The battle at Cape Gangut is one of the glorious pages of Russian history, immortalized by a holiday called the Day of Military Glory. He accounts for August 9th. On this day in 1714, Russia celebrated its first victory at sea, won on July 27. On the same day, but six years later, the Russians defeated the Swedes near the island of Grengam, which allowed our country to finally gain a foothold in the Baltic. The battle at Cape Gangut, whose date is July 27, 1714, was the beginning of the end of the hegemony of the Swedes in the Baltic Sea.
Vital access to the sea
The whole burden of the debilitating, bloody, long Northern War (1700-1721), despite the fact that a number of European countries were involved in it, and the Ottoman Empire, as always, fell on Russia's shoulders.
This great war, which happened in the first quarter of the 18th century, is therefore not called Russian-Swedish because not only the countries of Europe with access to the Baltic Sea took part on both sides of it. Before these events, Russia did not have such an exit, which prevented it from conducting trade with the leading countries of Europe, and, as a result, developing economically.
Swedish blockade
Sweden, then dominant in the Baltic, although its fleet was only the fourth in the world, cynically called this northern sea Swedish lake. In addition, with its well-equipped fortress of Noteburg, which was called Oreshek before its occupation by the Swedes, it clogged Russia's only exit to the Baltic via the Neva. From ancient times, part of the Russian lands lost in previous wars of the late XVI - early XVII centuries, remained in the hands of Sweden. The battle at Cape Gangut occurred 5 years after the Battle of Poltava, as a result of which the power of Sweden was undermined and there was a turning point in favor of Russia. However, this was a land victory, and at sea Russia could not oppose anything to this country.
The navy to be
Before Peter I, Russia was not a sea power, that is, it did not have a navy at all, except for several ships built under the father of Peter the Great to escort merchant ships in the Caspian Sea. And the defeat near Azov in 1695 forced the Russian Tsar to specifically engage in the creation of a fleet.
In just a few months, a motley flotilla consisting of 1000 plows, 23 galleys and two 36-gun ships was launched, which, under the command of Admiral F. Ya. Lefort, in July 1696 forced the Azov garrison to surrender. The result of this victory was the decision of the Boyar Duma: "To be sea vessels!" Then in 1702, Notburg fell. In 1703, Nieschanz located at the mouth of the Neva was taken. The two Swedish warships huddled here under the cover of morning fog were attacked by fishing boats and taken prisoner. The operation was led by Peter himself and Menshikov.
Large shipyard construction
In 1703 the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid, and in 1704 they began to build the Kronshlot Fortress (Kronshtadt). All these events brought the battle near Cape Gangut closer. Sweden did not abandon attempts to capture and destroy the Peter and Paul Fortress and Kronshlot. However, they were all repulsed. To stop defending and go on the offensive, it was necessary to capture the coast of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, in the spring of 1713, having landed in Finland, the Russian army of 16 thousand people captures the cities: the present Porvoo (Borgo), Turku (Abo) and the capital of Helsinki (Helsingfors). Only the Gulf of Bothnia remained between Russia and Sweden, in the middle of which were the Aldan Islands. Russia already had a fleet. The first ships were built in 1702-1703 at a shipyard located at the mouth of the Syazi River (Lake Ladoga). But already in 1704 the St. Petersburg Admiralty Shipyard was laid. The year of battle was approaching at Cape Gangut - the 1714th.
Ambitious plans
Formed from the ships that descended from the slipways of the Admiralty Shipyard, the fleet went to the army of Peter I in Finland. The king wanted to first transfer his forces to the islands, and then to land in Sweden. Galleys and scampavae in the amount of 99 pieces, which housed 15 thousand soldiers, went to Abo, which was the center of concentration of the Russian army. Prepared to throw on the Aldan archipelago for landing. The operation was led by F.M. Apraksin. But at the southernmost point of the peninsula, where the battle at Cape Gangut will soon take place, they were blocked by a powerful, superior to the Russian in the number of military ships and their equipment the Swedish flotilla.
The military genius of Peter
On the flagship “Elephant”, Vice Admiral Vatrang, under whose command the flotilla was supposed to defeat the Russians, had no doubt of success. Flotillas of 15-ships and three frigates and a large detachment of rowing vessels were difficult to resist, and Apraksin, who had neither desperate courage, nor the adventurism of Lefort, Menshikov, and even Peter himself, refused to take independent actions, thus relieving himself of responsibility . In response to his message, Peter I arrives at the scene of the conflict.
After familiarizing himself with the situation and the terrain, the commander-in-chief orders a recess in a narrow part of the Gangut Peninsula. Peter wanted to drag part of his ships to the other side of the peninsula and strike the rear of the Swedish flotilla.
God with us
While the logs were laid, which facilitated the transportation of ships by drag, the Swedes became aware of the maneuver. In order to prevent it, Admiral Vatrang sends 10 ships (flagship, 6 galleys and 3 skerboats) under the command of N. Ehrensjeld to the place of launching of Russian ships into the water - to Rilaxfjord. But nature was on the side of the Russians, and on July 26, 1714, calm came, completely rendering harmless the Swedish sailboats. Peter and his rowing flotilla on oars bypass the main fleet of the Swedes, get to the Ehrensjeld ships and block them in the Rilaxfjord.
First victory at sea
The battle at Cape Gangut occurred on July 27, 1714. The Swedes resolutely rejected the offer to surrender, and on the third attempt (the first two were repulsed, since the Swedes had 116 guns against 23 Peter), the Russian galleys came close to the enemy’s ships and boarded them. After fierce battles, the "Elephant" ("Elephant") was captured, the remaining ships surrendered. The total losses of the Russians amounted to 469 people, of whom 124 were killed, who were buried with honors, and the Swedes lost 700 killed and 230 surrendered to the mercy of the winner. The Russian flotilla did not lose a single vessel, and all 10 Swedish vessels became military trophies. Vice Admiral Watrang with the fleet retreated to Stockholm. The Swedish court was horrified to evacuate from the capital. Russian troops occupied the Åland archipelago, from which throughout the last years of the Northern War, Russian guns bombed the Swedish coast, causing them very significant damage.
Feat of Russian sailors
The naval battle at Cape Gangut and its results greatly strengthened the position of Russians in Finland. Peter himself compared this first victoria of the Russian fleet in importance with the victory in the Battle of Poltava.
The king was delighted with the courage, courage, audacity and sacrifice of his army. In honor of this glorious Victoria, a medal was minted for all its participants; 144 officers and 2813 soldiers and non-commissioned officers received it. The battle at Cape Gangut took place on July 27, 1714, and this date added to the list of feats of arms of Russia. Colorful and magnificent celebrations on the occasion of the first victory of the Russian fleet took place in St. Petersburg on September 9. There were two ceremonies. The first took place on the streets of the capital to the joyful cries of citizens.
Great holiday
First, a caravan entered the Neva, consisting of captured Swedish ships, led by three Russian galleys. The commander’s galley of the shautbeynakhta Petra Mikhailova (pseudonym of Peter I) followed the captured vessels, two galleys with soldiers closed the caravan. Upon the descent of the coast, the banners and prisoners, among them was Ehrenschildt, carried and carried around the city. The procession was heading to the
Arc de Triomphe. And above it stood an image in which an eagle clung to the back of an elephant. The inscription read: "The Russian eagle does not catch flies." The elephant was the flagship Elephant. The costumed action continued in the Senate, where, in a lavish atmosphere, the prince “Caesar” Romodanovsky greeted Peter Mikhailov’s shautbeynakht with the words: “Hello, Vice Admiral!” So
Peter the Great was awarded this title, for which he received annually 2,240 rubles.
Empire Formation
But the
Northern War has not yet
ended. The battle at Cape Gangut, which was included in all textbooks of naval military affairs, was the first victory. The second major and decisive outcome of the Northern War Victoria of the Peter's fleet happened, which is remarkable, on July 27, but already in 1720. They kept her off the island of Grengam. By this time, Russia had become a major naval power with a powerful and invincible fleet. And even before the end of the Northern War in 1716, maneuvers took place in the Baltic Sea, in which 84 ships from the Baltic countries participated. 21 ships belonged to Russia. But the most important thing is that Peter the Great was recognized by the Baltic powers as a major naval navigator, and he was entrusted with the right to command the combined squadron of English, Dutch, Danish and Russian ships. The battle at Cape Gangut and the Grengam Island brought world fame to Russia and the recognition of its neighbors as a major naval power.