Battle of Storkyro
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Storkyro was fought on February 19, 1714 (O.S.
) / March 2, 1714 (N.S.
) near the village of Napo in Storkyro parish , Ostrobothnia
, Swedish Empire
(present day Finland
) between a Swedish
and a Russia
n army, as part of the Great Northern War
.
The Swedish force, consisting almost entirely of Finnish troops, was destroyed by the numerically superior Russian force. As a result, all of Finland сame under Russian military occupation
for the rest of the war, a period of hardship known in Finland as the Greater Wrath
.
, and founded the city of Saint Petersburg
. Since the Swedish main army was engaged in Poland
and later in Russia, Sweden was hard pressed to defend its Baltic territories. After the battle of Poltava
, Russia took all of Livonia
, Estonia
and Ingria
, as well as the counties of Viborg, Savonlinna and Kexholm
.
When Charles XII of Sweden
refused to enter peace negotiations, Denmark
and Russia drew up plans with the purpose to threaten Stockholm
. Two attack routes were considered: one through southern Sweden and the other through Finland and the Åland islands. The southern attack was deemed more important, but the attack on Finland was to be carried out in order to tie down as much of the remaining Swedish army as possible there. However, the attack from the south was successfully fended off by Magnus Stenbock
's victory at Helsingborg
in 1710.
The Russian attack on Finland never developed as planned. Since Peter the Great
was engaged in a war against Turkey, the resulting lack of soldiers forced him to postpone the conquest of Åbo
. Initial Russian actions in Finland consisted of raids and reconnaissance
operations, with the purpose of occupying southeastern Finland and devastating it in order to deny Swedish forces a base of operations against the Russian-controlled areas around Saint Petersburg.
Significant Russian military action in Finland began in 1713, after logistical problems caused the failure of an initial foray the previous year. Already in May, Peter and his galley fleet were seen off Helsingfors
, and during the summer all of southern Finland was occupied by Russian troops. The Swedish forces under general Georg Henrik Lybecker
retreated inland. Before returning to Russia, Peter commanded Fyodor Apraksin, the commander of the Imperial Navy to attack the Swedish army during the winter.
General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
was given command over the troops in Finland in August of 1713. He faced a hopeless task; Lybecker had left him with a neglected, starving, destitute army. Reconnaissance wasn't possible because the cavalry was too worn out to carry out its duties. When the Russian general, Mikhail Golitsyn, marched into Ostrobothnia
in the beginning of February 1714, Armfeldt placed his forces in a defensive position by the village of Napo, east of Vasa
. A council of war was held on 16 February, where Armfeldt was determined to commit to stay and give battle. A fatalist air hung over the Swedish army - weakened from the ravages of winter, a superior army was approaching, and all hopes of reinforcements were gone.
. When they were in sight, but out of gunfire reach of the Swedish forces, the right wing of the cavalry and the infantry veered north. Instead of forming up parallel to the Swedish forces, Golitsyn intended to attack the Swedish left flank. Either through promise of payment or force, Goltisyn had a farmer lead the Russian army through the frozen marsh
y forest north of the river. In this way, the Russian army obtained a very advantageous initial position to attack the Swedish left.
The Russian movements were observed by Armfeldt and his officers. Cossack
s and dragoon
s arrived in the morning, while the main force deployed in the afternoon. As the battle would break out in any moment, Armfeldt rode along the Swedish line and exhorted his soldiers to fight for king and country. How this was received by the doomed troops is unknown, but Armfeldt's own account states that they soldiers "showed incredible bravery, and loyalty unto death, and on their knees and with streaming eyes asked God for help."
Armfelt realized something was amiss when only a small cavalry force continued approaching along the frozen river, while the rest of the enemy force disappeared to the north. Realizing too late the implications of this, he commanded the Swedish line to redeploy northwards to better respond to the threat. He then ordered a pre-emptive attack. The Swedish right wing had initially great successes, mauling the Russian left with grapeshot
, while the infantry fired their single volley and then threw themselves at the enemy in a bayonet charge. The Russian left flank hadn't fully arrayed itself and was disordered at the time of the Swedish attack. However, despite the initial Swedish success, the Russian position was stabilized thanks in great part to its numerical superiority.
The Russian right flank was better organized and repelled the Swedish attack. The Swedish cavalry was immobilized, circumvented, and cut down by Russian dragoons and cossacks, and the left flank collapsed slowly in desperate fighting. Armfeldt tried to relieve his encircled left flank but Golitsyn now committed his forces against the Swedish center and right flank, and while the left flank was ground down, the Swedish infantry dissolved in panic.
Strategically, the victory at Storkyro allowed the Russians to control all of Finland the following years; Sweden was too weak to prevent this. The parallel successes of the Russian galley fleet in the Turku archipelago
allowed the it fleet to support and supply the army's land operations. This was important, as foraging
was insufficient to sustain the Russian army.
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...
) / March 2, 1714 (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 the village of Napo in Storkyro parish , Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia (historical province)
Ostrobothnia, and , is a historical province of Finland to the west and north in Finland. It borders on Karelia, Savonia, Tavastia and Satakunda in the south, and on Västerbotten in Sweden, and Laponia in the north...
, Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
(present day Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) between 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....
and 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 army, as part of 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...
.
The Swedish force, consisting almost entirely of Finnish troops, was destroyed by the numerically superior Russian force. As a result, all of Finland сame under Russian military occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
for the rest of the war, a period of hardship known in Finland as the Greater Wrath
Greater Wrath
The Greater Wrath is a term used in Finnish history for the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Eastern Sweden, now Finland, from 1714 until the treaty of Nystad 1721, which ended the Great Northern War, although sometimes the term is used to denote all of the Great Northern...
.
Prelude
By 1703 Russian forces had reached the inner parts of the Gulf of FinlandGulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
, and founded the city of 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...
. Since the Swedish main army was engaged in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and later in Russia, Sweden was hard pressed to defend its Baltic territories. After the battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
, Russia took all of Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
, 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...
and Ingria
Ingria
Ingria is a historical region in the eastern Baltic, now part of Russia, comprising the southern bank of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipus in the west, and Lake Ladoga and the western bank of the Volkhov river in the east...
, as well as the counties of Viborg, Savonlinna and Kexholm
Kexholm County
Kexholm County was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1617 to 1721, when the southern part was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Nystad.-History:...
.
When Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
refused to enter peace negotiations, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Russia drew up plans with the purpose to threaten Stockholm
Stockholm
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...
. Two attack routes were considered: one through southern Sweden and the other through Finland and the Åland islands. The southern attack was deemed more important, but the attack on Finland was to be carried out in order to tie down as much of the remaining Swedish army as possible there. However, the attack from the south was successfully fended off by Magnus Stenbock
Magnus Stenbock
Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock was a Swedish military officer at the time of the Great Northern War.He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Christina Catharine de la Gardie....
's victory at Helsingborg
Battle of Helsingborg (1710)
The Battle of Helsingborg was Denmark's failed and final attempt to regain the Scanian lands, lost to Sweden in 1658.On the Ringstorp heights northwest of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau were decisively defeated by an equally large Swedish army under Magnus...
in 1710.
The Russian attack on Finland never developed as planned. Since Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
was engaged in a war against Turkey, the resulting lack of soldiers forced him to postpone the conquest of Åbo
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...
. Initial Russian actions in Finland consisted of raids and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
operations, with the purpose of occupying southeastern Finland and devastating it in order to deny Swedish forces a base of operations against the Russian-controlled areas around Saint Petersburg.
Significant Russian military action in Finland began in 1713, after logistical problems caused the failure of an initial foray the previous year. Already in May, Peter and his galley fleet were seen off Helsingfors
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, and during the summer all of southern Finland was occupied by Russian troops. The Swedish forces under general Georg Henrik Lybecker
Georg Henrik Lybecker
Georg Henrik Lybecker was a Swedish friherre and Lieutenant General of the Swedish Army. He died June 4, 1718 at Värsta, Närke .-Military career:...
retreated inland. Before returning to Russia, Peter commanded Fyodor Apraksin, the commander of the Imperial Navy to attack the Swedish army during the winter.
General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was a Swedish officer, general and friherre who took part in the Great Northern War....
was given command over the troops in Finland in August of 1713. He faced a hopeless task; Lybecker had left him with a neglected, starving, destitute army. Reconnaissance wasn't possible because the cavalry was too worn out to carry out its duties. When the Russian general, Mikhail Golitsyn, marched into Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia (region)
Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions Central Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia....
in the beginning of February 1714, Armfeldt placed his forces in a defensive position by the village of Napo, east of Vasa
Vaasa
Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
. A council of war was held on 16 February, where Armfeldt was determined to commit to stay and give battle. A fatalist air hung over the Swedish army - weakened from the ravages of winter, a superior army was approaching, and all hopes of reinforcements were gone.
The battle
The Russians approached Napo from the east, initially along the frozen Kyrö RiverKyrönjoki
Kyrönjoki is a river of Finland. It is located in Southern Ostrobothnia region and flows into the Gulf of Bothnia.-See also:*List of rivers of Finland...
. When they were in sight, but out of gunfire reach of the Swedish forces, the right wing of the cavalry and the infantry veered north. Instead of forming up parallel to the Swedish forces, Golitsyn intended to attack the Swedish left flank. Either through promise of payment or force, Goltisyn had a farmer lead the Russian army through the frozen marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
y forest north of the river. In this way, the Russian army obtained a very advantageous initial position to attack the Swedish left.
The Russian movements were observed by Armfeldt and his officers. Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s and dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s arrived in the morning, while the main force deployed in the afternoon. As the battle would break out in any moment, Armfeldt rode along the Swedish line and exhorted his soldiers to fight for king and country. How this was received by the doomed troops is unknown, but Armfeldt's own account states that they soldiers "showed incredible bravery, and loyalty unto death, and on their knees and with streaming eyes asked God for help."
Armfelt realized something was amiss when only a small cavalry force continued approaching along the frozen river, while the rest of the enemy force disappeared to the north. Realizing too late the implications of this, he commanded the Swedish line to redeploy northwards to better respond to the threat. He then ordered a pre-emptive attack. The Swedish right wing had initially great successes, mauling the Russian left with grapeshot
Grapeshot
In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...
, while the infantry fired their single volley and then threw themselves at the enemy in a bayonet charge. The Russian left flank hadn't fully arrayed itself and was disordered at the time of the Swedish attack. However, despite the initial Swedish success, the Russian position was stabilized thanks in great part to its numerical superiority.
The Russian right flank was better organized and repelled the Swedish attack. The Swedish cavalry was immobilized, circumvented, and cut down by Russian dragoons and cossacks, and the left flank collapsed slowly in desperate fighting. Armfeldt tried to relieve his encircled left flank but Golitsyn now committed his forces against the Swedish center and right flank, and while the left flank was ground down, the Swedish infantry dissolved in panic.
Aftermath
The battle ended with the destruction of the Swedish army in Finland, with almost 2,500 casualties. Many of them bled or froze to death in the night following the battle; bodies were left lying in the battlefield for weeks. The Russian casualties were also severe: as many as 2,000 wounded or killed. The majority of the Russian dead were buried in the Storkyro church graveyard.Strategically, the victory at Storkyro allowed the Russians to control all of Finland the following years; Sweden was too weak to prevent this. The parallel successes of the Russian galley fleet in the Turku archipelago
Turku archipelago
Turku archipelago may refer to:* Archipelago Sea, part of the Baltic Sea outside the Finnish city of Turku* Islands of Turku, islands inside the city limits of Turku-See also:...
allowed the it fleet to support and supply the army's land operations. This was important, as foraging
Foraging
- Definitions and significance of foraging behavior :Foraging is the act of searching for and exploiting food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce...
was insufficient to sustain the Russian army.