle was indecisive, with the Swedes heading to Karlskrona and the Russian fleet joining up with a Russian squadron from Danish waters. The raging epidemic then confined the Swedish fleet to Karlskrona for most of the year.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|p=162}}

 

In 1790, King Gustav III revived the plan for a landing close to Saint Petersburg, this time near [[Vyborg]]. In addition, a determined effort was made to bolster the strength of the fleets as much as possible so as to be able to get them under sail as soon as possible. The coastal fleet especially was being reinforced with new and stronger ships, some of them donated by the various Swedish towns. The first action took place on 17 March 1790, when two Swedish frigates plundered the Russian-controlled port of [[Paldiski|Rågersvik]] (Baltiyskiy Port). Swedish squadrons from Stockholm started towards Sveaborg on 21 April and also from [[Pomerania|Pommern]] on 3 May. Even though the Swedish main effort was on the sea, they attacked also on land, where Swedes led by Colonel Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt defeated Russian defenders on 15 April in southern Savolax, while the army led by King Gustav III and Colonel [[Gustaf Wachtmeister]] won another victory in the [[Battle of Valkeala]]. A Russian attack on 5 May close to the Kymmene river gained some success, capturing [[Anjala]], but was thrown back before the end of the month. Fighting on land, however, reached stalemate, and already in June had turned into static warfare.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|pp=190–193}}

 

 

The coastal fleet started its offensive on 8 May, under command of King Gustav III with de Frese as his flag-captain, without waiting for the coastal fleet's squadrons from Sweden or Pommern. The Swedish coastal fleet attacked the Russian fleet at Frederikshamn on 15 May, winning a clear victory over the defenders in the [[Battle of Fredrikshamn]]. However, attempts to capture the town and its fortifications failed. Instead of blockading the town, the Swedes chose to continue further towards Vyborg while raiding Russian supplies along the coast, and reached the [[Beryozovye Islands]] on 2 June, from where it attempted to support the open sea fleet in the [[Battle of Kronstadt]].{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|pp=196–200}}

 

==Aftermath==

The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was, overall, mostly insignificant for the parties involved. Catherine II regarded the war against her Swedish cousin as a substantial distraction, as her land troops were tied up in the war against Turkey, and she was likewise concerned with revolutionary events unfolding in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] (the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]]) and in [[Kingdom of France|France]] (the [[French Revolution]]). The Swedish attack foiled the Russian plans of sending its navy into the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to support its forces fighting the Ottomans, as it was needed to protect the capital, Saint Petersburg.<ref>{{cite book|last=Glete|first=Jan|author-link=Jan Glete|editor-last=Black|editor-first=Jeremy |editor-link=Jeremy Black (historian)|year=1999|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s579DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |chapter=Warfare at sea 1450–1815|title=War in the Early Modern World, 1450–1815|place=London |publisher=UCL Press|page=46|doi=10.4324/9781003071013-2|isbn=1-85728-687-1|s2cid=160039951}}</ref> The war solved Gustav III's domestic problems only briefly, as he was [[assassination|assassinated]] at the opera in Stockholm, in 1792.

 

{{See also|Bibliography of Russian history (1613–1917)}}

*{{cite book|last=Brückner|first=Alexander |title=The War of Russia with Sweden |author-link=Alexander Brückner|year=1869|url=https://www.prlib.ru/en/node/403447 |script-title= ru:Война Россіи съ Швеціей въ 1788—1790 годахъ|trans-title=The War Between Russia and Sweden in 1788–1790|language=ru|place=Saint Petersburg |publisher=V. Golovin Printing House}}

*{{SLS Q|Q113393919}}

*{{cite book |last=Johnsson |first=Raoul |editor1-last=Grönroos |editor1-first=Maria |editor2-last=Karttunen |editor2-first=Ilkka |title=Kustaa III ja suuri merisota |trans-title=Gustaf III and the Great Naval War |year=2011 |publisher=John Nurminen Foundation |location=Helsinki |language=fi |isbn=978-952-9745-31-9}}

*{{SLS Q|Q113530005}}

*{{cite book |last=Mattila |first=Tapani |title=Meri maamme turvana |trans-title=Sea Safeguarding Our Country |year=1983 |publisher=K. J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö |location=Jyväskylä |language=fi |isbn=951-99487-0-8}}

*{{cite book |last=Shirokorad |first=Aleksandr |year=2001 |url=http://militera.lib.ru/h/shirokorad1/index.html |script-title=ru:Северные войны России |trans-title=The Northern Wars of Russia |language=ru |place=Moscow |publisher=[[AST (publisher)|AST]] |isbn=5-17-009849-9}}

*{{cite book |last1=Viinikainen |first1=Sakari |last2=Mäki |first2=Heli|title=Teatterikuninkaan sota |trans-title=War of the Theatre King |year=2015|publisher=Docendo |location=Jyväskylä |language=fi |isbn=978-952-291-165-0}}

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[[Category:Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)| ]]