HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The naval Battle of Hogland took place on 17 July (6 July OS) 1788 during the
Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790) Wars between Russia and Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> ...
.


Origins

On the outbreak of war with Russia in 1788,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
planned to attack the
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
n capital St. Petersburg. One Swedish army was to advance through
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
; a second army, accompanied by the Swedish coastal flotilla, was to advance along the Finnish coast into the
Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and ...
; while a third army sailed with the Swedish battlefleet in order to land at Oranienbaum to advance on St. Petersburg. To succeed, the Russian
Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...
had to be eliminated or blockaded in its ports at Reval (now
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
) and
Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...
. A part of the Swedish battlefleet, 12 ships of the line and 5 frigates under the command of Prince Charles, Duke of Södermanland had set sail from
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swe ...
on 9 June 1788. While Duke Charles had overall command of the fleet, he was assisted by Admiral Anton Johan Wrangel (the younger) and had the experienced naval officer Lieutenant Colonel Otto Henrik Nordenskjöld as his flag-captain. Already before the war had started, the fleet had intercepted a small Russian squadron of 3 ships of the line and 4 frigates headed for
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
and demanded of these to salute his flag, which was in direct contradiction of the treaties of 1743. After being notified that a state of war was in effect on 7 July, the Swedish fleet headed for
Helsingfors Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...
to wait for reinforcements. Before reaching their destination, the Swedes intercepted and promptly captured two Russian frigates, which were unaware of the war and got caught by surprise. At Helsingfors, three ships of the line joined the fleet, together with one frigate and 2 light frigates of the Swedish
archipelago fleet The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...
. On 14 July, the Swedish fleet with a column of 20 ships, of which 15 were ships of the line and five were frigates, together with 6 lighter frigates, sailed deeper into the Gulf of Finland. The Russians were well aware of the Swedish movements in the Baltic Sea but still had hopes that the situation would not escalate into a war. Already on 4 July 1788, Admiral
Samuel Greig Vice-Admiral Samuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig (russian: Самуи́л Ка́рлович Грейг), as he was known in Russia (30 November 1735, Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland – 26 October 1788, Tallinn, Estonia, Russian Empire) w ...
moved his fleet of 12 ships of the line, 5 frigates and 3 cutters out of Kronstadt. His ships were ordered on 7 July to engage and defeat the Swedish fleet and after receiving reinforcements on 9 July the fleet set off towards the western Gulf of Finland. After being reinforced, the Russian fleet consisted of 17 ships of the line, 7 frigates and 7 smaller ships. As most of the sailors had been recruited shortly beforehand and had no experience in maritime matters, Greig made efforts to exercise his subordinates to improve their skill levels. Calm winds left the Russian fleet adrift near the island of Bolshoi Tyuters, and Admiral Grieg used this lull for training his hastily assembled fleet.


Battle

Calm winds slowed down the progress of the fleets and it was not until the morning of 17 July that the opposing fleets were able to see each other. The Swedish fleet formed into line and tried to close in the distance using north-easterly heading. After preparing the ships for battle, the Swedish battle line reversed their direction and headed south in order to avoid the perilous coastal waters. The Russian fleet responded in kind but the turn had reversed their intended battle line and caused some disorder in the vanguard which forced four ships to leave the others behind. The first shots were fired by the Swedish lead ship ''Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta'' at 17:00 on 17 July. As ships from both sides joined the battle, the already very mild winds kept getting calmer. As the winds diminished it became impossible for ships to maintain their positions by sails alone; currents in the sea forced both sides to use longboats to move and steer their ships. The Swedes also concentrated their fire on the masts and rigging of the Russian ships in order to further impede them. The Swedish flagship ''Gustaf III'' had drawn the attention of the Russian flagship ''Rotislav'' as well as that of two other Russian ships which concentrated their fire on the Swedish flagship. Damage to the rigging of the ''Gustaf III'' made it vulnerable to the currents and the ship started turning, nearly exposing its vulnerable rear to the Russians. The Russians tried to take advantage of this by towing two of their ships into positions where they could fire on the Swedish flagship. Meanwhile, the Russian 74 gun ship of line ''Vladislav'' had struck its colors to the Swedish ships ''Prins Gustaf Adolf'' and ''Sofia Magdalena'' after fierce close range action. The ''Vladislav'' had drifted into the Swedish line after losing both its rigging and its longboats. By 20:00 in the evening the Swedish ship of the line ''Prins Gustaf'', commanded by Vice-Admiral Gustav Wachtmeister, which had finally forced its opponent, the Russian ship of the line ''Svetaja Jelena'' to depart from the battle line was engaged by another Russian ship of the line ''Vseslav''. Calm winds hadn't dissipated the thick clouds of gunpowder smoke which hid the ''Prins Gustaf'' from the other Swedish ships which by this time turned around leaving the Swedish ship to face several Russian ships alone. ''Prins Gustaf'' was pounded by four Russian ships of the line and was forced to strike its colors. Disorder in the Swedish line following the turn and the visible attempts to tow the flagship away from the battle line made the Russians believe that they had won the battle. Gunfire finally ended with the surrender of ''Prins Gustaf'' by 2200 on 17 July 1788. Swedish flag-captain Nordenskiöld intended to resume the engagement in the first light but the reports of severe damage to the ships as well as lack of ammunition prevented this and instead at 0300 on 18 July the Swedish fleet was ordered to sail to Sveaborg. Swedish fleet had come better off from the engagement as unlike the Russian fleet it had been able to sail away from the battle. Nine of the ships of the line had suffered only light damage which full third of the ships in fleet had suffered heavy but mostly repairable damage to the hull, riggings and masts. The Russian fleet under Admiral Greig had been unable to chase the Swedish and was forced to lay anchor at the site of the engagement. Several ships had been hulled and stayed only afloat by pumps. Eight of the Russian ships of the line had been severely damaged and four of those could no longer be sailed but had to be towed away. Russian fleet started slowly back towards Kronstadt on 19 July after critical repairs. On return voyage fleet encountered heavy weather near island of Seskar causing more damage to some of the ships.


Aftermath

Unusually for a
naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...
, both sides captured one ship, each. The Swedes fared slightly better in the artillery duel, leaving four Russian ships dead in the water, but failed to capitalize on their success, while all Swedish ships were able to set sail after the battle. The Russians suffered the worst casualties, losing 319-580 men killed compared to between 200 and 300 Swedes, but the battle was a strategic victory for the Russians because Greig had done enough to prevent the Swedish landing. One reason why the fight had ended even though Swedish battlefleet had the advantage was that the Swedish fleet was rapidly running out of ammunition, especially for its heavier cannons, and had to depart. The Swedish battlefleet retired to Sveaborg for repairs and resupply. However, upon arriving, the prepared stocks at the Swedish forward base were noticed to have been prepared solely with the coastal or archipelago fleet in mind. The result of this was that the Swedish battlefleet had sailed to Sveaborg only to be stranded there, as the ships could not be re-armed or repaired. The situation was aggravated when a small Russian squadron under James Trevenen blockaded Hangö, cutting the coastal sea route and causing considerable problems for Swedish material deliveries from Sweden. Admiral Greig hurried the repairs of the Russian fleet and constructed a forward base on the island of Seskar to accomplish this. Already by 5 August, the Russian fleet set sail towards Sveaborg. It encountered a Swedish squadron which had been tasked with investigating the status of the Russian fleet outside of Sveaborg in the early hours of 6 August. The Swedish ships fled disorderly to the safety of the fortress, but the ship of the line ''Prins Gustaf Adolf'' ran into a previously unknown reef at full speed and with full sails. The Ship then grounded on the rock and started flooding heavily. Water quickly also flooded the ship's gunpowder magazines, forcing it to strike its colours. The Russians took the crew as prisoners but were unable to re-float the ship and instead torched it. Prisoners the Swedes had captured from the ''Vladislav'' had carried
relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus '' Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks (genus ''Ornithodoros''). Signs and symptoms Most people who ar ...
, which now spread widely amongst the Swedish crews at Sveaborg, further impeding any chances of getting the fleet either ready to sail or ready to fight. The Russian fleet under Admiral Greig had total control over the Baltic Sea and with new ships could deploy a total of 18 ships of the line. Control of
Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...
made it easy for the Russians to maintain their blockade.


Order of battle


Sweden

* 4 × 70-gun ships - ''Konung Gustaf III'', ''Prins Gustaf', ''Sophia Magdalena'', ''Enigheten''. * 11 × 60-62-gun ships - ''Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta'', ''Ömheten'', ''Rättvisan'', ''Dygden'', ''Wasa'', ''Fäderneslandet'', ''Äran'', ''Försiktigheten'', ''Prins Carl'', ''Prins Fredrik Adolf'', ''Kronprins Gustaf Adolf'' * 7 × frigates - ''Thetis 40'', ''Minerva 40'', ''Froja 40'', ''Camilla 40'', ''Gripen 40'', ''Jarramas 34'', ''Jarislawitz 32''. (1,242 guns +/-)


Russia

* 1 × 100-gun three decker - ''Rostislav'' * 8 × 74-gun ships - ''Kir Ioann'', ''Iaroslav'', ''Vladislav'', ''Sviatoi Piotr'', ''Mstislav'', ''Sviataia Elena'', ''Vseslav'', ''Ioann Bogoslov''. * 8 × 66-gun ships - ''Pamiat' Evstafia'', ''Viktor'', ''Iziaslav'', '' Rodislav'', ''Mecheslav'', ''Vysheslav'', ''Boleslav'', ''Deris''. * 7 × frigates - ''Briachislav 38'', ''Mstislavets 42'', ''Slava 32'', ''Vozmislav 32'', ''Podrazhislav 32'', ''Premislav 32'', ''Nadezhda Blagopoluchiia 32''. (1,460 guns +/-)


References


Bibliography

*Anderson, R.C. ''Naval Wars in the Baltic, 1522–1850'' (London, 1969) *Derry, T.K. 'Scandinavia' in ''The New Cambridge Modern History'', Volume IX (Cambridge, 1965). * *


External links


From Hogland to Barezund
i



{{DEFAULTSORT:Hogland Conflicts in 1788
Hogland Linus Höglund (born 25 March 1997), better known as Hogland, is a Swedish music producer, DJ and songwriter. He started his career in 2015 with his first song "The Night", which placed itself in the top 3 of the Swedish Spotify Viral 50 lis ...
Gulf of Finland 1788 in Europe