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Battle of Lesnaya

Unless otherwise stated, this article uses dates from the Gregorian calendar (new style), in preference to the Swedish or the Julian calendar (old style) which were used simultaneously.
Battle of Lesnaya
Part of the Swedish invasion of Russia

Battle of Lesnaya by Nicolas IV Larmessin
DateOctober 9 [O.S. September 28] 1708
29 September 1708 (Swedish calendar)
Location
Lyasnaya, Mogilev Region, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
(present-day Lyasnaya in Belarus)
53°32′32″N 30°54′54″E / 53.54222°N 30.91500°E / 53.54222; 30.91500
Result

Russian victory

See aftermath
Belligerents
Swedish Empire  Tsardom of Russia
border=no Cossack Hetmanate
Kalmyk Khanate
Commanders and leaders
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt
Berndt Otto Stackelberg		 Peter I of Russia
Mikhail Golitsyn
Aleksandr Menshikov
Rudolph Felix Bauer
Nikolai von Werden
Strength
Lesnaya:
9,700[1]
Propoisk:
800[2]
Convoy watch:
2,000[2]		 Lesnaya:
19,000–21,000[1]
Propoisk:
1,400–1,900[1]
On the march:
6,191[a]
Casualties and losses
Swedish sources:
Battle: 1,674–2,000+[4]
Total: 3,000–4,549[b]
Russian sources:
Battle: 6,700[5]–8,000[4]
Pursuit: 3,500[4]–5,000[5]
...other estimates		 Russian sources:
Battle: 3,967[6]–8,000[7]

Swedish sources:
Battle: 9,000[c]–20,000[8]
...other estimates
Battle of Lesnaya is located in Belarus
Battle of Lesnaya
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Location within Belarus
Battle of Lesnaya is located in European Russia
Battle of Lesnaya
Battle of Lesnaya (European Russia)

The Battle of Lesnaya[d] was one of the major battles of the Great Northern War. It took place on October 9 [O.S. September 28] 1708[e] between a Russian army of between 26,500 and 29,000 men commanded by Peter I of Russia, Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, Rudolph Felix Bauer and Nikolai Grigorovitj von Werden and a Swedish army of about 12,500 men commanded by Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt and Berndt Otto Stackelberg, at the village of Lesnaya, located close to the border between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian Empire (now the village of Lyasnaya, Mogilev Region, Belarus). The Swedes were escorting a supply column of more than 4,500 wagons for their main army in Ukraine.

Peter I intercepted Lewenhaupt's column before it reached the safety of Charles XII, the Swedish king, with the intention of destroying it. After eight hours of fighting, with heavy casualties, neither side stood as winner. As the night approached the Russians decided to withdraw to the nearest forest where they would stay until next morning to continue the fight. The Swedes however stayed in their battle formations for hours during the night, in case of a renewed attack. With no sign of further combat and intelligence saying further Russian reinforcements had arrived, the Swedes in turn withdrew from the place of battle, in order to continue the march towards the main army. Fearing a full-scale Russian pursuit, Lewenhaupt decided to burn or abandon most of the wagons and cannons in order to increase speed. While doing this many of the Swedish soldiers decided to loot the abandoned wagons and get drunk, thousands got lost in the woods, many of whom fell victim to Russian irregular cavalry. Lewenhaupt soon crossed the river of Sozh with the rest of his army, to find himself relatively safe. After some days he met up with Charles XII at Rukova with very few wagons left and only half of his initial army. The two soon continued their march towards Ukraine, eventually finding themselves at the Battle of Poltava and the surrender at Perevolochna which severely crippled the Swedish army and is known for being the turning point of the war.

  1. ^ a b c The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Dorrell, Nicholas. Partizan Press (2009). pp. 105–108
  2. ^ a b Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava. Lund (2007). pp. 104–111
  3. ^ Artamonov V. The Mother of the Poltava Victory: the Battle of Lesnaya. Saint Petersburg. (2008). p. 193
  4. ^ a b c d Konovaltjuk & Lyth, Pavel & Einar (2009). Vägen till Poltava. Slaget vid Lesnaja 1708 (in Swedish). Svenskt Militärhistorisk Biblioteks Förlag. pp. 231–233
  5. ^ a b Gordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. pp. 277–278
  6. ^ В. А. Артамонов. Заря Полтавской победы – битва при Лесной.
  7. ^ Bushkovitch 2001, p. 286.
  8. ^ a b Konovaltjuk & Lyth, Pavel & Einar (2009). Vägen till Poltava. Slaget vid Lesnaja 1708 (in Swedish). Svenskt Militärhistorisk Biblioteks Förlag. pp. 229–235


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