The sea battle near Cape Gangut (1714)

The battle at Cape Gangut is one of the glorious pages of Russian history, perpetuated by a holiday that was named the Day of Military Glory. He has to on August 9. On this day of 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 Grangam, which allowed our country to finally gain a foothold in the Baltic. The battle at Cape Gangut, the date of which - 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 exhausting, bloody, long Northern War (1700-1721), despite the fact that it was involved in it was a number of European countries 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, that not only European countries having access to the Baltic Sea took part in it from both sides. Prior to these events, Russia had no such exit, which prevented it from trading with the leading countries of Europe, and as a result, to develop economically.

The Swedish blockade

Sweden, which prevailed then in the Baltic, although its fleet was only the fourth in the world, cynically called this northern sea a Swedish lake. In addition, it is its well-equipped fortress Noteburg, which until its occupation by Swedes was called Oreshek, blocked the only outlet of Russia to the Baltic through the Neva. Part of the ancient 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 Sweden's power was undermined and a turning point in favor of Russia. However, this was a land victory, and at sea, Russia could not oppose this country.

The military fleet must be

Before Peter I, Russia was not a naval power, that is, it did not have a navy at all, except for a few ships built with Peter the Great's father to accompany merchant ships in the Caspian Sea. And the defeat near Azov in 1695 forced the Russian tsar to specifically deal with the creation of the fleet. A motley flotilla consisting of 1,000 plows, 23 galleys and two 36-gun ships, which, under the command of Admiral F. Ya. Lefort, in July 1696, forced the garrison of Azov to surrender. The result of this victory was the decision of the Boyar Duma: "Marine ships to be!" Then, in 1702, Notenburg fell. In 1703, Nieshents was taken to the mouth of the Neva. The two Swedish military ships that had flown here, under the cover of the morning mist, were attacked by fishing boats and taken prisoner. The operation was led by Peter himself and Menshikov.

Construction of a large shipyard

In 1703 the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid, and in 1704 they began to build the fortress Kronshlot (Kronstadt). 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, all of them were repulsed. To stop defending and launching an offensive, it was necessary to seize the coast of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, in the spring of 1713, having landed in Finland, the Russian army of 16 thousand people captured the city: the current Porvoo (Borgo), Turku (Abo) and the capital Helsinki (Helsingfors). Between Russia and Sweden there was only the Gulf of Bothnia, in the middle of which were the Aldan Islands. Russia already had a fleet. The first ships were built in 1702-1703 in a shipyard located at the mouth of the river Syazi (Ladoga Lake). But already in 1704 the St. Petersburg Admiralty Shipyard was laid. The year of battle near Cape Gangut - 1714th - was approaching.

Ambitious plans

Formed from ships that descended from the slipways of the Admiralty Shipyard, the fleet headed for the army of Peter I in Finland. The king wanted to first move his forces to the islands, and then land in Sweden. Galleys and scampways in the amount of 99 pieces, which housed 15 thousand soldiers, went to Abo, which was the center of the concentration of the Russian army. Preparing for the Aldan archipelago to land the landing. The operation was headed by FM Apraksin. But at the southernmost point of the peninsula, where a battle will soon take place at Cape Gangut, the path was blocked by a powerful Swedish fleet superior to Russia in terms of the number of warships and their equipment.

The military genius of Peter

On the flagship "Elephant" Vice Admiral Vatrang, under whose command the flotilla was to defeat the Russians, did not doubt the success. Flotillas of 15-line ships and three frigates and a large row of rowing vessels were difficult to resist, and Apraksin, who did not possess either the desperate courage or the adventurousness of Lefort, Menshikov, and Peter himself, refused to take independent action, thus absolving himself of responsibility . In response to his message to the scene of the conflict comes Peter I. After getting acquainted with the situation and the terrain, the commander-in-chief orders in the narrow part of the Gangut peninsula to arrange a transfer. Peter wanted to drag some of his ships to the other side of the peninsula and hit the rear of the Swedish flotilla.

God is with us

While laying logs, facilitating 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. Erenscheld to the place of the descent of Russian ships to the water - to the Rilaksfjord. But nature was on the side of the Russians, and on July 26, 1714, there was a calm, completely defused the Swedish sailboats. Peter and his rowing flotilla on the oars bypass the main fleet of the Swedes, get to the ships of Ehrenkold and block them in the Rilaksfjord.

The 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, as the Swedes had 116 cannons against 23 Peter's) Russian galleys came close to the enemy vessels and boarded them. After the fierce battles, Elephant (The Elephant) was captured, the rest of the ships surrendered. The total loss of Russians was 469 people, of whom 124 were killed, who were buried with honor, and the Swedes lost 700 killed and 230 surrendered to the mercy of the winner. The Russian flotilla did not lose a single ship, and all 10 Swedish ships became military trophies. Vice Admiral Vatrang with the fleet retreated to Stockholm. The Swedish court was in horror evacuated from the capital. Russian troops occupied the Aland archipelago, from which during all the last years of the Northern War Russian guns bombed the Swedish coasts, inflicting very considerable damage to them.

The feat of the Russian sailors

The sea battle near Cape Gangut and its results greatly strengthened the position of the Russians in Finland. Peter himself compared this first victorium of the Russian fleet in importance to 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 the medal for all its participants was minted, 144 officers and 2813 soldiers and non-commissioned officers received it. The battle at Cape Gangut occurred on July 27, 1714, and this date was added to the list of military exploits 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 under the cheers of the townspeople.

Great holiday

First, a caravan entered the Neva, consisting of captured Swedish ships, led by three Russian galleys. The commander's galley Shautbeinakhta, Peter Mikhailov (pseudonym of Peter I) followed the trophy vessels, two galleys with soldiers closed the caravan. Upon the descent of the flag and prisoners, among them was Ehrenshildt, carried and conducted through the city. The procession was directed to the Arc de Triomphe. And above it towered an image on which the eagle clung to the back of the elephant. The inscription read: "The Russian eagle does not catch flies." Under the elephant meant the flagship ship Elephant. The costumed action continued in the Senate, where in a magnificent setting the prince "Caesar" Romodanovsky greeted Pyotr Mikhailov's Shautbeinakht with the words: "Hello, Vice Admiral!" So Peter the Great was given this title, for which he received 2240 rubles annually.

Formation of the empire

But the Northern War did not end . The battle at Cape Gangut, which was included in all the textbooks of naval military affairs, was the first victory. The second major and decisive outcome of the Northern War was the Victory of the Peter the Great fleet, which is remarkable, on July 27, but already in 1720. They took it from the island of Grangam. By this time, Russia had become a major maritime power with a mighty and invincible fleet. And before the end of the Northern War in 1716, maneuvers were taking place in the Baltic Sea, in which 84 ships from the Baltic countries participated. 21 the ship belonged to Russia. But the most important thing is that Peter I was recognized by the Baltic powers as a major naval ship, and the right to command the united squadron of English, Dutch, Danish and Russian ships was entrusted to him. The battle at Cape Gangut and the islands of Grangam brought world fame to Russia and recognition of its neighbors as a major maritime power.