The Battle of Lemberg on September 6, 1704, was a successful Swedish assault on the town of Lemberg (Lviv), in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

Prelude

The governor of Lemberg, Franciszek Gałecki, had earlier refused to pay a contribution demanded by the Swedes.

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

, likely angered by this, struck camp at

Jarosław Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...

, on September 1, and marched towards Lemberg with 16 regiments. He arrived with his vanguard on September 5The same day as the Swedish garrison at Warsaw surrendered. and immediately drove off a force of around two thousand under Janusz Antoni Wiśniowiecki and Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski, after a brief fight. The garrison, about 600 strong (including 200 Saxons), then quickly scorched the suburbs and opened fire with cannons.

Battle

Charles, who wanted to storm the town immediately, proceeded with a reconnaissance from the High Castle and ordered three dragoon regiments to prepare to attack; heavy rain, however, forced him to postpone it until the following day. While the dragoon regiments made preparations, the rest of the force encircled the town to block any relief forces. The following day, September 6, the attack was carried out. About 50 Swedes stormed a fortified monastery outside the town, while Charles with the remainder of the force climbed the earthwork, where a wooden wall had to be cut through. This protected the large fortification walls directly surrounding the town. As they attacked, they were shot at through the portholes of the wooden wall. The defenders were, however, effectively forced away by grenades. As the Swedes broke through, the defenders panicked and ran towards the main gate accessing the town, with Charles pursuing them. In the chaos, the Swedes managed to take control of the gate, then the town square, and soon the whole town, all in half an hour.Similar to how the

Battle of Pułtusk A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

played out. The fortified monastery had also been captured.

Aftermath

Between 30 and 40 Swedes had been killed or wounded during the fighting while the garrison lost about 530 men captured and between 50 and 60 killed, apart from a few armed citizens.The Swedes seized the weapons from about 600 armed citizens after the battle. Franciszek Gałecki, along with his captured men (with the exception of the Saxons), soon went over to the side of

Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (; lt, Stanislovas Leščinskis; french: Stanislas Leszczynski; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at v ...

and the Swedes, and were once again garrisoned in Lemberg. Charles struck camp with his forces on September 23-24, and marched towards Warsaw which had been captured by

Augustus II of Poland Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

. He soon caught up with the Saxon forces, under

Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of Brandenburg-Prussian background who served in the Saxon and Venetian armies in the early 18th century and found a se ...

, at the

Battle of Punitz The Battle of Poniec took place on October 28, 1704 in Poniec, Poland, during the Great Northern War. The Swedish Empire, Swedish Army under Charles XII unsuccessfully dislodged the Electorate of Saxony, Saxon Army under Johann Matthias von der S ...

Sources

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *Fryxell, Anders (1861). ''Lebensgeschichte Karl des Zwölften, Königs von Schweden'', Vol. 1, Brunswick * Lundblad, Knut (1835). ''Geschichte Karl des Zwölften Königs von Schweden'', Vol. 1, Hamburg * * * Tessin, Georg (1967). ''Die deutschen Regimenter der Krone Schweden: Unter Karl X. Gustav (1654–1660)'', Böhlau *

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

(1761) ''Geschichte Carls XII.'', Frankfurt am Main. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Lemberg (1704)

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

1704 in Europe

1704 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth