The Battle of Grodno (1708) was the first battle of the
Swedish invasion of Russia on 26 January 1708, 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-Swe ...
. Grodno was a city of 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 ...
at this time.
The battle
During the start of the
Swedish invasion of Russia,
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 ...
was informed of
Peter I's presence at the town of
Grodno
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
and immediately marched there with his vanguard of approx 800 men. While awaiting the rest of his army, Peter had 9,000 men for use in Grodno. 2,000 of these had been stationed near the bridge leading to the town. On his arrival, the Swedish king charged with his cavalry in a surprise to drive the Russians away.
After a short but fierce fight which had cost them some 100 killed and 50 captured, the Russians guarding the bridge retreated into the town. Shocked by the news of a sudden Swedish attack, Peter I, who was said to have been in danger of capture, ordered a retreat to
Berezina with his army, leaving Grodno defenseless for Charles to enter only two hours later.
Thus, the Swedish king, with his smaller army, forced a much larger Russian force away from their advantageous position. However, while discovering the numbers of the Swedish vanguard, Peter I immediately ordered 3,000 of his troops back in an attempt to recapture the town and possibly the Swedish king himself. As night fell and the soldiers were sleeping, the Russians reached the gates of Grodno, but were halted by the 30 men guarding there. As fighting arose, Charles and his men were alerted and a new fight took place inside the town which forced the Russian army back, leaving being 56 killed; the Swedes lost 11 killed and 43 wounded.
[Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 77.]
References
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History of Grodno
Grodno 1708
Grodno (1708)
Grodno (1708)
Grodno (1708)
Military history of Belarus
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