Capitulation at Helsingfors

Capitulation at Helsingfors
Part of Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743)

Map of Finland in 1742
Date12–24 August, 1742
Location
Helsingfors, Kingdom of Finland (Modern day Republic of Finland)
Result Russian victory
Territorial
changes		 Whole of Finland is completely occupied by the Russians
Belligerents
 Sweden  Russia
Commanders and leaders
Swedish Empire Charles Lewenhaupt
Swedish Empire Jean Louis Bousquet [sv] Surrendered		 Russian Empire Peter Lacy
Russian Empire James Keith
Strength
17,000 17,500 to 30,000
Casualties and losses
Entire army[a]
90 cannons		 Few

The Capitulation at Helsingfors (Russian: Капитуляция у Хельсингфорса; Swedish: Kapitulation vid Helsingfors) It was a military campaign in the summer of 1742, as a result of which the Russians were able to surround and then force the main forces of the Swedish army to capitulate.

Background

Previous events

In February 1742, the Russians terminated the previous armistice and again launched an offensive into Finland, the Swedish army made maneuvers, moving away from the battle, first from Friedrichgam, later from Borgo, where it was possible to destroy the Swedish army, but because of the fog, the latter successfully retreated. The losses of the Swedes here are only 106 people, of whom 89 died.[2]

The forces of the parties

Swedish sources estimate their forces at 12,000, however, this estimate is most likely underestimated. Russian historian Alexei Shkvarov with a full recalculation of the surrendered army noted that in the case of such an estimate, 5,000 simply disappeared, so he estimated its strength at 17,000, which is consistent with other estimates from the Russian side.[1]

Russian army numbers range from 17,500 to 30,000 according to Russian and Swedish estimates, respectively.[3][4]

Siege and capitulation

On August 11, the Swedes were cut off from a direct escape route, the fleet was considered weak enough, so it retreated without a fight and allowed the siege to be closed.[5] The swedes planned to put up fierce resistance, but after the news of the fall of Neishlot, defeatist sentiments began to grow in the army,[6] at the same time Levenhaupt was recalled to Stockholm, his deputy Bousquet tried to carry out an attack, but the Russians managed to avoid a battle,[7] two day later he capitulated.[8]

Aftermath

After the surrender, most of the scattered troops returned to Sweden, 7,000 Fins surrendered to the Russians and were forced to accept their citizenship, as noted, the Russian cavalry acted almost flawlessly, and the case itself was one of the cleanest victories of the Russia.[9]

Reference and Notes

Notes

  1. ^ The entire army was dispersed, but only fins 7,000 were captured, the rest returned to Sweden[1]

Reference

  1. ^ a b Shkvarov 2012, pp. 416–417.
  2. ^ Shkvarov 2012, pp. 411–413.
  3. ^ Mattila 1983, pp. 64–67.
  4. ^ Shpilevskaya 1859, p. 225.
  5. ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 180.
  6. ^ Shpilevskaya 1859, pp. 226–227.
  7. ^ Shkvarov 2012, p. 415.
  8. ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, pp. 180–181.
  9. ^ Shkvarov 2012, p. 418.

Bibliography

  • Mattila, Tapani (1983). Meri maamme turvana [Sea safeguarding our country] (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: K. J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö. ISBN 951-99487-0-8.
  • Egorshina, O.; Petrova, A. (2023). История русской армии [The history of the Russian Army] (in Russian). Moscow: Edition of the Russian Imperial Library. ISBN 978-5-699-42397-2.
  • Shkvarov, Alexei (2012). Россия и Швеция. История военных конфликтов 1142-1809 [Russia and Sweden. The history of military conflicts 1142-1809] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: RME Group Oy:Алетейя. ISBN 978-5-91419-754-1.
  • Shpilevskaya, Natalya (1859). Описание войны между Россией и Швецией в Финляндии в 1741, 1742 и 1743 гг. [Description of the war between Russia and Sweden in Finland in 1741, 1742 and 1743.] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)