User:MoRsE/Finnish War

The Finnish War was fought between Russia and Sweden in 1808–1809. The cause of war was the peace treaty of between Russia and France, which was signed on 7 July 1807 at Tilsit. France gave Russia permission to attack Sweden, which made Russia an ally of France. The Russians mission was to force Sweden to joint the Continental system, and thus helping the French enforcing their naval power against Great Britain.

As a result of the war, Finland was ceded and became part of the Russian Empire, and at the same time, the foundation of Finland's eventual independence was set through the granting of autonomy. Initially, Russia had no intention of joining Finland to their empire, because the cause of war was to force Sweden join a naval embargo against Great Britain and after this, they intended to halt the operations in Finland. However, the future of Finland was set soon after the outbreak of the war, by March 1808. The Russian capital Saint Petersburg was dangerously close to the Swedish border. By conquering Finland, Saint Petersburg would be better protected and Russia would get better connections to the Baltic Sea.

Wars in Europe 1789–1807
As a result of the French revolution (1789) Europe was thrown in an series of wars, which were to last until the beginning of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, two allied groups had been formed, with the sole purpose to diminish France's powers. Napoleon managed to crush the first alliance and forced the Austrians to accept the Treaty of Campo Formio, ending that war. Another alliance was formed in 1798. It consisted of e.g. Great Britain, Russia and Austria. Napoleon had been one of the key elements in the victory of the first alliance. However, he was now in Egypt. Initially, the French army suffered some heavy defeats, but when Napoleon returned from Egypt in 1799, he reformed the entire French army and the French once again became victorious. The French also managed to defeat the second alliance and the war ended in 1802.

Peace didn't last for long because Britain suspected that France was secretly nourishing revolutions in its neighboring countries. Therefore Britain followed carefully the French attacks on Switzerland and Germany in 1801-02. Britain declared war on France in May 1803. Napoleon began gathering his troops for an invasion of the British islands. In the middle of these plans, Napoleon learned of a new alliance, which had been gathered against France, and which consisted of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Sweden and Russia. As late as 1805, Napoleon still believed that he could begin his plan to invade Britain, despite the other allies. He learned however soon that the French army wasn't big enough to invade Britain and fight the other allies at the same time. In 1806, France defeated Prussia, and the Russian army was defeated at the battle of Eylau and at the battle of Friedland.

Treaty of Tilsit 1807
The Russian czar Alexander I was forced to sue for peace with Napoleon in the summer of 1807 as his armies were becoming increasingly weaker. Alexander I and Napoleon signed the Treaty of Tilsit on 7 July 1807 on a barge that was anchored in the Niemen River.

Although the treaty was signed as a peace treaty between Russia and France, it also meant that the two countries now were allies. Through this treaty Napoleon managed to get Russia on their side against Great Britain in the Continental system. Russia were also obliged to act as peace negotiators between France and Britain, however, if the peace talks failed, she would help forcing Portugal, Denmark and Sweden into the Continental system, by force if necessary. It is also probable that Napoleon pointed out the opportunity that Russia could conquer Finland. Napoleon would also later state this in a letter. Russia was not interested in the poor Finland, but more in the Balkans, which Napoleon was against.

Sweden quickly learned about the conditions of the treaty and quickly disbanded the peace treaty it had signed with France on August 1, 1807. France then occupied the Pomerania area, which belonged to Sweden, and which had been an important strategic area in previous wars. Sweden managed however to evacuate its troops in Pomerania to Scania. The evacuation itself was considered half a victory and the Swedes now took a political course which would make them supportive of the British cause. The British Prime Minister George Canning acted on this loyalty by ordering his troops to attack the Danish Zealand. By this, the British wanted to destroy the Danish war fleet and prevent that the Danish would become allies with the French. The British bombarded Copenhagen for three nights between September 2 and 4, 1807, and the Danes finally surrendered on September 7. The Danes however, sought refuge with the French and signed the Treaty of TIlsit by the end of October. Sweden was now in a troublesome situation, as it was threatened from three directions; from Russia in the east, Denmark and France in the south and Norway in the west (Norway belonged to Denmark at this time).

Road to war
Gustav IV Adolf hatred of Napoleon was only to increase – in 1807 he claimed that Napoleon was the devil himself. The Swedish foreign policy remained the same. The British appreciation against the Swedes as an ally grew by the end of the year. Great Britain decided to give more help to its own ally so that Sweden could continue its war preparations. Sweden had asked Great Britain for 2,000,000 pounds in support, but received 1.2 million pounds plus Admiral hyde Parker's fleet which laid at anchor outside Gothenburg. An agreement was signed between Britain and Sweden in February 1808. From the Swedish point of view it was most important to know what the Russian Emperor Alexander I was up to. Russia was not particularly interested in Finland and was quite against a war at this time. The Russians considered that a war would only favor the French. However, Napoleon's pressure on Russia was very intense – he wanted a war against Britain's only ally as soon as possible.

Gustav IV Adolf received a letter from Alexander I, where he inquired how Sweden would position itself in forcing the Continental system against Britain. Alexander I suggested an alliance with Sweden, where the Baltic Sea would become a closed sea for Britain. Sweden declined the offer because the Swedish King did not want to support Napoleon. By the end of November 1807, Russia declared war on Britain and renewed her claims on Sweden to join forces in closing the Baltic Sea to the British. The Swedish king did not answer immediately, because the British fleet had already sailed away, escorting the Danish fleet that had surrendered. Therefore the British fleet was not able to defend southern Sweden as it had done earlier the same autumn. After some consideration the Swedes gave a declining answer on January 21, 1808. The Russians now started to threaten Sweden.

Although the Russian leadership was in doubt about starting a war with Sweden, they had already proceeded far in their preparations for a war. The Russians were already sabotaging Swedish trade in the Baltic Sea. The Russians also tried to lead the Swedish ambassador in St. Petersburg astray but he saw through the deception and correctly determined that a war was on its way. On January 23, 1808 he reported back to Sweden that war was almost certainly on its way, and he suggested that the proper measures should be taken in order to prepare for this situation.

Due to the increasingly tense situation between Sweden and Russia, the supreme Commander of Finland, General Lt. Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor, was ordered back to Sweden to take part in a secret war council. The council made up a plan where Finland would not receive help from Sweden during the initial phase of the war and where the Swedish army in Finland would have the fight the Russians themselves. As the Russians advanced, part of the Swedish troops would barricade themselves in the fortresses of Sveaborg and Svartholm, while the main bulk of the army would retreat to northern Finland. Reinforcements from Sweden would arrive in the spring. At the same time, the Finnish second in command, General Lt. Carl Nathanael af Klercker had prepared defenses at the border. When Klingspor returned to Finland he resumed command and started implementing the secret plan, where the forces were to retreat to northern Finland, nullifying Klerckers preparations.

On February 17, 1808 Sweden received a note from Russia, which stated, that Sweden hadn't joined forces with Russia, but instead had demanded that French forces were to leave the Baltic coast and that the German ports that had been closed to British ships by the French, once again should open. The Russians concluded that Sweden was not a neutral state, that it in fact was an ally of Britain, and therefore an enemy of Russia. Therefore Russia would have to take drastic measures in order to protect itself and its interests.

Swedish Army
As part of Karl XI’s modernizations, the Swedish Army had been reformed in order to create a standing army. A soldier was supported by two or more homesteads, in change off tax relieves. However this system turned out to be insufficient for the Swedish warring, and the system was also becoming obsolete, because conscription was already in use in Europe. The Swedes also tried new systems but to little success.

It is quite difficult to understand how the Swedish Army was organized during the Finnish war, as its organization changed several times. The Army was supported by the war fleet, whose headquarters was in Karlskrona in Sweden, and the archipelago fleet, which was divided into five squadrons. The largest squadron was the so-called Finnish squadron, whose headquarters was in Vyborg. The second squadron was the Stockholm squadron.

The land forces were divided into three armies, who were called the Western army, the Eastern Army, and the Finnish army. Another Army, the coastal Army, was formed to protect the Swedish coast against possible Russian landings. There was also a southern Finland Army, which operated in the Åland archipelago in the summer of 1808.

The Swedish soldiers were all from all over kingdom. This meant that there were both Swedish and Finnish speaking soldiers in the units. The majority of the officers were Swedish speakers, and all orders were given in Swedish. This brought some linguistic problems, as the Finnish army consisted mainly off Finnish-speaking soldiers. Therefore the officers had to learn some Finnish, or use interpreters. The median age of the soldiers in the Swedish army was about 40 years, but there were also younger and older soldiers. The age differences created some problems when marching.

The Swedish soldier was equipped with a uniform, which consisted of a jacket, a vest, shoes, socks, a shirt, a scarf, and a kapot, which was a long gray cape. The Swedish Army used several different muskets, but all of them had the same caliber 20.04 mm, and therefore they could use the same bullets in different muskets. The muskets length was 1.5 m and the bayonet was 70 cm. The musket weighed 5 kg, and therefore most difficult to handle in forested terrain. The artillery was equipped with three and 6 pound cannons. The Finnish army use mostly 3 pound cannons, as these were more mobile in the terrain.

The Swedish army was divided into different sub-groups. The armies were divided into groups, which consisted of several brigades, which consisted of several infantry battalions, cavalry units and artillery batteries. During most of the Finnish war, the Finnish army under Klingspor, was divided into six brigades, the unit in Oulu and a detached unit led by Fiendt. Later on in the war, the Finnish army merged with the Swedish Army. Author the merger, the army was named the Northern Army.

Russian army
In sheer numbers the Russian army was superior to the Swedish army in Finland. In the beginning of the war the Russians could field about 24,000 soldiers, which was almost twice the size of the Swedish Army. Furthermore, the Russians had received plenty off battle experience in their wars against Napoleon. The Russian army was more professional because the soldiers had to serve 25 years, which led to that most of the soldiers were to die fighting.

The equipment of Russian army was quite similar to the Swedish however it has been made more practical in the years 1805 – 07, having learned from its experiences in war. Alexander I had for instance decided that soldiers swear not to use powder or the long capes that had been used until then. A soldier’s equipment consisted of a hat, a dark green jacket, white trousers, boots and a cloak. The Russian army used a Swedish-type musket, but the individual soldier also carried a sword and a bayonet. The cavalry soldiers were equipped with a pistol, a sword and carbine. The Russian artillery was heavier than the Swedish, up to 12 pounds.

In 1806 the Russians began dividing its forces into French-style divisions. The thought behind this was the same as behind the Swedish brigade system, they wanted units that were as versatile as possible and who could operate independently. A Russian army division consisted of four or five infantry regiments, one or two jaeger regiments and three each of cavalry regiments, artillery brigades, pioneer companies and support units.

Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoevdenin had been named supreme commander at Christmas 1807. He had also been promised to be the first general Governor of Finland when it was conquered. Göran Magnus Sprengporten was appointed as an adviser and Gustav Wilhelm Ladau as chief of his civil office. Both men having been taking part in the Anjala union. Sprengporten wants to become an important person for the Russian army, because each was he who suggested that they would launch a winter offensive against the Swedes.

Grouping at the beginning of the war
According to Sprengtporten's plan, the Russian army were divided into three separate groups. The fifth division, led by General Lt. Nikolai Tuchkov, was to march through eastern Finland. The 21st division, led by Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, was to march along Salpausselkä to Hämeenlinna, and from there to Turku. The 17th division, led by Alexey Ivanovich Gorcharov, was to march along the southern coast of Finland, and take Sveaborg, Helsinki and then Turku.

At the beginning of the war the Finnish army consisted of 13,000 men of whom 4050 were reservists. A further 6400 men had been recruited apart from these. A number of smaller units were formed from volunteers and other men have been recruited during the war. The Swedes were afraid of a Danish attack and therefore a large number of Swedish soldiers had to remain in Sweden. In eastern Finland, Finnish farmers fought a kind of guerrilla warfare for several months.

At the beginning of the war there were tree Swedish brigades in Finland. The first brigade was led by Colonel August Fredrik Palmfelt, and it was situated near to Lovisa. Its strength was about 3000 soldiers. The second brigade was led by Colonel Carl Johan Adlercreutz and it was situated near present day Lahti, its strength was about 4000 soldiers. The third brigade was led by Colonel Johan Adam Cronstedt and it was located in Savo. Its strength was 3800 soldiers. Only the third brigade was at full strength when the Russian attack began.

Helmi-maaliskuu
Ruotsin kuningas Kustaa IV Aadolf antoi helmikuun ensimmäisenä päivänä armeijansa suomalaisille rykmenteille liikekannallepanokäskyn. Liikekannallepanosta kuulutettiin Suomen kirkoissa 7. helmikuuta 1808. Venäläiset keskittivät samanaikaisesti omia joukkojaan Haminan seudulle.

Venäläiset ylittivät Kymijoen ilman sodanjulistusta sunnuntaiaamuna noin kello viiden aikaan 21. helmikuuta 1808 ja marssivat kohti Ahvenkoskea ja Elinmäkeä. Ensimmäisenä taistelukontaktiin joutui Uudenmaan 1. pataljoona. Ruotsalaisista ensimmäisinä taistelupäivänä kuoli kaksi itäuudenmaalaista sotilasta 21. ja 22. päivä. Venäläiset ylittivät Ruotsin rajan viidestä kohtaa ja etenivät noin 15–20 kilometriä. Sota alkoi erittäin hankalissa oloissa sillä tietojen mukaan helmikuun lopun päivinä lämpötila laski usein alle −30 °C:een. Olosuhteita vaikeutti entisestään kova lumimyrsky, joka hankaloitti niin venäläisten etenemistä kuin Ruotsin armeijan perääntymistä jo valmiiksi kehnoja teitä pitkin.

Viesti sodansyttimisestä saapui viikkoa myöhemmin sodan alkamisesta Ahvenanmaan ja Tukholman välille vuonna 1796 rakennettua optista lähetintä pitkin Kustaa IV Aadolfille. Ruotsin kuningaskuntaan julistettiin sotatila 3. maaliskuuta. Suomen armeijan ylipäällikkö W. M. Klingspor oli myös myöhässä, sillä hän oleskeli sodan syttymisen aikoihin vielä Tukholmassa. Vasta kun Tukholmaan oli saapunut viesti sodasta, Klingspor aloitti pitkän matkan kohti Suomea kiertäen Pohjanlahden hevosella ja reellä. Klingsporia korvasi 70-vuotias C. N. af Klercker.

Talvi ei ollut otollinen hyökkäysaika huollon vaikeuksien vuoksi, mutta se tarjosi Venäjälle strategisen edun poistaen Ruotsin puolustusajattelun perustan: Ruotsista meritse tuotavien apujoukkojen kuljettamisen mahdollisuuden, koska meri oli jäässä. Ruotsi toimi kuitenkin suunnitelmiensa mukaisesti ja aloitti perääntymisen rajanylityspaikoilta. Venäläiset aloittivat tunkeutumisen Suomeen aamulla 23. helmikuuta, minkä johdosta käytiin muutamia yhteenottoja. Ruotsin armeija jatkoi perääntymistään, kunnes se saavutti 1. maaliskuuta Hämeenlinnan, jossa huoltotilanne oli hyvällä tolalla ja ruokaa oli riittävästi. Päivää myöhemmin pidettiin neuvottelut, jossa johto päätti jatkaa välittömästi kohti pohjoista Ouluun ja Pohjanmaan alueille. Päätös oli lähes yksimielinen, Klingsporin sijainen af Klercker oli tosin sitä mieltä, että nykyiset asemat voitaisiin pitää kunnes ruoka uhkaisi loppua. Toisaalta Klercker ei välttämättä ollut valmis taistelemaan Venäjän armeijaa vastaan Hämeenlinnasta.

Johan Adam Cronstedtin lähettämä kirje saapui Hämeenlinnaan 5. maaliskuuta, missä hän ilmoitti venäläisten 5. divisioonan hyökänneen 28. maaliskuuta Savon prikaatia vastaan, ja että divisioona marssii kohti Kuopiota kenraaliluutnantti Tutškovin johtamana. Tämä oli viesti pääarmeijalle, että heidän olisi aloitettava vetäytyminen ripeästi, sillä 5. divisioona saattaisi pahimmassa tapauksessa saartaa Ruotsin pääarmeijan Savosta päin. Savon prikaati sai tehtäväkseen viivyttää Tutškovia, että pääarmeija ehtisi perääntyä Ouluun ilman saartamisen uhkaa. Savon prikaati koostui 3 500 miehestä ja sitä oli vastassa 6 500 venäläistä sotilasta. Cronstedt ei vahtinut kaikkia Savoon johtaneita teitä, joten prikaatia olisi voinut uhata motitus. Prikaati kuitenkin vetäytyi tarpeeksi nopeasti Kuopioon eikä venäläiset pysyneet perässä, joten uhka hälveni. Perääntyminen kuitenkin loi uuden uhan, sillä prikaati kokoontui 8. maaliskuuta Leppävirralle, 45 km etäisyydelle Kuopiosta, joka oli annettua käskyä kaumpana. Nyt Venäjän 5. divisioonalle annettiin mahdollisuus käyttää Kuopion länsipuolella olevaa maantietä, jonka turvin divisioona kykenisi estämään Ruotsin pääarmeijan kulun Vaasan kautta Ouluun. Ruotsi kävi suurehkon taistelun Leppävirralla 11. maaliskuuta ja toisen taistelun Kuopiossa neljä päivää myöhemmin. Kuopio edustalle oli asetettu Joachim Zachris Dunckerin johtama etuvartiosto. Prikaati vetäytyi Kuopiosta 15. päivä, muttei ollut ilmoittanut asiasta etuvartiostolle. Näin olle Duncker joutui torjumaan useina aaltoina tulleet venäläisten hyökkäykset. Kolmen tunnin taistelun jälkeen tilanne alkoi näyttää epätoivoiselta, koska puolustautuminen onnistui lähinnä siksi, että ratsuväen kulku lumihangessa oli hidasta. Jonkin ajan kuluttua Duncker sai ilmoituksen, että prikaatin muut osastot olivat marssimassa kohti pohjoista ja että hänen tulisi seurata. Toivalaan saapumisen jälkeen Duncker sai vahvistuksia ja tilanne alkoi näyttää paremmalta.

Samalla Ruotsin pääarmeija oli marssinut Hämeenlinnasta Tampereelle, jossa se jaettiin kahdeksi kolonnaksi. Carl Johan Adlecreutzin johtama pienempi kolonna perääntyi pohjoiseen Parkanon, Ilmolan ja Uudenkaarlepyyn kautta. Suurempi joukkue kiersi Poriin ja jatkoi pohjoiseen rannikkoa pitkin. Venäläiset pysyivät jatkuvasti pääarmeijan kannoilla. Jälkijoukot joutuivat jatkuvasti torjumaan kasakoiden hyökkäyksiä. Hyökkäykset eivät verottaneet oleellisesti kummankaan armeijan voimia vaan merkittävämpi tekijä oli sää. Maaliskuussa pakkasta oli –30 °C ja lumimyskyt pakottivat sotilaita repimään ladoista polttopuita pysyäkseen lämpiminä.

Huhti-toukokuu
Maalis-huhtikuussa Ruotsin joukkoja järjestettiin uudelleen ja perustettiin uusi 3. prikaati, jonka komentajaksi tuli eversti Hans Henrik Gripenberg. Eversti Johan Adam Cronstedtin komentamasta silloisesta 3. prikaatista tuli 4. prikaati. Perustettiin myös 5. prikaati, jonka komentajaksi tuli eversti Johan August Sandels.

Toukokuun 1808 alussa Viaporin piiritetty linnoitus antautui venäläisille juuri Suomenlahden vapautuessa jäistä. Syitä linnoituksen antautumiseen on pohdittu laajasti, ja Viaporin komentajaa Carl Olof Cronstedtia on usein epäilty maanpetturuudesta. Varmaa on, että linnoituksen antautuminen romutti Ruotsin taistelusuunnitelman. Rauhanaikaisissa suunnitelmissa oli suunniteltu, että Viaporin linnoitus ottaisi vastaan Ruotsista saapuvat apujoukot, jotka linnoituksessa talvehtineen rannikkolaivaston tukemana olisivat sitten edenneet Suomenlahden rantaa pitkin katkaisemaan vihollisen huoltotiet. Nyt Ruotsista lähetetyt apujoukot tekivät ainoastaan muutamia lähinnä huvittavaksi jääneitä maihinnousuyrityksiä Pohjanlahden rannikolle ja Ahvenanmaalle joutumatta kertaakaan merkittäviin taisteluihin. Viaporissa antautuneet sotilaat riisuttiin aseista ja heiltä otettiin kunniasana, jonka mukaan he eivät osallistuisi taisteluihin venäläisiä vastaan. Tästä huolimatta osa Viaporin miehistöstä etsiytyi pääarmeijaan tai Hämeessä vaikuttaneisiin talonpoikaisjoukkoihin.

Summer 1808
At the same time, when Vyborg surrendered, Sandels led his troops southwards along the Savo road. The Swedes re-conquered Kuopio on May 12, only to have to leave a short time later. Sandels did not receive any help from the other Swedish units in Finland and he had to retreat by the end of the summer to avoid being encircled. The war in Ostrobothnia didn't go well for the Swedes. Adlercreutz won a series of smaller battles in the beginning of the summer, but the significance of these were low. The Russians on the other hand managed to defeat the Swedes at Karstula, Salmi and at Oravais during July. Adlercreutz had to pull back to Tornio after these defeats. Sandels had also to retreat from Savo as a result of this.

A truce was signed on November 19, 1808. The Swedish army was obliged to withdraw behind the Kaakamojoki River. The Swedish army would withdraw further behind Kemi Riverby the end of the year. The Swedish troops were moved south to make camp for the winter. Some [Finnish] troops were left in Tornio, having no home to return to. 1,800 of succumbed to disease and hunger. In March 1809, Russian troops conquered Tornio and manned temporarily Umeå. By May, the Russian troops continued marching southwards, and the Russians reconquered Umeå in June 1809. By August 1809 the Russians prevented a Swedish landing operation in Västerbotten, which led to that the Swedes were suing for peace. The Finnish War ended on 17 September 1809 with the Treaty of Fredrikshamn. Sweden lost its eastern half, part of Västerbotten and the Åland islands. The new border was drawn at the Tornio River. The war claimed the lives of some 20,000 Swedish and Finnish soldiers, the majority in different diseases.

Russia had alrady by 1808 declared that Finland was a permanent part of the Russian Empire. Emperor Alexander I called together the Diet of Porvoo, which began on 28 March 1809, the same day as the Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf was arrested and forced to resign the throne.

Commanders

 * Georg Carl von Döbeln, Commander of the Nyland Regiment
 * Carl Johan Adlercreutz
 * Carl Olof Cronstedt
 * Johan Adam Cronstedt
 * Joachim Zachris Duncker
 * Johan Reinhold von Törne
 * Carl von Otter
 * Carl Nathanael af Klercker, Swedish Second in command
 * Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor, Swedish Supreme Commander
 * Johan August Sandels, Commander of the 5th Brigade
 * Gustaf Adolf Montgomery
 * Gustaf Wachtmeister
 * Pjotr Bagration
 * Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
 * Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoevden, Russian Supreme Commander
 * Jacob Petrovich Kulnev
 * Nikolai Mihailovich Kamenski