Friedrichsham battle

In the winter of 1789/1790, Sweden, which received financial support from England and Prussia, energetically prepared for the upcoming campaign, brought its land army to 70 thousand people, and the rowing fleet to 350 ships. With these forces and a naval fleet (up to 40 battleships), the Swedish king intended, firstly, to destroy the Chichagov squadron wintering in Revel and the units of the Russian rowing fleet scattered across different ports, and then block Kronstadt and, after landing, landing on the Oranienbaum coast, strike Petersburg

Russia planned to operate mainly in the army, supported by the rowing fleet, in Finland. And the naval squadrons, Revelskaya and Kronstadt, having occupied skerry posts at the Gangut and Parkalaud units, were supposed to stay in the Gulf of Finland and Bothnia and thereby ensure the actions of the land forces and the rowing fleet ^[3] .

Just two days after the victory of the Russian naval squadron near Revel, the Swedish skerry fleet under the command of Gustav III unexpectedly approached Friedrichsham for the Russians. The composition of the Swedish fleet: 1 turum , 1 , 2 udems , 1 shebek, 18 galleys, 40 gunboats, 30 cannon yols , 9 cannon and 4 mortar longboats ^[4] (total about 1600 guns) ^[1] . The Russian rowing flotilla detachment, under the command of Captain 1st Rank P. B. Slizov, spent the winter at the front skerry post in Friedrichsgam Bay and, although the summer campaign began, had half the number of personnel on their ships. A major omission was the shortage of ammunition and insufficient amplification of coastal batteries ^[3] . Sliz could put up for battle 63 ships, which had a total of 408 guns ^[1] . According to other sources, Slizov had 3 large vessels and 46 half galleys, gunboats and kayaks (galley support vessels 24 feet long and 2.5 feet draft), that is 49 units ^[5] .

According to some sources, the battle began at about 2 o’clock in the morning ^[5] , according to others - at 4 o’clock in the morning ^[3] (white nights begin in the Baltic at this time of year). The first shots were fired at the entrance to Friedrichsgam Bay. In general, a fire battle, often at a range of a shotgun, and maneuvers during it lasted about 7 hours. The Russian lack of ammunition made itself felt, and they had to retreat to the very fortress of Friedrichsgam. On the escape route, some Russian ships either went ashore or were captured. The desperate situation of Slizov's subordinates was characterized by the fact that the retreat was covered by a blanket with a blank shot ^[3] - the cores and buckshot ended. At 9 o’clock in the morning, the king ordered a suspension of fire to give the crew rest. At the same time, the commandant of the fortress was asked to surrender. The commandant requested an extension of the hour given to him for consideration for up to 3 hours, and in the meantime requested reinforcements. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the king ordered the attack to begin again, but already 3 hours later he stopped the battle and ordered his ships to retreat ^[5] .

Losses of the Slizov flotilla amounted to: 10 damaged ships burned by their crews, 6 ships sunk, 10 ships captured by the enemy ^[1] . Among the latter, the Turks recaptured , which the Russians took as a trophy in the First Rochensalm battle and then included in their rowing fleet ^[4] . Thus, the Russian rowing squad lost half of its original strength. Damage in people reached 90 killed and up to 150 people captured ^[3] . In addition, the enemy was able to destroy all artillery batteries outside the fortress ^[5] .

The Swedes lost up to 60 people killed and wounded ^[5] , as well as one cannon yol ^[4] .

The Russian rowing squad was pressed against the shore and thus no longer covered the skerry path to Vyborg. This was dangerous for the Russian army, which now could every minute expect in its rear rear enemy landings. On May 22, a Swedish king with a rowing fleet entered the Vyborg Bay and, awaiting the approach of his ship fleet, was anchored at Rogel and Biorko ^[3] .

Alfred Stenzel , a German naval officer, military writer and researcher, gave a very good assessment of this battle from the point of view of the Swedes: the successful operation was frustrated by the lack of understanding of the fundamentals of military science by Gustav III . The chance at the first attack to destroy all enemy forces and coastal fortifications was not used. As in the Revel battle, the matter stopped halfway: only four days later the attack was repeated. Then, after a three-hour battle, the Swedes, re-attacking with small forces, had to retreat. Just like Revel, there was a lack of all energy and determination. After the battle, the Swedes stood idle for six days, and then decided to advance along with the navy to Vyborg, despite the fact that here, in Friedrichsham, the enemy (that is, Russian) skerry flotilla remained behind, albeit a battered one ^{[5 ]} .

• Brickner A.G. The war of Russia with Sweden in 1788-1790 . - SPb. , 1869. - 300 s.