The Battle of Alavus took place on 17 August 1808 in the vicinity of the town of

Alavus Alavus ( sv, Alavo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, southeast of Seinäjoki, north of Tampere and north of Helsinki. The town has a populati ...

( sv, Alavo), as part of the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...

. The Finnish army, under the command of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Carl Johan Adlercreutz defeated a smaller Russian force and drove it southwards. It was the last in a string of Swedish successes during the summer of 1808, and marked the turning point in the war.

Prelude

With his supply lines harassed by Swedish forces and retreating southward, the newly appointed general major

Nikolay Kamensky Count Nikolay Mikhailovich Kamensky (russian: Никола́й Миха́йлович Каме́нский; 27 December 1776 – 4 May 1811) was a Russian general who outlived his father, Field Marshal Mikhail Kamensky, by two years. Life and ca ...

decided to retake the initiative. The logistical situation precluded this however, and he was forced to march to

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the second largest town of the Central Finland after Jyväsk ...

. Not until 7 August was he able to regain control of the situation, as Swedish raiding activities ebbed and reinforcements and fresh supplies started arriving. Kamenskiy then decided to renew his offensive. He sent a detachment under colonel Erikson toward Alavus and marched towards

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

. Probably encouraged by the victory at Kauhajoki, marshal

Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor Count Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor (7 December 1744 – 15 May 1814) was a Swedish noble military officer and one of the Lords of the Realm. He is probably best known from his time as field marshal of Finland during the Finnish War and for participat ...

ordered general Adlercreutz to attack the Russian position at Alavus. The army, much worn by the ordeals of the summer, was moved south on 16 August in pouring rain. The following day the weather cleared.

The battle

150px, Positions at the battle In bright sunshine, Adlercreutz attacked the Russian positions south of the Alavus

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, near the small village of Härkölä, protected by lake Alajärvi (now Alavudenjärvi or Kirkkojärvi) on his left and marshy ground on his right. The Russian counterattacked on their right wing and forced a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

of Karelians on the Swedish left flank to retreat northwards. At this point Adlercreutz ordered the 3rd battalion of Savolax infantry regiment, supported by the 2nd battalion, to counterattack. After a barrage of gunfire, the battalion made a

bayonet charge A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illu ...

and threw back the Russians. The Russian left flank was also under pressure and started yielding; by 19.00 the entire Russian force had retired with casualties tallying 370 men, compared to 200 on the Swedish side.

Aftermath

Despite the success, Klingspor never capitalized on it or the outcome of

Lapua Lapua (; sv, Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

and the difficult Russian supply situation in the summer of 1808. After the defeat at Alavus, Russian fortune turned and Kamensky was successful in his counteroffensive, which drove the Swedes ever further north.

Citations and sources

Citations

Sources

*''Finska kriget 1808-1809'', Martin Hårdstedt (2006) (). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alavus Conflicts in 1808 Battles of the Finnish War Battles involving Sweden Battles involving Russia History of South Ostrobothnia August 1808 events