The Battle of Porrassalmi was a battle fought near the bight of Porrassalmi in Savonia on 13 June 1789, during the

Russo-Swedish War (1788–90) 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> ...

. A

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

force of about 750 men succeeded in stopping the northbound advance of a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

force numbering 5,000 men. The Swedish forces blocked the road to

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

at a narrow watercrossing with a bridge near the bight of Porrassalmi. There they faced Russian infantrymen led by Ivan Ivanovich Michelson and

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (russian: Егор Максимович Шпренгпортен, translit=Egor Maksimovič Šprengporten, ; sv, Göran Magnus Sprengtporten; fi, Yrjö Maunu Sprengtporten, ; 16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) ...

a Swedish officer who had entered the Russian service and received the command of the Russian army corps directed against

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 B ...

. Sprengtporten persuaded the Russians that Finnish troops were disloyal to the

Swedish Crown The Swedish Crown ( pl, Korona Szwedzka), also known as the "Purchased Crown" (''Zakupiona Korona''), was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels. History The crown was made for King Sigismund II Augustus. After Sigismund's death, it was pawned to Gi ...

and not going to fight, but his column was met with gunfire. Only infantry units participated in the fighting. The Russians were moving in a too-close formationБородкин М. М. История Финляндии. Время Екатерины II и Павла I. СПб., 1912. С. 268 and, despite numerous charges against the outnumbered Swedes, could not break through the defence and pulled back, covered by mounted

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

and

Bashkirs , native_name_lang = bak , flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg , flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress , image = , caption = , population = approx. 2 million , popplace ...

. The Russians lost 425 men killed and wounded, including their commander,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten, who was seriously wounded, while the Swedes claimed to have killed and wounded 900. The Swedes lost in total 203 men dead or wounded. The battle brought to prominence

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Georg Carl von Döbeln Georg Carl von Döbeln (29 April 1758 – 16 February 1820) was a Swedish ''friherre'' (baron), Lieutenant general and above all known for his efforts on the Swedish side during the Finnish War. Early life Georg Carl was born at the Stora Tor ...

, whose iconic black silk

bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face or neck for protective or decor ...

was worn over a wound suffered in the battle. Sprengtporten claimed that his defeat was due to a lack of cooperation between his officers and that the decision to leave the battlefield was unsound and taken without his consideration. He personally led a charge that succeeded in capturing a Swedish battery.Бородкин М. М. История Финляндии. Время Екатерины II и Павла I. СПб., 1912. С. 269 Russian staff officer Ivan Sazonov, who also participated in the fighting, was said to have publicly praised the enemy's valour after the battle, although adding that it was only the enemy's advantageous defensive position that determined the outcome of the battle.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Porrassalmi 1789 in Europe Porrassalmi Porrassalmi Porrassalmi History of South Savo