Battle of Valkeala took place in Gustav III's Russian War April 29, 1790 at Valkeala

Valkeala

Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland, near the city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 and covered an area of 1,004.40 km² of which 143.47 km² was water...

 in Kymi

Kymi, Finland

Kymi was a rural municipality in Finland, it became later a part of Kotka....

 in Southern Finland

Southern Finland

Southern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.- History :...

 and ended with a Swedish victory.

Context

A Swedish army corps of 4000 men under the command of Gustav III and several of his closest officers crossed in April 28, 1790 Kymi River

Kymi River

Kymi river is a river in Finland. It begins from the lake Päijänne, flows through the provinces of Päijät-Häme, Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso and discharges into the Gulf of Finland. River passes the towns of Heinola and Kouvola...

 in Pörille village at a hastily struck a bridge over a ford. The next day continued their march to Valkeala, where a Russian force of 3000 men stood ready to face them. The Swedish force available for battle var roughly 3000 men since 3 battalions had been diverted to guard the ford crossing and rear positions.

The Swedes were victorius in the following battle, pressing home the victory with several successful head on bayonet charges however during the fighting the Swedish Commanding General Gustav Wachtmeister

Gustav Wachtmeister

Gustav Wachtmeister was a Swedish Army officer made famous at the Battle of Valkeala in Finland in 1789 against Russia where he was wounded by a musket shot to his arm, which had to be amputated...

 was wounded by a musket ball to the arm. After Colonel Swedenhjelm's adversity through Anjala

Anjala

Anjala was a town in Southern Finland, which merged in 1975 with Sippola to form Anjalankoski, later further merged into Kouvola.Anjala is remembered historically in connection with the 18th Century event known as the Anjala Conspiracy....

 on May 5, the Army Corps of Keltis

Keltis

Keltis is a board game designed by Reiner Knizia that won the Spiel des Jahres for best game of the year in 2008. In the US, it has been marketed as Lost Cities: The Board Game, though there are some subtle rules differences....

 returned the Kymi river. Swedish units involved included the Västmanlands regemente

Västmanlands regemente

Västmanlands regemente , designations I 18 and Fo 48, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded for the first time in 1927 but later reraised and disbanded again in 1997...

, Östgöta infanteriregemente

Östgöta infanteriregemente

Östgöta infanteriregemente was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was merged with another unit to form a new regiment in 1791...

, Livgrenadjärregementet

Livgrenadjärregementet

Livgrenadjärregementet , designations I 4 and I 4/Fo 41, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997...

, Första livgrenadjärregementet

Första livgrenadjärregementet

Första livgrenadjärregementet , designation I 4, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was merged into a new regiment in 1927...

 and Kronobergs regemente

Kronobergs regemente

Kronobergs regemente , designations I 11 and I 11/Fo 16, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997...

.

Aftermath

Wachtmeister was the hero of the hour for a king who wished for good publicity. Wachtmeister was made a Major-General for his heroic intervention. The war ended with a string of Swedish victories, but in the end Gustav III was assassinated at a masked ball. Wachtmeister, however, continued to serve Sweden a long time away.