
Background
The Armies
Military Operations
The First Retreat
Sveaborg
Oravais
Northern Sweden
War at Sea
British Royal Navy
Peace Agreement
Military Coup
Bernadotte
Sources
The Union's Last War: The Russian-Swedish War of 1808-09
By Göran
Frilund
Background

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Swedish Troops Marching
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By 1807 the French emperor had trampled all over Europe.
His military genius had brought about the victories at
Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstädt and Friedland. His eagles
had flown over Berlin and Vienna, the capitals of two of
Europe's most powerful nations, Prussia and Austria. But
while emperor Napoleon's armies were winning victories on
land, the Royal British Navy was holding up resistance
against the French at sea. The legendary battle of Trafalgar
in 1805 ended in a splendid victory for the, likewise,
legendary British admiral Nelson, who secured British
superiority at sea. The Franco-Spanish fleet was soundly
beaten, and with that, all French plans for invasion in
Britain were postponed. This was where Napoleon's continental
blockade came into the picture. After having beaten Prussia
in 1806 and secured his hold on Germany, Napoleon proclaimed
the blockade in Berlin on November 21, 1806. Napoleon
planned to beat the British through economic warfare by
closing all European ports to British trade. Maintaining the
blockade became his main political goal. After the decisive
battle of Friedland on June 14, 1807, where Napoleon rolled
up the Russian lines and threw them back into the river
Alle, the turn came for Russia to join the blockade.
The Emperor of the West, Napoleon I of France, and the
Emperor of the East, Czar Alexander I of Russia, met for
peace negotiations on a raft on the river Niemen on July 7,
1807. The two emperors were very much fascinated by each
other. They inspected major military reviews together, they
dined together and were involved in hour-long conversations.
Soon enormous plans for the future of the entire world
started to take form. Europe was divided between Russia and
France. In a secret agreement between the two emperors it
was decided that Russia should take upon itself the task of
forcing Sweden into the continental system. As a prize for
his efforts, the Czar would receive Finland, which was at
the time, the eastern half of the Swedish empire.
Gustav IV Adolf became the king of Sweden in 1796 (he
ruled until 1809) as his eccentric father, "the king of
theatre", Gustav III had been murdered in 1792. Gustav IV
Adolf was a fierce hater of the French revolution.
Furthermore, he had read the book of "Revelations" and saw
Napoleon as the beast in that book. Kent Zetterberg writes
in his essay in Krig kring Kvarken
"Gustav IV Adolfs hate against Napoleon was
deep, true, almost monumental. The king saw Napoleon as
the antichrist wandering on the face of the Earth and he
was therefore not prepared to make any compromises in his
war against the "French hydra". He meant to put the weak
resources of the Swedish kingdom into the gigantic power
struggle that was occurring in Europe as a whole. The king
had been reading the book of Revelations in the Bible and
saw Napoleon as the incarnation of evil, all according to
the prophecy of the Apocalypse. Rather than to surrender
for Napoleon, the king was prepared to leave the country
and continue the struggle from England."
At the end of 1807 and the beginning of 1808, the Swedish
government ignored all reports of the massive maneuvres
along the border with Russia. The Swedish ambassador in St.
Petersburg sent reports home to Stockholm and expressed his
concern about the Russian armies. Nothing was done on the
Swedish side. Without declaring war on Sweden, Russian
troops crossed the border to Finland on February 21, 1808.
That day, a Sunday, Swedish Major Gustav Arnkihl, of the
Nyland Dragoons - who was posted at the border - signed a
report to the brigade command. "...that the Russians have
crossed the border at 5 o'clock today, with a considerable
force... it is also reported that they have crossed at
Abborfors and also that they have gone over at Korois with
Cossacks and pointed their march in our direction." The
union's last war had begun.
The Condition of the Opposing Armies
The Swedish Army
Unlike the Russian soldier, the Swedish soldier was a
free man. The Swedish system meant that putting up troops,
as well as supplying and maintaining them in peacetime, were
the responsibilities of the landowners. In this manner all
the land was divided into "rotar", and with each of these
came one soldier for the army. The landowners supplied the
soldiers with farms and a livelihood. The soldiers had
families and were often unprepared to go to war. The
military education of these troops was often lacking and the
ties to the family and home came before risking their lives
in war. The Swedish Army consisted of two parts: the troops
that served "part time" and the ones that served "full
time", usually men hired for the army, mostly garrison
troops.
At the outbreak of war the Swedish Army in Finland
consisted of 17,323 men, of which about 750 were cavalry.
The army was under the command of general Mauritz Klingspor
(1744-1814), who was a very cautious commander, bordering on
being cowardly. Klingspor was more a bureaucrat and a
desk-warrior than a man suitable for leading an army in the
field. He never wanted to spend too much time on the
battlefield and he often left the command to other officers
while he place himself in safety. Most often Karl Johan
Adlercreutz (1757-1815) exercised command on the field of
battle when the main army was involved. While Swedish
generals like Adlercreutz, Georg Karl von Döbeln, and
Johan August Sandels were more than a fair match to their
Russian commanders, the high command of the Swedish Army was
often stiff, conservative and buried in its own
bureaucracy.

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The Björneborg Regiment
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Never has the state of the Swedish uniform been so
confusing as during the war of 1808-09. The traditional
uniform of the Swedish Army was in blue and yellow, but
during the era of Gustav IV Adolf, the army had also been
experimenting with grey uniforms. For the most part, the
troops in Finland wore the grey uniform - with cuffs and
stripes in varying colours for each regiment - except the
Österbottens regiment that wore the yellow and blue
uniform. The jaegers of Karelen had green jackets and white
trousers, which made them look strikingly like the Russian
infantry. The Swedish infantry wore cylindrical hats. The
men wore their uniforms until they were totally worn-out,
meaning that the army must have been a very confusing sight
as many different types of uniforms were represented.
The Russian Army in 1808
Shortly before the war of 1808, the Russian Army was
reformed and composed in the same manner as the French army.
The system with divisions was therefore in full function at
the outbreak of war and the Russian Army consisted of 24
divisions. A Russian division was composed of six regiments
infantry , of which one or two were jaeger regiments. Among
these, artillery and cavalry were placed. Russian infantry
regiments consisted of three battalions, with four companies
each. In theory, a regiment at full strength had about 2000
troops. The Russian Army was by no means unprepared for what
was coming. The reforms in the army, as well as the
rebuilding of units that had taken losses in the 1806-07
campaigns resulted in a war-experienced and powerful
invasion force. Approximately, 80,000 troops were earmarked
for the coming campaign, of which 50,000 would have been
thrown into the fighting by the end of the war.
The Russian regular grenadier troops wore tight green
uniform jackets and white trousers, the jaeger troops wore
entirely green uniforms. The colours on collars and shoulder
pads differed from regiment to regiment. The old triangular
hats had been exchanged by shakos in 1803. The Russian
cavalry was well known in all of Europe, and especially the
irregular Cossack cavalry was so famous that horrible
stories flew around the continent about these "barbarians".
Most important of these Cossack-units was the Don Cossacks,
that could show 40,000 troops by the beginning of the 19th
Century. In all the Russian Army consisted of 400,000 men,
and if we put the number of the irregular cavalry to that,
it was easily twice that strength.
The Russian force that invaded Finland in February, 1808,
was commanded by General Fredrik Wilhelm von Buxhoevden, had
a strength of 24,000 troops and was organized in the
following manner:
Left flank: 17th Division, under Lieutenant
General Gortschakoff (8000 men) collected near
Fredrikshamn.
Centre: 21st Division under Lieutenant General Peter
Ivanovitsch Bagration, (8700 men) collected on the roads
east of Anjala.
Right flank: 5th Division under Lieutenant General
Nikolai Alexejvitsch Tutschkoff, (7000 men) collected
near Nyslott.
Although defeated by Napoleon, the Russian Army was in a
good condition. It was experienced and well organized. The
commanders were of good quality, especially its commander.
Buxhoevden was an experienced general who had been fighting
for over 40 years. Buxhoevden was born in 1750 in a Livonian
family and in by 1764, he joined the Russian Army. There he
gained his first field experience during the Turkish wars.
In 1788-90 he fought against Sweden as major general,
commanding a brigade. Later, during the battle of Austerlitz
in 1805 he led the Allied left flank and participated in the
1806-07 campaigns in Poland and Prussia with varying
success. After having commanded the armies during the
invasion in Finland, he was made general but was never
brought back to command. He died in 1811.
The main weakness of the Russian Army was the poor morale
of its soldiers. It was said that the Russian Army was made
of slaves. While the Swedish Army consisted of free
soldiers, the Russian men were most often serfs. The honour
of being a soldier was not felt in the Russian Army, as it
was in the Swedish. The Swedish often saw the uniform as
something honourable, an evidence of manhood. The two armies
that were to meet on the field of battle were really each
others opposites.
The Military Operations of the War of 1808-09
The Swedish plan of war was simple enough and had
been designed so that the fortifications at Sveaborg ("The
Gibraltar of the North") could come to full use. The Swedish
high command planned to move the land armies north, into
Finland, in retreat and wait for reinforcements from Sweden
itself. It was believed that the Russian armies would have
their hands full trying to conquer the forts at Sveaborg and
Svartholm. Sveaborg was considered strong enough to keep up
a significant threat to the rear of any advancing Russian
Army. Part of the plan called for the Swedish coastal fleet
to harass the Russians with landings of troops at vital
points of occupied territory. Sveaborg was the largest base
for the coastal fleet and thus the key to Finland.
The First Retreat
When the war begun, General Carl Nathanael af Klercker
concentrated the Swedish Army in Finland at Hämeenlinna
(Tavastehus). However, when the high commander of the army,
Field Marshal Mauritz Klingspor, arrived from Sweden on
March 1, 1808, he gave the order to retreat north. The Army
of Finland thus retreated, all according to plan, leaving
southern Finland to Russian occupation. Strong garrisons
were posted at Sveaborg and Svartholm. During the retreat
north, the Swedish Army did not try to delay the Russian
offensive, instead the retreat looked like it was a defeated
army escaping a victorious one. The Russians captured
Helsinki on March 2. Svartholm surrendered to the attacking
armies on March 18 and Åbo, the age-old capital of
Finland, was taken on March 22. Except for Sveaborg,
southern Finland was occupied.

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The First Retreat
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By late March, the retreating Swedes were in
Österbotten. The Russian troops following the Swedish
Army had become more aggressive. On April 16, a skirmish was
fought in Pyhäjoki, where the Swedish troops repelled
two attacks made by the Russians under Kulnev. The Swedish
commander, Carl von Döbeln, gave the order to continue
to retreat in accordance with Marshal Klingspors' plan.
On April 17, both armies rested. On this day General Carl
Johan Adlercreutz was appointed second-in-command to Marshal
Mauritz Klingspor. The retreat had been bad for Swedish
morale and the troops, were longing for to fight. And it
came sooner than expected.
On April 18, Klingspors' army again marched off
north towards Siikajoki, closely followed by Russian
cossacks. Kulnev, who was as always, very aggressive, again
took his chance and attacked the Swedes at Siikajoki. In a
bloody engagement, the Swedish were able to beat off the
Russians. On April 27, Adlercreutz beat off the Russians
again at Revolax. During the last stages of the fighting at
Revolax, the Russians had taken up a position inside a
building, which was attacked by the Swedish. Although these
fights were small, the impact they had on Swedish morale was
important. The Russians were also having a hard time holding
together their campaign. Their supply lines were stretched
to their limit. Large parts of the Russian Army were held up
at Sveaborg and the Finnish civilian population were showing
an increased disappointment in the Russian occupation.
Peasants rebellions and guerilla groups started operating in
the rear of the Russian Army, threatening their vulnerable
supply lines. It soon became clear that the original 24,000
men were were not enough to achieve success. Furthermore,
the Swedish retreat had come to an end though.
Warfare in the northern hemisphere did not look like
anything on the continent and this disappointed the Russian
high command that had planned a quick and decisive
lightning-war in Napoleonic style. The terrain in Finland
consisting of with large, dark woods where movements of
large armies were impossible, and long distances between
villages towns and dwellings, forced the war to be fought
along the main roads. The Russo - Finnish War had three
theatres of operation. These three theatres, or fronts,
were:
The war in Österbotten, along the Finnish
west coast, where the main armies stood against each
other.
The war in eastern Finland, where Sandels and his
brigade went on the offensive in the direction of
Kuopioand fought all the way to the Russian border
The Åbo-Åland archipelago, where Swedish
troops where occasionally landed and the coastal fleets
fought sporadic battles.
Sveaborg - the Key to Finland
Sveaborg was the key to Finland. Whoever owned the
fortress, would have a serious advantage over any foe
operating in the country. It was the largest and strongest
of all fortresses in Sweden and the entire complex actually
involved fortifications on six islands outside Helsinki, of
which the largest was called Gustavssvärd. At the time
of the war, the commander of the fortifications was Karl
Olof Cronstedt, an ambitious and

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Swedes and Russians Fighting
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experienced officer, whose reputation in Finnish history
today is totally darkened by his actions at Sveaborg in
1808. During the battle of Svensksund (In English it is
called Rochensalm) 1790, he had been a staff officer under
Gustav III and were one of the men behind the victory. In
March of 1808, Cronstedt had 6,750 troops within the walls
of the fort, with 734 guns on the walls. The fort was well
supplied. Add to this considerable force, the Swedish
Sveaborg Squadron of the coastal fleet was also present with
a hundred coastal vessels. The stage was set for one of the
greatest tragicomical plays in Swedish history.
The fortress of Svartholm - the other significant
fortification in southern Finland besides Sveaborg - and its
garrison of 700 men surrendered to Russian troops on March
18, although the Swedish officers had taken an oath never to
surrender the fort - he who was to suggest a surrender
should be arrested and put to trial as a traitor. When the
Russians made their first reconnaissance against the fort,
the situation changed though and the officers at Svartholm
forgot all about their previous oath. The Russians had
already started their offensive on Helsinki on March 2
though and soon they appeared outside Sveaborg as well. The
garrison in the town of Helsinki retreated to the
fortifications and the Russians deployed an observation unit
in the town. By the middle of march this unit was
strengthened to about 3,000 men.
On March 19, the Russians opened fire on the fort with a
few field batteries. The fire was totally harmless, but was
answered with sporadic, unplanned and almost panic-like
responsive fire from the Swedish fort. After this incident
Cronstedt immediately took up negotiations with the
Russians. Hornborg, who in his book När riket
sprängdes describes the Russian representatives at
the negotiations in hard words:
"They were led on the Russian side by
psychological insight and diplomatic skill by the
engineer General Paul van Suchtelen, Dutch by birth. He
was assisted by the old adventurer and traitor of his
country Göran Magnus Sprengtporten [he was
Swedish by birth], who had at one time in his life
been dreaming about becoming "The Washington of Finland",
and his friends; the notorious traitor Karl Henrik Klick
[also Swedish by birth] who came personally to
Helsinki to assist with advice and action. This gang was
supported by a bunch of officers wives..."
Between March 28 and April 2, as negotiations continued,
the besieging force reached its peak - 6,500 troops and 59
guns.
As the negotiations continued, Cronstedt decided to
surrender. On may 6, Sveaborg was turned over to the
Russians and one of the greatest acts of treason in Finnish
and Swedish history had occurred! One hundred and ten ships
of the coastal fleet immediately fell into Russian hands,
numerous guns were taken and 6,750 men were taken out of the
war on the Swedish side. More importantly, the key to
Finland had been turned over and the lock was about to be
opened by Russian hands as the strongest fortification of the
entire kingdom had been taken by the enemy. The total losses
on the Swedish side were six men dead.
Runebergs judgement over Cronstedt's actions at Sveaborg
came in the 1840's, and this picture has stayed in Finnish
and Swedish minds: Cronstedt was the greatest traitor of all
time. History has judged him very hard indeed. I translate
freely from Runeberg's Fänrik Ståls
Sägner:
"Take all the darkness you can find in the grave
and all the suffering in this life
and create yourself a name thereof
and give it to that man;
and it shall nonetheless awaken less sorrow,
than the one he had at Sveaborg"
The Summer Campaign 1808

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Döbeln at the Battle of Juthas
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The engagements in the north had ended the Swedish retreat
and forced the Russian armies to retreat south to Kokkola
(Gamlakarleby). But the Swedish forces stood still in
Brahestad. The supply lines back had to be secured and the
offensive could not begin until the middle of June. The
first unit to start offensive warfare, was Sandels' 5th
Brigade that went south east, into Savolax in the direction
of Kuopio. These areas were almost empty of Russian troops
and after winning a skirmish against a Russian unit under
Obuhov at Pulkkila on May 2, Sandels retook Kuopio. He then
continued with his 1,400 men all the way to the Russian
border. This worried the Russian commanders who immediately
asked for reinforcements and a force of 8,000 men under
Barclay de Tolly were sent to fight Sandels in the eastern
areas of Finland. Although the Russians were overwhelming in
numbers Sandels entrenched himself at Toivola and held the
Russians at bay until late September, even though they were
attacked on an almost daily basis. Sandels' offensive was one
of the most remarkable operations of the entire war. He
captured Russian depots, constantly harassed their rear
areas, and committed actions that won him respect among both
friends and foes.
In the secondary theatres of war, the Russians had been
operating against both the Åland islands as well as
Gotland.
While all this was happening in the east, the main
Swedish Army started to moveon June 16, although the
promised reinforcements from Sweden had been insufficient.
On June 24, the Russian Army was almost surrounded inside
the town of Nykarleby and at the same time Swedish
reinforcements finally arrived at Vasa. Heavy streetfighting
inside the town of Vasa followed between the opposing
armies, but as the Swedish expedition did not receive any
help from the troops in Nykarleby, they soon found
themselves retreating. One of the results of the
Vasa-expedition was that the peasants rose against the
Russian occupation in southern Österbotten, but they
were brutally suppressed.
The Swedish offensive continued without let up and on
July 14, the main armies met at Lappo in central
Österbotten. The following battle could have been
decisive if Adlercreutz had used his position correctly. The
Russian commander, Rayevskij, had about 4,100 troops at his
disposal and the Swedes had 4,700. Rayevskij's bad defensive
positions suggested that the Swedes should try to cut off
the retreat for the Russian troops, thereby surrounding
their main army. Adlercreutz did not deal with the situation
correctly though and tried to attack both flanks of the
Russian Army at once. The Björneborg Regiment, under
the legendary General Georg Carl von Döbeln had already
gone out in the fields when they were held back by
Adlercreutz. Irritated by the fire from the Russian lines,
Döbeln went on the attack shortly before Adlercreutz
had given the order though and at this moment one of the
more famous episodes of the war took place. The
Björneborg Regiment was let loose at Lappo as it beran
its ferocious attack, with flying banners, against the
Russians there. Russian skirmishers lay in the field outside
the village, and inside, Russian formations stood waiting
for the coming onslaught. Döbeln and his regiment
cleared the village of all opposition. The battle came to a
close as Rayevskij retreated and the Swedes could only
regret that he had escaped their trap.
After the victory at Lappo, Adlercreutz now pushed his
lines forward. Near Kauhajoki, the only important cavalry
skirmish during the summer campaign was fought. A patrol of
Russian hussars were attacked and thrown back by dragoons of
the Nyland Dragoon Regiment.
At this point in the war the situation was desperate for
the Russians even though they continued to receive regular
reinforcements. The commander of the main Russian Army,
Rayevskij, had to step down after the defeat at Lappo, and
was exchanged by the young and brilliant Nikolai
Michailovitsch Kamenskij, who had become a major general at
the age of 23 and had arrived to Finland to participate in
the campaign. He took command on July 24. Initiaully, the
Swedish Army continued itswar of reconquest with success. On
August 10, Döbeln sealed a victory at Kauhajoki against
Schepeljeff after a decisive and corageous attack. On August
17, Adlercreutz, with 3,800 troops, beat 2,400 Russians
under Colonel Erikson at Alavo. While on August 28, Swedish
General von Otter defeated a Russian force at
Nummijärvi.
General Kamenskij started his counteroffensive with about
21,200 troops, while the Swedish Army at this time counted
11,600 troops. The time had come for the decisive
moment.
The Russians began their attack on August 21 and the
Swedes under von Fieandt were defeated at Karstula. The
following actions also took place further west, along the
coast. The battle of Lappfjärd on August 29 ended in a
Russian victory. On the main front, further inland,
Adlercreutz stood against Kamenskij in bitter fighting at
Ruona and Salmi (where the most violent artillery duel of
the entire war was fought) on September 1-2. Here
Adlercreutz was finally beaten. Retreat was the only way out
for the Swedish and they went north, to Vasa, to collect
their troops and plan for the coming warfare. The turning
point had arrived.
The Decisive Battle of Oravais and Its
Aftermath
The Swedish Army retreated further north with its tail
between its legs. At Nykarleby the army's retreat was
threatened and in danger of being cut off by Russian
detachements operating in that direction. General Georg Carl
von Döbeln was sent to the important crossroads at
Juthas to protect the road north for the Swedish main army.
On September 13, he beat Russian troops under
Kossatchoffskij and this battle of Juthas has reached
legendary status in Finnish and Swedish history. It is told
of in shining words in Fänrik Ståls
Sägner (freely translated):
"Along the lines cries were soon heard:
'forward, forward, on to victory or death!'
Like a thunder was the voice of Standar
and old Nord beat the drum as it was heard,
and the young one with his belly blown up
went on over the field, with his blood running,
and in the front rode Döbeln himself with sword in
hand,
and before the evening's shadows fell
was the Russian force thrown over
and saved was Adlercreutz' free journey."

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Oravais Reenactment Group
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The day dawned clear and beautiful. Birds were singing in
the deep woods as the sun shed its first light on the lush
landscape. Down from the sea came a light wind in which the
trees waved silently in early greeting as the 14th of
September dawned. General Adlercreutz had chosen his
position. From a nearby hill he stood watching as his troops
formed on the fields below. He saw the colourful uniforms;
swords and bayonets shining in the early morning light; he
heard the sound of their voices and the rattle of the
weapons. He had chosen good a position for the coming
defensive battle -- for that was his plan: to keep the
Russians at bay for some time. He did not want a decisive
engagement. As Adlercreutz stood watching the Swedish Army
form up, the Russian commander, Kamenskij, was already on
his way to meet him with a considerable force. The dawning
day, September 14, 1808, would bring surprises for both
Finland and Sweden. The destiny of the 600-years old
Swedish-Finnish union was to be decided.
While the battle of Oravais was not a large battle by
continental standards, it made its mark in Finnish and
Swedish history. The main armies were to fight a decisive
battle that would decide the future of Finland. Adlercreutz
had about 5,500 troops present and while the number of
artillery has not been established, it was about 18 guns.
The Russians came in with about 6,000 soldiers, including
cavalry. The battle was fought on the fields and in the
woods just south of the village of Oravais and the Swedish
line of defence stretched along the slight heightening in
the landscape that ran alongside the rather insignificant
river of Fjällån. The Swedish avantgarde was
placed at the bridge at Lillträsket and it was here
that the first shots in the battle were traded.
The battle at the Swedish outpost began about five in the
morning as the Russian avantgarde under Kulnev arrived. The
initial fight at the outpost continued for several hours,
draining resources on both sides. Adlercreutz has been badly
criticized for committing so much of his army at this stage
of the battle. At about 11 a.m. Demidoff arrived with
Russian reinforcements and the Swedish outpost was forced to
retreat. Kulnev, who was still charging in the direction of
the road at this time was effectively held up by the young
underlieutenant Wilhelm von Schwerin, who protected the
Swedish retreat with his guns. Although von Schwerin and his
men were cut off by the Russians, and he himself was
mortally wounded, they were able to fight their way
through.

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The Battle of Oravais
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At 10 a.m. Adlercreutz mobilized his forces at the main
position as the Russians began to deploy and the final
battle was to be fought. At about noon the Russians came
forward to the edge of the woods on the other side of the
field and were now facing the main Swedish position
directly. "Thousands of rifles opened up fire from both
sides of the river... light clouds of gunsmoke lay as a
cover over the green fields where skirmishers were crawling
like ants... the Russian artillery answered with such a
great success that the cannonade may have been the hardest I
have yet heard", fänrik Ljunggren later told. After an
hour-long artillery duel the Russian troops engaged the
centre and right of the Swedish Army. The attack was beaten
back and the Swedish troops counter-attacked. All of the 4th
Swedish Brigade attacked and the losses were very high. The
Swedish were beaten back in their turn. The Russians began
to redeploy their troops. Forces were moved over to the
Russian right, where they believed the decisive action was
to be fought. This did not escape Adlercreutz who now
planned to break the weakened Russian centre. Two Swedish
battalions were given the order to attack. The
Västmanlands Battalion and the Upplands Battalion
attacked supported by a number of 6-pound guns. Seeing that
the attack on the Russian centre was now underway, the men
from Savolax as well as the men from Österbotten under
von Otter and Västerbottens Battalion joined in the
attack from the Swedish left wing. Adlercreutz personally
followed his troops in the attack and initially it was a
great success - the Russian lines were pressed back all the
way to their initial positions at the outposts. At about 3
p.m., the attack stalled as Kamenskij, with parts of the
Russian main army under Uschakoff arrived at the scene and
took up the counteroffensive. Adlercreutz had played his
last card.
When Uschakoff finally arrived with 1,200 fresh Russian
troops, the situation stood clear. The Swedish Army had been
defeated. As the sun went down, the battle was not yet over
though. The fighting still raged along the Swedish line and
as there was a shortage of ammunition, the troops fought
with what they could find. The bayonet, sword and even fists
came into good use in this last desperate fight. Adlercreutz
retreated as darkness ended the battle. The defeated Swedish
Army retreated north, towards Nykarleby. The Swedish Army
lost about 740 men, while the Russians lost about 900.
Eric Gustaf Ehrström, one of the eyewitnesses
describes the retreat from Oravais in his diary, which was
released in 1986 as the book Kanonerna vid
Oravais.
"All this time I stood on a nearby hill and
watched the horrible play. Towards the evening Jernefelt
and I went down to one of the farms, where we intended to
spend the night. Then the news that the Swedish Army was
in full retreat arrived. It became a horrible retreat!
The road was tread to pieces. We joined the baggage. It
was raining and the darkness was so compact that you
could hardly see anything in front of you [...]
The Swedish troops, of which soldiers every now and then
came through the woods to the baggage, were in total
disorder. They had no officers left. The Finnish troops
made the rearguard, and were retreating in good order.
They did not even have any guns to cover them."
With the main army defeated, Klinspor and Adlercreutz
began the second retreat north. No larger engagements were
fought, but the Russians again tried to cut off the retreat
at Kokkola (Gamlakarleby) on September 15 but the Swedes
defeated them. On September 29 the Cease-fire of
Lochteå was signed on the Russian initiative. Soon
after, Klingspor turned over the command of the army to
General Klercker. The retreat was a tragic sight. The
Swedish troops suffered from diseases and a lack of
supplies. These circumstances finally broke the army
down.

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The Bridge at Virta bro
|
On the eastern theatre of war, the Russians broke the
Treaty of Lochteå on October 27 when they attacked
Sandels and his 5th Brigade at Koljonvirta (the Battle of
Virta Bro). The battle that followed is of legendary status
in Finnish history, mainly due to the treatment it gets in
Fänrik Ståls Sägner.
More than 5,800 Russian troops fought against Sandels and
his 1,800 men. The Swedish force was in a good position for a
defensive action. The Russians had to cross the bridge at
Koljonvirta - also called Virta Bo - to get to the Swedes.
The Russians attacked with shouts and music. Their attack
was massive. But keeping his cool, Sandels waited for the
right moment. Then the order was given. With shining
bayonets, the Vasa Regiment and Savolax Jaegers
counter-attacked. They were followed by a battalion from
Uleåborg as well as Karelian Dragoons. The success was
total. The Russian troops were routed and driven back
towards the bridge. The Swedes inflicted heavy losses as
they used the bayonets against the confused formations of
Russian soldiers. The Russian commander, Tutjkov himself was
wounded in the battle.
The battle of Virta bro was the last Swedish military
victory on Finnish soil.
Shortly thereafter the Convention of Olkijoki was signed,
on November 19. All Swedish Armies were to leave Finland.
The war was then shifted to northern Sweden, while Finland
was left to Russian occupation. But the war was not yet
over, the operations would continue in northern Sweden for
some time, and Finnish soldiers fought alongside their
Swedish comrades for the last time in the history of the
Swedish-Finnish union.
Operations in Northern Sweden
Illustration of the story from Fänrik Ståls
sägner that told of the lonely Finnish soldier who
defended the bridge against the attacking Russians until
Swedish reinforcements could arrive.
The war continued on into northern Sweden and in March of
1809 the Russians made raids against the Umeå area,
marching over the ice on the Sea of Bothnia from Finland.
Against them stood the Swedish Northern Army. During the
Spring and Summer of 1809 the military actions in northern
Sweden were delayed by the fact that both sides expected a
peace agreement very soon, especially as the government in
Stockholm under Gustav IV had been overthrown. Peace did not
come in time to prevent a couple interesting.
In August of 1809, Sweden's last effort against Russia
was mounted. It was a daring plan with them mobilizing the
last unit capable of carrying the fight to the enemy. The
plan was to surround the Russian Army under Kamenskij inside
the town of Umeå by landing this unit behind the enemy
lines. At the same time General Wrede would attack from
south of the town. The armies for the expedition were to be
commanded by General Gustaf Wachtmeister, while the navy
transporting the troops were under the command of Admiral
Johan Puke. On their way to the battlefield, the smaller
ships transporting the troops were towed by the two ships of
the line, as well as a frigate that joined the
expedition.
On August 17 1809, the forces arrived at Ratan, outside
Umeå, where a thick fog effectively covered their
approach. The landing of the troops went according to plan
and the next day, the troops began the march upon
Sävar. On the night between the 17th and 18th, Swedish
Captain Nordenskiöld led an attack against Umeå
with his nine gunsloops. He shelled the bridge over the
Umeå river but was not able to destroy it as he was
met by heavy Russian artillery fire. Wachtmeister did not do
a thing to assist him, although the explosions were heard at
Sävar, and so Nordenskiöld returned out to sea
after his failed mission. On the morning of the 19th, the
troops were attacked by 6,000 Russians in Sävar.
The battle of Sävar was the second largest battle of
the entire war. At about 7:30 in the morning of August 19,
the fighting started as the Swedish avante gardes came under
fire by the attacking Russian troops. The fighting was
concentrated near the "Krutbrånet", a mountain, over
which the battle was waged time after time. The Swedish
troops stood fast, although untried soldiers were thrown in.
The Russians on their side, although suffering from hunger
and fatigue, fought very well. As the Russian 23d Jaeger
Regiment deployed in the woods northeast of the battlefield,
General Kamenskij found that they were moving too slowly. He
had his own guns shoot away two shots in the back of
them.
General Anselme de Gibory (who was of French descent and
had also been present at the capitulation of Sveaborg) had
crossed the small river that divided the battlefield, with
nine companies of Russian troops and threaten the Swedish
right flank. Against these troops, Wachtmeister committed
the jaeger battalion of the 2nd Brigade, Drottningens
Livregemente, as well as Svea Livgarde. Although the Swedish
units were committed piecemeal, they finally beat the
Russians off.
At Sävar, the Russian troops were winning and the
Swedish were retreating across the river. The Russians now
found a splendid chance to attack the Swedish in the rear.
Six Russian companies, under the command of Schreider,
crossed the river and attacked the Swedish troops that were
fighting Anselm de Gibory. General Wachtmeister became
nervous and gave the order to retreat. Although the Swedish
Army still had five battalions in reserve, the retreat began
under protest by the troops. The Russians were too tired to
follow, but Wachtmeister had thrown away victory. The battle
ended about 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

|
The Battle of Sävar
|
Wachtmeister retreated to Sävar, where he was
protected by the large artillery of the navy, as well as
from guns that had been placed on the beaches and nearby
islands. Kamenskij followed and on the next day, the 20th of
August, he attacked without fear. The Russian troops were
cut to pieces in the hellish artillery fire that followed.
"The treetops were cut all the way to Djäkneboda",
Allan Sandström tells us in his book Sveriges sista
krig. Wachtmeister shipped out on the 22nd of August,
after Kamenskij had made some groundless threats and totally
misled the Swedish generals.
In the meantime, Sandels had fought the Russians with
success at Hörnefors, a bit south of Umeå, where
he again showed his brilliance in defensive actions. In the
north, General Wrede did not do much to support
Wachtmeister, since they both expected the other to take the
initiative. This was the main reason the plan failed.
"If so my position was very critical, I shall do
everything in my power to bring my troops therefrom.
Although I must agree upon the fact that it was very sad to
retreat from a victory like this, which we had won in the
last two days, in which I not only did beat the enemy and
chased him out to his boats, but also personally placed him
upon these boats, so to speak", Kamenskij reported to the
Czar about the actions of Sävar and Ratan.
With these words ended Sweden's last war.
The War at Sea
Operations in the Åbo-Åland
Archipelago
The Swedish coastal fleet was a phenomenon on its own.
The fleet had been formed, separate from the naval command,
in 1753 due to experiences in the Northern War (1700-21), as
well as the War of 1741-43 (the war of the "hats", the hats
were a political party in Sweden that wanted revenge on
Russia). These wars, fought among the shallow coastal waters
of southern Finland, had clearly show the need for a light,
fast moving navy that could fight effectively in these
waters. The coastal fleet, also called the navy of the army,
was directly under army command and its main mission was to
work together with the army to land troops in the back of
the enemy as well as to threaten enemy shipping in the
waters of southern Finland. The coastal fleet was equipped
with state-of-the-art coastal frigates designed by
shipbuilding genius Fredric Henrik af Chapman. All sorts of
smaller crafts were used throughout the war. The most common
ships were the gunsloop, rowing boats equipped with heavy
artillery. The coastal fleet was divided into two squadrons
- the Sveaborg Squadron for warfare in southern Finland and
the Stockholm Squadron for warfare in the
Åbo-Åland-Stockholm Archipelago.
After the capitulation of Sveaborg to Russian troops in
May 1808, the Swedish-Finnish coastal fleet lost 110 ships
and boats, which the Russians in their turn took over. It
therefore became one of the Swedish Army's priorities to
build a new coastal fleet. With the Stockholm Squadron
intact, they began designing a new fleet with that squadron
as backbone. New boats were built quickly and were ready in
June 1808, allowing the Swedes to take the offensive. The
main goal was then to threaten all Russian shipping in the
Åland-Åbo archipelago.
The first initiative the Swedes took was to try to
recapture the city of Åbo, the old capital of Finland.
Ernst von Vegesack took the command of 2,000 troops and "a
few and 70 sails". The Swedish landed at Lemo, outside
Åbo, on June 19, 1808, protected by the heavy
artillery of the coastal fleet. The landing was successful,
however the troops soon met resistance from the Russian
troops coming from Åbo. The Swedish troops had to be
evacuated and the fleet returned to Åland to be
reorganized.
The Swedish now fought to retake the control over the
Åland Archipelago, which became a splendid
battleground for the coming operations. The many islands and
passages provided cover and defensive positions. On June 30,
Counter Admiral Hjelmstierna attacked a Russian squadron at
Rittmo Kramp, but did not defeat the Russians. A few days
later, the Russians were pressed back at Bockholmsund, where
they had found good positions. Although this engagement did
not end in Swedish victory, the Russians soon found that
they had been pressed back to the very gates of Åbo
after these bitter fights. More Russian reinforcements were
arriving from the east though and it quickly became a
Swedish priority to see to it that these new ships did not
join up with the Russian squadron fighting at Åbo.
On August 2-3 1808, The Russian reinforcing fleets and
the Swedish met at Sandöström. A fierce and bloody
battle followed, in which the Russian commander of the
invasion army in Finland, Buxhoewden, was nearly captured by
Swedish troops that had been put ashore near his command
post. The Russian fleet had about 40 smaller ships at its
disposal and the battle ended in a Russian victory after two
days of bitter fighting. The Swedish retreated back to
Åland, where they concentrated their efforts on
protecting that island, as well as building up for coming
amphibious operations in southern Finland.
The Russians united their fleets and since they saw that
the Swedish had retreated back west to Åland, they
became more aggressive in making expeditions north towards
the Gulf of Bothnia. This became very serious for the
Swedish generals who did not want the Russian fleet to
support their armies in any way. Lieutenant Colonel Brant
was sent with 35 Swedish gunsloops from Åland to put
an end to these Russian expeditions in the north. He met up
with the Russian fleet on the 30th of August at
Grönvikssund. There was a six-hour long artillery duel,
one of the most massive artillery-fights in the entire war.
The Swedish pushed on, despite heavy losses, and eventually
secured victory. The Swedish lost two gunsloops of which one
was blown sky-high in the air, 122 dead, and 103 wounded.
The Russian losses where also great. The victory for the
Swedish fleet secured the north and prevented further
Russian advances there.
On September 18 (a few days after the decisive battle at
Oravais where the Swedish Army was finally defeated and had
to retreat out of Finland), the battle of Palva Sund was
fought. After five hours of fighting the Swedish had to
retreat. Time was now running out. Lieutenant Otto Julius
Hagelstam succeeded in holding a widely overwhelming Russian
fleet at bay for a week, beating off daily attacks at
Kahiluoto. On September 25, the Swedes tried a last
desperate attempt to put 3,500 troops ashore at Helsinge,
but these troops were too weak to face a much stronger
enemy. They thus had to retreat back to their ships. As a
whole, the operations in the Åbo-Åland
archipelago had been badly planned and executed by the
Swedes.
The British Royal Navy Gets Involved as the
Franco-Danish Alliance Wages War on Sweden
In 1807, the British Royal Navy sailed into Öresund
with 24 ships-of-the line and 22 smaller vessels, as well as
troop-transports carrying 30,000 troops. Under Admiral James
Gambier the British turned loose on Copenhagen, a
flourishing neutral port and their objective was to destroy
the Danish Navy which was the second largest in Europe. His
goal was to keep the Danish Navy from falling into the hands
of Napoleon. On the evening of September 2 1807, the British
navy started to bombard the Danish capitol. Houses and
churches were torn down in flames, women children and
elderly were killed. The British continued their bombardment
for twelve hours. On September 5, Denmark surrendered and
the British sailed off with the remnants of the Danish
navy.
The effects of the bombardment were immediately made
clear. Denmark allied itself with Napoleonic France. For the
rest of the Napoleonic wars, Denmark was Napoleon's most
faithful ally. Scandinavia was once again divided between
the greater continental powers as Sweden allied with Great
Britain.
When the war now broke out between the
Russian-Danish-French alliance and Sweden in 1808, Admiral
James de Saumarez, of the British Navy, was sent to the
Baltic Sea with his fleet (his flagship was Victory).
The Baltic command was established and effectively protected
the coasts of southern Sweden from Franco-Danish invasion,
as Marshal Bernadotte of the French army had arrived with an
army in Denmark for an invasion in Sweden. Instead the
Spanish soldiers in this army (under Romana), were evacuated
in August 1808 on British ships and returned to Spain after
hearing about the French invasion of Spain. In the meantime,
on May 17 1808, General Moore arrived outside Gothenburg
with a British expeditionary corps of 10,000 troops bound
for Sweden. The troops were never landed in Sweden because
King Gustav IV Adolf protested strongly. Moore was sent to
Portugal instead.
The Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea was now in danger and
the allied Swedish-British Navy chased it into the Bay of
Finalnd where a few minor engagements were fought in August
of 1808. The Russians took shelter in Baltischport in
Estonia were blockaded for the rest of the duration of the
operations in Finland. This gave the Swedish coastal navy
had an advantage while operating in the
Åbo-Åland archipelago, since the Russian
high-seas navy was thus kept out of the war.
Admiral Saumarez left Sweden in October, but
returned later. While he was gone the leadership of the
Baltic command was turned over to Admiral Keats, whose main
mission was to escort ships through Öresund between
Denmark and Sweden. During one of these convoy-escorts, the
British ship of the Line, Africa, was attacked by
Danish privateers and so badly damaged that she had to
return to Karlskrona for repairs. The Baltic Command
remained on duty until 1812.
Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who had a portrait of Admiral
James de Saumarez, used to point to the painting with the
words: "Regardez cette homme! Il á sauvé la
Suede!" (Regard that man! He saved Sweden!).
Peace Agreement and the Results of the War

|
Swedish Wounded Being Treated
|
The final peace agreement between Russia and Sweden was
signed in Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809. Russia annexed
Finland and the Åland islands. The Finnish union with
Sweden had come to an end. Sweden and Finland separated and
a 600-years old union went into the grave. Sweden faced
west, while Finland faced east. The divorce was a fact and
especially after Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was chosen crown
prince of Sweden, when all Swedish plans of reconquest
faded. In Napoleonic perspective, the War of 1808-09 was
only a small part of the world war of its time, and as
always, Sweden and Finland had only been pieces in the
political chess game between the greater continental
powers.
While the War of 1808-09 is not to be considered being of
world historical proportions, it certainly was an important
event in both Swedish and Finnish history; especially the
result of the war for the Finnish nation. It was during the
Russian period from 1809 to 1917, that the Finnish national
character was formed, and out of it grew Finland as an
independent nation. Finland was treated well by the Russian
authorities and achieved a state of autonomy within the
Russian Empire. The frames for this autonomy were decided
upon at the lantdag of Borgå in 1809 where Czar
Alexander took part personally. The Czar wanted to secure
Finnish goodwill as he saw the power struggle with Napoleon
drawing closer. Autonomy was thereupon fully maintained
until the end of the 19th Century, when an age of aggressive
russification followed.
Sweden had excellent chances of fighting a good defensive
war. The terrain of Finland spoke in favour of defence, and
the larger fortifications in southern Finland were backbones
in a strong system of defence. Why did the Swedes fail? Let
us take a look at some of the different reasons. The War of
1808-09 was badly run by the Swedish military high command
right from the start. The king had been a poor leader of the
nation during this war and his differences with the generals
did not make the situation any better for the men fighting
in the field. The instability of the king came to the
surface time after time -- one day he appeared in the boots
of the warrior king Karl XII. The commanders leading the
army, although names like Georg Carl von Döbeln,
Sandels and Adlercreutz can be found here, had been held
back by the weak and incompetent Field Marshal Klingspor,
who during the war always favoured retreat instead of
attack. Misfortune (Sveaborgs surrender) as well as
inadequate equipment and bad preparations made the Swedish
war effort look pathetic. The war could only be prolonged
due to the high morale of the men and the commanders in the
field time. They were called upon time after time to perform
did great deeds of almost superhuman bravery and exertion.
Against all this stood the Russian Army; with its
overwhelming number of experienced troops and excellent
commanders.
Military Coup in Stockholm
Time was running out for the comice king Gustav IV Adolf.
The defeat in the war was largely blamed on him and his
ineffective command during the war. In the midst of the war,
in March 1809 things started to happen.
The generals were very displeased with how the sick king
Gustav IV Adolf had run the war and the Western Army, under
Adlersparre, began its march to Stockholm from the
vicinities of the Norwegian border. Adlersparre openly
proclaimed that he was going to overthrow the king. Civil
war threatened in Sweden. Adlersparre came from a lower
nobility family of officers and during his life he had been
deeply fascinated by the French philosophers as well as the
revolutionary ideals. In 1809-10 he made a short appearance
in Swedish politics. His talent and ability to take action
were overshadowed by his lack of perseverance and he did not
have the energy to realize his plans. On March 7, 1809 his
army marched into Karlstad and proclaimed that the city was
under occupation. A few days later Adlersparre and his army
of less than 2,000 soldiers continued its march upon
Stockholm. At this time a military "Junta", led by General
Adlercreutz took its chance. Eirik Hornborg writes in
När riket sprängdes:
"Then Adlercreutz seized the opportunity, as the
political tension had kept him in Stockholm. For the
second time in his life he heightened himself to decisive
and great action. This time it was just as needed as
tragic. He had earlier refused to stand in the front of
the conspiracy [against the king], but now the
further existence of the kingdom was at stake"
The Coup d'Etat was just as tragic as it was humourous.
On March 13, 1809 - in the midst of war against Russia - the
officers of the junta approached the king in his palace and
told him that he was under arrest. In a never before seen
display of bravery, the weak king reached for a sword and
escaped out through a secret passage in the castle,
screaming "treason!". The king knew the castle like the back
of his hand and escaped unseen out in the yard, where he
tried to stick his sword in one of the conspirators when he
was finally detected. The king received help from a
woodcutter who aggressively swung a piece of wood against
one of the coupists. Finally, after all this fighting, the
king was arrested and the junta seized the control of
Sweden.
Jean Baptiste Bernadotte
Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was born on January 26, 1763 in
Pau in southern France. His father was a lawyer and it was
initially meant that the young Jean Baptiste should follow in
his fathers steps and become a lawyer. At the age of
seventeen he joined the army, at the Royal Marine, and ten
years later he had advanced to the highest rank for under
officers in the French army. The revolution gave him new
prospects and at the age of 31 he was made brigadier
general. He was later made one of the first marshals of the
Empire in 1804. The rivalry between Napoleon and Bernadotte
never ended though as the Emperor had once been engaged to
Bernadotte's wife, Desirée and since then the rivalry
continued on. Bernadotte worked as French ambassador to
Vienna for some time (1798) and was later given the little
kingdom of Pontecorvo in Italy by the Emperor. Bernadotte
took part in the campaigns of Austerlitz and
Jena-Auerstädt, and in 1806 he beat the Prussians at
Halle and Landsberg, and thereupon received Blüchers
and Braunschweigs surrender at Lübeck. He defeated the
Russians in the battle of Mohrungen in 1807. In 1808 he was
made governor of the Hanseatic cities, commanding the armies
in Denmark in 1807-08 and planned an invasion of Sweden. In
August of 1810, he was chosen crown prince of Sweden by the
Swedish parliament, Riksdagen. He gratefully accepted this
mission, although he never learned to speak Swedish
correctly.
When Karl XIII fell off a horse and died during a
military review at Kvidinge Hed in Scania on May 28 1810, he
really died of a stroke. But rumours soon flew around the
kingdom, it was said that he had been murdered. During the
burial of Karl XIII, the scapegoat, the noble Axel von
Fersen was murdered by raging masses. Axel von Fersen had
been a true adventurer and had even tried to save the royal
family of France during the revolution (the escape to
Varennes was his work). Bernadotte arrived in Sweden on
October 20, but was crowned king of Sweden many years later,
in 1818.
With the choice of Bernadotte as crown prince of Sweden a
new era in Swedish history began. The plans of reconquering
Finland faded and instead Bernadotte pointed his interest at
Denmark. Swedish armies fought alongside the allies in
Germany during the 1813-14 campaign. Bernadotte thus
betrayed the country in which he had been born, as he
pointed his guns at the French army, personally leading the
Northern Army of the united allied forces. (These actions
have been harshly criticised in European history.) He
defeated Marshal Oudinot at Grossbeeren, Marshal Ney at
Dennewitz, and took part in the Battle of the Nations
(Volkerschlacht) at Leipzig, where the French Emperor was
finally defeated in Germany. Instead of continuing his march
against Napoleon, Bernadotte turned his armies upon Denmark.
At the peace agreement of Kiel in 1814, Sweden annexed
Norway from the age-old enemy of Denmark, which had been
Napoleon's ally. In this final peace agreement Sweden traded
Pomerania to the Danes And so, Bernadotte reshaped the map
of Scandinavia. Norway was incorporated into union with
Sweden, but as this new union had no historical foundation,
Norway experienced the same national rebirth as Finland did
under Russian rule. The Norwegian-Swedish union was finally
dissolved under peaceful forms in 1905, Finland's break-up
with the Russian Empire was to be a somewhat bloodier affair
in 1917-18.
Jean Baptiste Bernadotte's relatives still sit on the
Swedish throne today and they represent the last Napoleonic
throne in Europe. Bernadotte died in Stockholm on March 8,
1844. And say what you want about this controversial
character, but Bernadotte guided his little northern kingdom
onto a new, peaceful path. The peace that Sweden established
in 1814 has survived into our time.
Sources
Notes on the pictures used in this article. The black and
white illustrations in this article were made by A.
Malmström in the 1880's to accompany Fänrik
Ståls Sägner. Maps and charts were made by G.
Frilund 1999. My thanks goes to Oravais historiska
förening r. f. for permission to publish the picture of
their reenactment group, as well as the Björneborg
Regiment uniforms picture.
Following are some of the more important sources I used.
All books here are in Swedish.
Ehrström, Christman. Kanonerna vid Oravais, Eric
Gustaf Ehrströms dagbok från 1808 och 1811
Legenda, Stockholm; 1986.
________________ Finlands historia (part
3), Schildts förlags AB, 1993
Frilund, Göran. "The Swedish navy during the
Revolutionary- and Napoleonic wars", 1999, article published
at and written for the Bravé website,
maintained by James D. Parmenter
Hansson, Hans. Engelska flottan har siktats vid
Vinga Rundqvists Bokförlag, Göteborg 1984
Hornborg, Eirik. När riket sprängdes -
fälttågen i Finland och Västerbotten
1808-1809 Holger Schildts förlag, Helsingfors;
1955. (Probably the best book there is that deals with the
war as a whole)
________________ Krig kring Kvarken, Oravais
historiska förening r.f., 1999 (contains essays by
various Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Russian authors and
deals with many different and interesting aspects of the
war) Persson, Anders. 1808 - gerillakriget i Finland
Ordfronts Förlag, Stockholm; 1986 .
Petander, C-B. J. Kungliga Österbottens regemente
under slutet av svenska tiden Svensk-Österbottniska
samfundet; 1978. (The regimental history of the Royal
Ostrobothnian Regiment)
Runeberg, J.L. Fänrik Ståls sägner
Fabel 1991. (Book of poems dealing with the war, first
edition came out in 1848 of which part two came in 1860)
Sandström, Allan. Sveriges sista krig - de
dramatiska åren 1808-1809 Bokförlaget Libris,
Örebro; 1994.
________________ Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon, Albert
Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm 1906
Widding, Lars. Svenska äventyr 1788-1900-t
Bokförlaget Semic AB, Sundbyberg; 1997.
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