Battle of Grengam
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Grengam of 1720 was the last major naval battle
in the Great Northern War
that took place in the Åland Islands
, in the Ledsund strait between the island communities of Föglö
and Lemland
. The battle marked the end of Russia
n and Swedish
offensive naval operations in Baltic
waters. The Russian fleet conducted one more raid on the Swedish coast in spring 1721, whereupon the Treaty of Nystad
was signed, ending the war.
in Sweden and Turku
in Finland passes through the Åland Islands
. It enters the Ledsund strait from south-west with Föglö
on the south-east side and Lemland
on the north-west. An anchorage (60°0′0"N 20°18′0"E) of the shore of Flisö in Föglö
is protected from the prevailing south-westerly winds by two small islands. This anchorage was previously called Granhamn, Swedish for Gran harbor. On modern maps it is marked as Rödskärs flädan after the larger of the two protecting islands. The smaller island is now called Granhamns holmen or Granhamn's island. It should not be confused with the island also named Granhamn in the Stockholm archipelago
.
of Гренгам, which is the traditional Russian cyrillization
of Gränhamn, an older spelling of Granhamn. The spelling Gränhamn was used on Hans Hansson's map of Åland from about 1650. In Sweden the battle is known as the Battle of Ledsund after the Ledsund strait. In Finland the name Battle of Flisö is used.
Carl Georg Siöblad attacked the Russian fleet and, in a pitched battle, had their four frigates captured by Russian sailors.
the following year.
, four frigates and nine smaller craft with a total of 156 guns and over 1,000 marines, made an attempt to attack the moving Russian fleet. General Mikhail Golitsyn managed to take an advantageous position in the narrow and shallow strait of Flisesund and ordered his ships into a semicircle formation. The Swedish ship of the line and four frigates entered the strait in pursuit of the Russian ships. Two frigates ran aground, so making manoeuvring for the rest of the squadron difficult.
In the fierce battle that followed, all four Swedish frigates were boarded. The only ship that managed to escape was Siöblad’s flagship.
Both sides claim the outcome of the battle as their own victory. They agree only in that four Swedish frigates, the 34-gun frigate
Stor Phoenix, the 30-gun Vainqueur, the 22-gun Kiskin and the 18-gun Danska Örn were captured by the Russians. No significant naval battles took place between the Russian and Swedish navies after this one until Sweden's defeat in the war was sealed by the Treaty of Nystad
.
environment and efficient reconnaissance and selection of the combat site, as well as perfect timing for the attack from different directions. The victory at Grengam allowed the Russians to consolidate in the archipelago, which was very important for carrying out operations against Swedish shipping in the area. The battle ended the supremacy of the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea
.
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Like the previous Battle of Gangut
, the Battle of Grengam was fought on Saint Pantaleon
Day. In order to commemorate the perceived victory, a timber church to this saint was built in Saint Petersburg
in 1722. It was rebuilt in stone in 1735-39. Since 1914 the facade
of the church has borne two marble plaques listing the ships and regiments that fought at Gangut and Grengam.
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
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...
that took place in the Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
, in the Ledsund strait between the island communities of Föglö
Föglö
Föglö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
and Lemland
Lemland
Lemland is a municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingually Swedish.-History:...
. The battle marked the end of 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 and 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....
offensive naval operations in Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
waters. The Russian fleet conducted one more raid on the Swedish coast in spring 1721, whereupon the Treaty of Nystad
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
was signed, ending the war.
Location of the battle
The main shipping route between the ports of StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in Sweden and Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
in Finland passes through the Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
. It enters the Ledsund strait from south-west with Föglö
Föglö
Föglö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
on the south-east side and Lemland
Lemland
Lemland is a municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingually Swedish.-History:...
on the north-west. An anchorage (60°0′0"N 20°18′0"E) of the shore of Flisö in Föglö
Föglö
Föglö is an island municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland.The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
is protected from the prevailing south-westerly winds by two small islands. This anchorage was previously called Granhamn, Swedish for Gran harbor. On modern maps it is marked as Rödskärs flädan after the larger of the two protecting islands. The smaller island is now called Granhamns holmen or Granhamn's island. It should not be confused with the island also named Granhamn in the Stockholm archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
.
Name
The word Grengam in the name of the battle is a romanizationRomanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
of Гренгам, which is the traditional Russian cyrillization
Cyrillization
A Cyrillization is a system for rendering words of a language that normally uses a writing system other than the Cyrillic alphabet into a Cyrillic alphabet. A Cyrillization scheme needs to be applied, for example, to transcribe names of German, Chinese, or American people and places for use in...
of Gränhamn, an older spelling of Granhamn. The spelling Gränhamn was used on Hans Hansson's map of Åland from about 1650. In Sweden the battle is known as the Battle of Ledsund after the Ledsund strait. In Finland the name Battle of Flisö is used.
The battle
The Swedish and Russian accounts of the battle differ significantly. Both sides agree that on July 27, 1720, a group of Swedish ships under Vice AdmiralVice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Carl Georg Siöblad attacked the Russian fleet and, in a pitched battle, had their four frigates captured by Russian sailors.
Swedish accounts
A small Swedish naval unit sailed right into the mighty Russian fleet anchored at Granhamn. A fierce battle took place, the Swedes lost their four frigates after they had run aground but the Russian losses became so heavy that the entire fleet quickly decided to withdraw from Åland, leaving 43 sunken ships and 1000 dead Russians behind. The Russian losses prevented their navy from launching any further major operations until the war ended with the Treaty of NystadTreaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
the following year.
Russian accounts
The Swedish squadron consisting of a 52-gun ship of the lineShip of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, four frigates and nine smaller craft with a total of 156 guns and over 1,000 marines, made an attempt to attack the moving Russian fleet. General Mikhail Golitsyn managed to take an advantageous position in the narrow and shallow strait of Flisesund and ordered his ships into a semicircle formation. The Swedish ship of the line and four frigates entered the strait in pursuit of the Russian ships. Two frigates ran aground, so making manoeuvring for the rest of the squadron difficult.
In the fierce battle that followed, all four Swedish frigates were boarded. The only ship that managed to escape was Siöblad’s flagship.
Aftermath
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Stor Phoenix, the 30-gun Vainqueur, the 22-gun Kiskin and the 18-gun Danska Örn were captured by the Russians. No significant naval battles took place between the Russian and Swedish navies after this one until Sweden's defeat in the war was sealed by the Treaty of Nystad
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
.
Swedish accounts
Four Swedish frigates ran aground and were captured by the Russian Navy. 43 out of 61 Russian galleys, were either sunk by the Swedish force or burnt and abandoned after the battle. The Swedish Vice Admiral Carl Georg Siöblad was first criticised after the battle, but when the scope of the Russian losses were discovered he was praised. Russia celebrated the battle as a victory, but their fleet was unable to launch effective operations until the end of the war in 1721.Russian accounts
The Swedes lost 103 killed and 407 captured. The Russians had 82 killed and 236 wounded. The Battle of Grengam demonstrated the skillful use of the rowing fleet in the skerriesSkerries
Skerries is the plural of skerry, meaning a small rocky island.Skerries may refer to a number of geographical locations:-Ireland:*Skerries, Dublin, a seaside town in Ireland*The Skerries, Northern Ireland...
environment and efficient reconnaissance and selection of the combat site, as well as perfect timing for the attack from different directions. The victory at Grengam allowed the Russians to consolidate in the archipelago, which was very important for carrying out operations against Swedish shipping in the area. The battle ended the supremacy of the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
Commemoration
Battle of Gangut
The Battle of Gangut took place on July 27Jul./ August 7, 1714Greg. during the Great Northern War , in the waters of Riilahti Bay, north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy...
, the Battle of Grengam was fought on Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon , counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD...
Day. In order to commemorate the perceived victory, a timber church to this saint was built in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1722. It was rebuilt in stone in 1735-39. Since 1914 the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of the church has borne two marble plaques listing the ships and regiments that fought at Gangut and Grengam.
Sources
- Wilson, Alastair, Callo, Joseph F., Who's who in Naval History: From 1550 to the Present, Routledge, 2004 ISBN 0415308283
- Morfill, William Richard, A History of Russia: From the Birth of Peter the Great to Nicholas II, James Pott Publisher, London, 1902
- George Bruce. Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN 0-442-22336-6). Gunnar Unger (1923). Illustrerad svensk sjökrigshistoria, omfattande tiden 1680-1814. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag. Magnus Ullman, Rysshärjningarna på Ostkusten sommaren 1719