Battle Of Gross-Jägersdorf
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The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf (30 August 1757) was a victory for the
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
force under
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin over a smaller Prussian force commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. This was the first battle in which Russia engaged during the Seven Years' War. Despite the tactical success, supply problems made a successful advance further into East Prussia impractical. Apraksin decided not to take
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
and ordered a withdrawal soon after the battle. Suspecting collusion between Apraksin and Chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who had opposed the invasion,
Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...
removed Apraksin from command, ordered Bestuzhev-Ryumin to face trial for treason, and appointed
William Fermor Count William Fermor (/''Villim Villimovich Fermor'') was an Imperial Russian Army officer best known for leading his country’s army at the Battle of Zorndorf during the Seven Years’ War. His name is sometimes styled Wilhelm Graf von Fermo ...
as the head of the army. Femor led the army back into East Prussia in the following year.


Seven Years' War

Although the Seven Years' War was a global conflict, it took a specific intensity in the
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an theater based on the recently concluded
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
(1740–1748). The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle gave Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, the prosperous province of
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
. Empress
Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...
had signed the treaty to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances; she was intent upon regaining ascendancy in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
as well as the Silesian province. In 1754, escalating tensions between Britain and France in North America offered France an opportunity to break the British dominance of Atlantic trade. Seeing the opportunity to regain her lost territories and to limit Prussia's growing power, Austria put aside the old
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
with France to form a new coalition. Faced with this turn of events, Britain aligned herself with the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
; this alliance drew in not only the British king's territories held in
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
, including Hanover, but also those of his relatives in the
Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lünebur ...
and the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...
. This series of political maneuvers became known as the Diplomatic Revolution. At the outset of the war, Frederick had one of the finest armies in Europe: his troops—any company—could fire at least four volleys a minute, and some of them could fire five. By the end of 1757, the course of the war had gone well for Prussia, and poorly for Austria. Prussia had achieved spectacular victories at Rossbach and Leuthen and reconquered parts of Silesia that had fallen back to Austria. The Prussians then pressed south into Austrian
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
. In April 1758, Prussia and Britain concluded the Anglo-Prussian Convention in which the British committed to pay Frederick an annual subsidy of £670,000. Britain also dispatched 7,000–9,000 troops Anderson says 7,000, p. 301. Szabo says 9,000. to reinforce Frederick's brother-in-law, the
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (12 January 1721 – 3 July 1792) was a German military officer best known for his participation in the Seven Years' War. From 1757 to 1762, he led an Anglo-German army in western Germany which success ...
's army. Ferdinand evicted the French from Hanover and
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
and re-captured the port of
Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
in March 1758; he crossed the Rhine, causing general alarm in France. Despite Ferdinand's victory over the French at the
Battle of Krefeld The Battle of Krefeld (sometimes referred to by its French name of Créfeld) was fought at Krefeld near the Rhine on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian- Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War. Background The Hanoverian ...
and the brief occupation of
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, successful manoeuvres of the larger French forces required him to withdraw across the Rhine.Anderson, p. 301. While Ferdinand and the British allies kept the French busy in the Rhineland, Prussia had to contend with Sweden, Russia, and Austria. There remained a possibility that Prussia could lose Silesia to Austria, Pomerania to Sweden, Magdeburg to Saxony, and East Prussia to Poland or Russia: an entirely nightmarish scenario.Brendan Simms, ''Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453–present.'' Basic Books, 2013
Here
In particular,
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
was cut off from the rest of Prussia by of Polish territory, and seemed an easy target, but some Russian court officials—notably Chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin—opposed Russia's entry into what seemed like a largely western European dispute. Bestuzhev-Ryumin did not trust the Prussians, but also had little liking for the French or the British. In this conflict, which grew out of the major realignment of European power diplomacy, it was difficult to determine if the enemy of an enemy was a friend.


Dispositions

The Russian field marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin commanded an army of approximately 55,000 men and crossed the Niemen. They captured Memel, which became the army's base for an invasion of the rest of Prussia. Apraxin was cautious, however, and inexperienced in wartime measures. Instead of marching on Wehlau, as was expected, he ordered his forces to cross the Pregel River in safety, near the village of Gross-Jägersdorf. The position in East Prussia had stretched the Russian supply lines, and the troops were forced to forage. Foraging quickly degenerated into unruliness and turned into a scorched earth policy, a process that Frederick derided, thinking the Russians undisciplined troops; a disciplined army, the King reasoned, would make quick work of them.Jonathan R. Dull, ''The French Navy and the Seven Years' War,'' U of Nebraska Press, 2007, p. 98. They moved on
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
, to try to take or at least invest the city.Edward Krattli, "Battle of Gross-Jaegersdorf," in Timothy C. Dowling ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond, ''ABC-CLIO, 2014, pp. 334–5. Frederick sent his 70-year-old Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, who commanded of forces in
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
, with 28,000 men; he supplied Lehwaldt with one hundred officers' patents to fill as he saw fit, expecting him to strengthen the army there.Bernhard von Poten
Lehwaldt, Hans von
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,'' Band 18 (1883), S. 166–167, Digitale Volltext-Ausgabe in Wikisource, (Version vom 30 January 20172358, 19:35 Uhr UTC)
He also sent ambiguous orders to take on the Russians whenever his field marshal saw fit. Frederick had not given him specific instructions, just general ones to act when the moment seemed propitious.Herbert Tuttle, ''History of Prussia: Under Frederic the Great, 1740–1757'', Houghton, Mifflin, 1899, pp. 109–111.


Battle

The Russians started the day with a leisurely march, but the army was undisciplined and difficult to move in any concentrated, organized way. Seeing the opportunity, the Prussians attacked the milling and "unprepared mob" of Russian soldiers.Franz A.J. Szabo, ''The Seven Years War in Europe: 1756–1763''. Routledge, 2013. p. 82. Lehwaldt's cavalry attacked the northern and southern flanks of the Russian army, inflicting initial heavy losses. The Russians, entirely unprepared for an assault by an army half its size, degenerated into further confusion. Apraxin's inexperienced commanders tried to organize the infantry; General
Pyotr Rumyantsev Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (; – ) was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century, and is widely considered to be one of Russia's greatest military leaders, and one of the greatest military commanders in ...
, who later became one of Russia's best generals, managed to rally the Russians in the center, as it recovered from the shock of the initial attack. General Vasily Lopukhin was
bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...
ed by the Prussians: some reports say he died in the arms of his comrades, others, that he died a few days later.Spencer C. Tucker, ''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern,'' ABC-CLIO, Dec 23, 2009
p. 771
Initially, Lehwaldt's force retained some advantage in the battle. The fierce Prussian assault prevented the Russians from forming the traditional
square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
s with which to repel cavalry, but they did not break and run. Furthermore, observers reported that the main force of Prussians advancing on the center fired volley upon volley with their usual ruthless efficiency. The Russian army recovered from the shock of the initial assault and counter-attacked. Initially mesmerized by the Prussian onslaught, the Russians recovered to shoot back; their return fire was not of the same efficiency, but it was nevertheless effective and the Prussian line eventually collapsed under it. Furthermore, the Kalmyk
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
and the
Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...
, on the Prussian left, pretended to retreat so as to trap the attacking Prussians under heavy artillery fire. This was an effort by Apraksin to encircle the Prussians with his larger army, which Lehwaldt was able to avoid. Lehwaldt's force retired to its former camp and held its ground there.


Aftermath

The Prussians achieved a surprise attack, seized a number of positions from numerically superior forces and inflicted equivalent losses. As at Zorndorf, they proved to be effective against stronger forces in close-quarter fighting. On the other hand, the Russians, as a
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
officer remarked, "had neither time nor opportunity to form a square, and yet they did extremely well", despite being taken completely by surprise. Lehwaldt lost between 4,600 and 5,000 casualties and Apraxin, approximately 5,400. Some sources estimate Russian losses as higher: perhaps half again as many casualties, so in the 7,000 range. Although Lehwaldt withdrew his corps from the battle, and subsequently oversaw the Blockade of Stralsund. The Russian success at Gross-Jägersdorf also encouraged Sweden to join the fight against Prussia.John Oliphant, ''A/AS Level History for AQA Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment,'' Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 83, 85.


Impact on Russian Army

In the aftermath, it was popularly expected in Russia that Apraksin would pursue the Prussian retreat and eventually overrun all of East Prussia; he was, after all, only away from the Königsberg. Inexplicably, the general stopped his advance towards Königsberg and withdrew back into Russia. Historians offer several reasons: after hearing a false report that Empress
Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...
had died; to support Peter III as heir to the throne; Apraxin marched on
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
but his troops, lacking in supplies, suffered considerable attrition; and, finally, an epidemic of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, which hit the Russian army, especially the
Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...
, and resulted in 8.5 times more deaths than all the battles fought in 1757. Recent research suggests that the Russians were entirely unprepared for war beyond their western border and had not realistically evaluated their potential supply problems in East Prussia. Apraxin, at best a modest commander, had assessed supplies in the region and believed they were sufficient; he had not established specifically Russian supply depots in
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, which was neutral, but intended to rely on local supply. In 1757, the ongoing support of the 92,000 horses alone required more fodder than was available from any of the friendly territories in Livland, much less unfriendly East Prussia. Furthermore, the Russians had made no effort to expand their supply depots using the Baltic's seaports, which would have been the most obvious way to feed that number of troops at that distance. Finally, the efforts at the troops to requisition supplies were met by a localized guerilla uprising; farmers burnt their crops and destroyed their supplies rather than give to the Russians. Once the Russians reached Livland, observers noted exhausted troops hauling carts because their horses, living on a diet of oak leaves, dropped dead by the hundreds every day. The Empress was so angry with Apraxin that she removed him from command, and launched an investigation into his actions. She put Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, her chancellor and a friend of Apraxin, on trial for treason. Bestuzhev-Ryumin was later exiled to his estates. Elizabeth appointed
William Fermor Count William Fermor (/''Villim Villimovich Fermor'') was an Imperial Russian Army officer best known for leading his country’s army at the Battle of Zorndorf during the Seven Years’ War. His name is sometimes styled Wilhelm Graf von Fermo ...
as the new Russian commander and the next year the invasion was started again. Fermor had an entirely different attitude towards supplying his troops, and developed an extensive network of local supply depots and sources outside of the Russian boundary. This, though, attracted aspersions from his political enemies in St. Petersburg, who claimed he was wasting the imperial treasury; however, Fermor was considerably more successful in 1758 than his predecessor had been in 1757.Keep, pp. 32–34.


Citations and notes


Notes


Citations


Reading

*Anderson, Fred. ''Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766.'' Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007, . *Asprey, Robert. ''Frederick the Great: A Magnificent Enigma.'' Ticknor & Fields, 2007, *Bassett, Richard. ''For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619–1918.'' Yale University Press, 2015. * Berenger, Jean.''The Habsburg Empire 1700–1918.'' Routledge, 2014, *Black, Jeremy. ''Essay and Reflection: On the 'Old System' and the Diplomatic Revolution' of the Eighteenth Century.'' International History Review. (1990) 12:2 pp. 301–323 * Blanning, Tim. ''Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.'' NY, Random House, 2016, * Bodart, Gaston. '' Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary.'' Clarendon Press, 1916. *Dull, Jonathan R. ''The French Navy and the Seven Years' War,'' U of Nebraska Press, 2007, * Duffy, Christopher. ''Frederick the Great: A Military Life''. New York: Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 1985. *Horn, D. B. "The Diplomatic Revolution" in J.O. Lindsay, ed., ''The New Cambridge Modern History vol. 7, The Old Regime: 1713–63'' (1957): pp 449–64 *Jones, Archer. ''The Art of War in the Western World.'' University of Illinois Press, 2001, *Keep, Joh
''Feeding the Troops: Russian Army Supply Policies during the Seven Years War.''
Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 1987), pp. 24–44, pp. 29–31. *Krattli, Edward, "Battle of Gross-Jaegersdorf," in Timothy C. Dowling ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond, ''ABC-CLIO, 2014, . pp. 334–5. *Longman, Frederick William. ''Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War.'' Longmans, Green, and Company, 1881. *Malleson, Col. G. B. ''Loudon: A Sketch Of The Military Life Of Gideon Ernest.'' Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016 (1872) *MacDonogh, Giles. ''Frederick the Great: A Life in Deed and Letters''. St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 2001, *Oliphant, John. ''A/AS Level History for AQA Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment,'' Cambridge University Press, 2016, *Redman, Herbert J. ''Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756–1763.'' McFarland, 2014, *Ralli, Augustus. ''Guide to Carlisle.'' G. Allen & Unwin Limited, 1922 * Robitschek, Norbert. '' Hochkirch: Eine Studie.'' Verlag von teufens, Wien 1905 * Showalter, Dennis, ''Frederick the Great, a Military History.'' Frontline, 2012. *Scott, Hamish. ''The Birth of a Great Power System, 1740–1815'', Routledge, 2014 *Simms, Brendan. ''Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453–present.'' Basic Books, 2013, *Szabo, Franz J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe: 1756–1763''. Routledge, 2013. *Wilson, Peter H., ''The Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire.'' Penguin, 2016, pp. 478–479. * Zabecki, David. ''Germany at War. Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History'' (2014 2015). Vol. I−IV, ABC-CLIO,


External links

* *
Apraksin's report about the battle (with a map appended)

1757-08-30 – Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross-Jagersdorf 1757, Battle of Battle of Gross-Jagersdorf Battles of the Seven Years' War Battles involving Prussia Battles involving the Russian Empire East Prussia 1757 in Prussia Battles of the Silesian Wars History of Kaliningrad Oblast