The Battle of Pälkäne, sometimes called the Battle at Kostianvirta or Battle on the Pialkiane River (russian: link=no, Битва на реке Пялькяне) was fought between the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n army under Admiral
Fyodor Apraksin
Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin (also ''Apraxin''; russian: Фёдор Матве́евич Апра́ксин; 27 October 1661 10 November 1728, Moscow) was one of the first Russian admirals, governed Estonia and Karelia from 1712 to 1723, was ...
and the defending
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
army of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
under General
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt on 17 October 1713, as part of 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 ...
. It resulted in a Russian tactical victory, although General Armfeldt was able to withdraw his army in good order.
Background
Despite the crushing defeat at
Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
in 1709,
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 ...
refused to negotiate for peace. Indeed, Sweden was able to land an army in Germany in 1712 and win a victory at
Gadebusch
Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stad ...
.
Most of the fighting of the war had to this point taken place outside of the Sweden's core territory. The anti-Swedish coalition decided to force Sweden to come to terms by invading Sweden from two directions, Denmark from the south and Russia from the eastern
Finnish half. However, the Danish army was defeated at the
battle of Helsingborg
The Battle of Helsingborg was the last major engagement of the Great Northern War to take place on Swedish soil, and resulted in a decisive victory of a Swedish force of 14,000 men under the command of Magnus Stenbock against a Danish force of e ...
and the original plan was abandoned.
The Swedish army in Finland consisted almost entirely of Finnish soldiers, and was led by General
Georg Henrik Lybecker
Georg Lybecker was a Swedish friherre and Lieutenant General of the Swedish Army, he was son to Georg Henrik Lybecker and Catharina Grissbach. He died on 4 June 1718 at Värsta, Närke (his birth date is unknown).
Military career
After joining ...
. He was neither a popular nor a successful commander. His previous attempted diversionary campaign against
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1708 had resulted in the Finnish army being severely mauled. In particular, he had been forced to abandon his cavalry while retreating, which would have dire consequences in the near future.
Towards in April 1713, Russian troops with General Apraksin in the lead and
czar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
in the
vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
headed for Finland. An amphibious strategy employed by Apraksin allowed him to tie down the defending Finnish army with part of his force, while a second part would perform an outflanking maneuver by making a coastal landing behind the Finns.
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Porvoo
Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...
fell early in May, and by August the Russians had advanced to
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
, with General Lybecker constantly falling back. His failure to defend Finland led to his replacement in September by General Armfeldt.
Armfeldt took a strong position on an
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
between the lakes
Pälkänevesi
Pälkänevesi is a lake in Finland. The lake is located in the municipality of Pälkäne in the Pirkanmaa region.
The lake is part of Kokemäenjoki basin and a chain of lakes that consists of Längelmävesi, Vesijärvi, Roine, Pälkänevesi and ...
and
Mallasvesi
Mallasvesi is a medium-sized lake in Finland. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin and it is located for municipalities of Pälkäne and Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region. It is a part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene ...
in parish of
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the administrative center of the municipality. Tamper ...
to defend the next important town,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
. He arranged his infantry behind a river Kostianvirta connecting the two lakes across the isthmus, hence the alternative name of ''battle of Kostianvirta''.
Apraksin and the Russian army based itself in nearby Kantokylä. The strong Finnish position would be difficult to force with a frontal attack, so Apraksin applied the formula that had been so successfully used previously in the Finnish campaign.
The battle
Apraksin planned to divert the Finns with a frontal assault while
Mikhail Galitzine led an amphibious landing behind the Swedish position by crossing lake Mallasvesi in the early morning of 6 October. When dawn broke the Russians were spotted by the Finns, who prepared for battle.
The first wave of Galitzine's troops made a beach landing to the west of Apraksin's main front. The Finnish cavalry was still in quarters around the village of
Mälkilä, but Armfeldt was able to get the cavalry moving. His intent was to pin and disorder the Russians with dismounted cavalry units and then strike with a mounted cavalry flank attack. However, because of the delay the Russians were able to organize themselves on the beachhead and the weak Finnish cavalry was unable to carry out its mission.
In the east, Apraksin attempted to cross the channel using improvised rafts in three groups, with artillery support. However, the defending Finnish infantry were able to fend off the assaults. Apraksin kept pressing, mounting several attacks, including one where the Russian cavalry attempted to wade through the lakes to flank the Finnish infantry, with no success.
While the stalemate continued in the east, the Russian western beachhead was reinforced with additional infantry. Armfeldt counterattacked with his infantry reserves, and was initially successful but with the underperforming Finnish cavalry and the increasing numerical superiority of the Russians Armfelt was repulsed; the cavalry was routed.
As the west part of the Finnish army withdrew in disorder, the eastern position became vulnerable to Galitzine's victorious troops. The Finnish infantry in the east were reluctant to leave as they had fought successfully during the day, but Armfeldt realized his position was untenable and started withdrawing. Harassed by Russian cavalry, the Finnish army abandoned their positions and the majority of their artillery.
Aftermath
The Finnish army had suffered a defeat, and the performance of its cavalry had certainly been a disappointment. However, it did survive the engagement and withdrew to reorganize. Armfeldt and Galitzine would meet again in
Isokyrö
Isokyrö (; sv, Storkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
In the name of th ...
in February the next year.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Palkane
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the administrative center of the municipality. Tamper ...
1713 in Europe
Conflicts in 1713
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the administrative center of the municipality. Tamper ...
Pälkäne
Pälkäne () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which . The population density is . Onkkaala is the administrative center of the municipality. Tamper ...
History of Pirkanmaa