The battle of Erastfer (also Battle of Errestfer, Battle of Erastvere) took place on December 29, 1701 (O.S.

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...

) / December 30, 1701 (Swedish calendar

Swedish calendar

The Swedish calendar was a calendar in use in Sweden and its possessions from 1 March 1700 until 30 February 1712; it was one day ahead of the Julian calendar and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar...

) / January 9 / 1702 (N.S.

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

) near Erastfer in eastern Swedish Livonia

Swedish Livonia

- Swedish infantry and cavalry regiments:Infantry regiments:* Garnisonsregementet i Riga * Guvenörsregementet i Riga * Livländsk infanteribataljon I...

 (present-day Erastvere

Erastvere

Erastvere is a village in Põlva County, Estonia with a population of 338 . In 1701, during the Great Northern War, it was the site of the Battle of Erastfer.-See also:*Lake Erastvere...

 in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

) between a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n force of 12,000 men led by general Boris Sheremetev and a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 force of 2,200 under the command of Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach

Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach

Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach was Governor General of Swedish Estonia from 1704 to 1706.-Biography:Born in Livonia, Schlippenbach participated as a captain in the Swedish army Scanian War under Charles XI and served later as a major in Swedish Pomerania and Prussia...

. The Swedes were defeated, with 700 killed and 350 men and four field pieces

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 captured. The Russian casualties totalled about 1,000. It was the first significant Russian victory in the Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

. Although the Swedish commander Schlippenbach managed to escape from the battlefield.