The First Battle of Svensksund, also known as the First Battle of Rochensalm from the Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 version of the Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

: Ruotsinsalmi, was a naval battle

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...

 fought in the Gulf of Finland

Gulf 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...

 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...

, outside the present day city of Kotka

Kotka

Kotka is a town and municipality of Finland. Its former name is Rochensalm.Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water....

, on August 24, 1789 during the Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790)

Russo-Swedish War (1788-1790)

The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90, known as Gustav III's Russian war in Sweden, Gustav III's War in Finland and Catherine II's Swedish War in Russia, was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790.-Background:...

.

Order of battle

Swedish fleet at Svensksund consisted of 1 light, shallow draft, frigate, 6 Turuma

Turuma

A turuma was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 archipelago frigates, 1 Hemmema

Hemmema

A hemmema was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 archipelago frigate, 3 Udema

Udema

An udema was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 archipelago frigates, 1 Pojoma archipelago frigate, 20 gun yawls, 4 bomb vessels, 4 gun prams and 5 galleys. Without taking account the auxiliaries and transports the fleet had 5000 men. Swedish strength had been depleted since it had to defend the whole length of the coast since the open sea fleet had failed to defeat Russian fleet at Öland

Battle of Öland (1789)

The naval Battle of Öland took place on 26 July 1789 during the Russo-Swedish War .-Origins:Having assembled 21 ships of the line and eight large frigates under his flag, Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland decided to intercept the Russian fleet near the island of Öland.-Battle:The Swedish fleet came...

 and was therefore unable to clear Porkkala region of Russian ships.

Russian coastal fleet consisted of a Frigate

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"...

, 8 xebec

Xebec

A xebec , also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzen mast...

s, 5 brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

s, 3 bomb vessel

Bomb vessel

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

s, 18 galleys, 29 half-galleys, 12 gun yawls

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 and 3 cutters with total of 12000 men without taking auxiliaries into account. In addition to the coastal fleet Russians were also supported by a squadron from open sea fleet commanded by Ivan Balle consisting of amongst other ships 3 frigates, 7 xebecs, and two dozen smaller ships.

First phase of the battle

Swedish fleet was well aware of the Russian numerical superiority and started creating blockades to the narrow passages on 23 August by scuttling some ships. This operation did not succeed as expected since the scuttled ships failed to blockade all the narrow passages. Action between main elements of Swedish archipelago fleet and Russian squadron led by Balle started at 10:00 on 24 August and the artillery duel continued for six hours before initial Russian attack from the south was beaten back with Russians losing three ships captured and several other badly damaged.

Second phase of the battle

Russian coastal fleet had meanwhile approached from the east and was probing its way through the Swedish blockade under fire. Decisive event happened at 16:00 when right wing of the Russian coastal fleet led by Giolio Litta managed to penetrate the narrow passage between Majasaari and Tiutinen which had not been blockaded by the Swedes. Battle which had started well for the defender now turned into attackers favor.

Russians captured turuma

Turuma

A turuma was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 Sällan Värre which had run aground while defending the blockades and hemmema

Hemmema

A hemmema was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 Oden which had come to its aid. After it became clear that Russians had beaten the blockade Swedish archipelago fleet withdraw into the safety of fortress at Svartholm

Svartholm fortress

The Svartholm fortress was built between 1749 and 1764 outside Loviisa in Southern Finland by general Augustin Ehrensvärd. The fortress, which lies at the mouth of the Bay of Loviisa, along with the planned land fortress at Loviisa, would prevent invading Russian forces to enter Swedish domain in...

. During the withdrawal several other ships were lost, turuma

Turuma

A turuma was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

 Björn Järnsida - which had been the flagship of Ehrensvärd at the start of the battle - run aground and after fighting nearly to the last man it had to struck its colors. Frigate af Trolle and turuma

Turuma

A turuma was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was developed for warfare in the Archipelago Sea and along the coasts of Svealand and Finland against the Russian navy...

Ragvald were also captured along with 1 gun yawl. Swedish auxiliaries and transport vessels trapped to the north of island of Kotka were burned to prevent their capture.

Aftermath

Swedish losses in total were 3 turuma archipelago frigates, 1 hemmema archipelago frigate, 1 light frigate, 1 galley, 1 half-galley, 1 schooner, 9 gun yawls (or their equivalents) and 30 transport and auxiliary vessels. Total number of men died, wounded or captured during the battle was roughly 1500 in addition to a field hospital formed for 500 sick which Swedes were unable to evacuate in their hasty withdrawal. Russian losses were in the end only 1 galley and 1 gun yawl, both of which blew up. Russians managed to recapture all ships from Balle's squadron that Swedes captured early in the battle. Total number of casualties (KIA, WIA and captured) was 1100.

Though Russians had gained a clear victory they had failed to inflict decisive defeat on the Swedish archipelago fleet. Inactivity of the initially beaten Ivan Balle's squadron during the later phase of the battle allowed most of the Swedish fleet to reach the safety of Svartholma fortress and regroup for later battles.