Finnish War
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The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and Russia from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, according to the Finns a personal union with Imperial Russia. Another notable effect was the Swedish parliament's adoption of a new constitution and a new royal house, that of Bernadotte.
Background
After the Russian czar Alexander I concluded the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon, he suggested that the Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf should join the Continental System. The king, who viewed Napoleon as the Antichrist, Great Britain as his traditional ally and was apprehensive of the system's ruinous consequences for Sweden's maritime commerce, instead entered negotiations with Britain in order to prepare a joint attack against Denmark, whose possessions in Norway he coveted.
In the meantime, the Royal Navy attacked Copenhagen and the Anglo-Russian War was declared. Referencing the treaties of 1780 and 1800, the czar demanded Gustav Adolf to close the Baltic Sea to all foreign warships. He reiterated his demand on 16 November, 1807, but it took two months before the king responded that the previous arrangements were impossible to honour as long as the French were in control of the major Baltic ports.
Although most Swedish officers were sceptical about their chances in fighting the superior Russian troops, Gustav Adolf had an unrealistic view of Sweden's ability to defend itself against Russia. In Saint Petersburg, his stubbornness was viewed as a convenient pretext to occupy Finland, thus pushing the Russo-Swedish frontier considerably to the west from the Russian capital and safeguarding it in case of any future hostilities between the two powers.
== February - May 1808 ==
On February 21, 1808 24,000 Russian troops under Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoevden crossed the border and captured Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus). The king was quite unprepared for the attack, especially as war was not declared until April. About 19,000 Swedish troops were stationed in various fortresses of Finland, while the rest of his army was unable to leave southern Sweden for fear of Danish attack.
The plan of the Swedish commander Johan Adam Cronstedt was to retreat into Ostrobothnia leaving only the isolated fortresses Svartholm (Svartholma) and Sveaborg (Suomenlinna) behind. In March, the Russians overran Kuopio, Tampere (Tammerfors), Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), Svartholm (Svartholma), Helsinki (Helsingfors), Hanko (Hangö) and landed in Gotland and Åland Islands (Ahvenanmaa). Buxhoevden laid siege to Sveaborg (Suomenlinna), which surrendered on May 3 with 7,500 soldiers, 100 vessels, and more than 2000 cannons, as the commanding officer Carl Olof Cronstedt and his council thought that resistance was meaningless. There are continious rumours that Cronstedt was bribed. He was executed after the war.
Under a new commander, Carl Johan Adlercreutz, the Swedish army counter-attacked and the Russian offensive was halted. Nikolay Tuchkov, a Russian general who was dispatched to the north of Finland, left garrisons in every fort on his way, thus reducing his unit to 4,000 troops which proved insufficient to pacify the hostile country. The Finns rose in guerrilla fighting as far as Hamina (Fredrikshamn) (in Russian "Old Finland"), where the unit of Colonel Sandels was active. Kulnev's detachment was defeated at Siikajoki (April 18) as was Bulatov's contingent in Revonlahti at Revolax (April 27).
In May, the Russians suffered further setbacks, as they were driven from Gotland and Åland (Ahvenanmaa), where a Swedish flotilla, supported by the local population, compelled Colonel Vuich and his garrison to surrender. On May 26 a British fleet manned by 14,000 troops entered the port of Gothenburg but, due to various disagreements with the king, never landed and proceeded to fight the French in Spain after leaving 16 battleships and 20 other ships at Sweden's disposal. In Northern Karelia the peasant guerillas controlled the area (behind Russian lines) and even made an attack over the border causing panic in the town of Sortavala.
August - September 1808
After the Russians were driven from Central Finland, their forces stretched along the line Pori (Björneborg) — Tampere (Tammerfors) — Mikkeli (Sankt-Michel). Having received considerable reinforcements, their numbers increased to 55,000, as opposed to 36,000 for their opponents. On August 14, Count Nikolay Kamensky determined to use this numerical superiority to launch a new offensive.
Although Georg Carl von Dobeln won for Sweden the Battle of Jutas (September 13), Kamensky's 11,000-strong corps achieved more important victories at Kuortane (September 1), Salmi (September 2), and Oravais (Oravainen) (September 14). Swedish attempts to land troops near Turku (Åbo) were stalled by Bagration's prompt actions. In Eastern Finland, the guerrilla movement was gradually extinguished. As a consequence, Russia's situation in Southern Finland improved significantly.
In the north the situation was more complicated. Tuchkov's battered unit strained to hold its own against Sandels, while the progress of a relief force under General Alekseyev was contained by guerrilla fighters. It was not until 26 September that Prince Dolgorukov (Alekseyev's replacement) managed to join his forces with Tuchkov, inducing Sandels to retreat. Three days later, Buxhoevden — pressed by the early onset of winter weather — signed an armistice, much to Napoleon's displeasure. The czar refused to ratify the truce and replaced Buxhoevden by a new commander-in-chief, Boris Knorring, in December.
Winter 1809
By that time, Russian forces had overrun all of Finland. On November 19 the convention of Olkijoki was signed and the Swedish army was forced to leave the country. However, the czar was now eager to bring hostilities to the territory of Sweden proper, which was certain to bring the war to a victorious end.
With these reasons in mind, Kamensky suggested a daring plan, whereby the Russian army was to cross the frozen Gulf of Bothnia in two directions: one unit was to march from Vaasa (Vasa) towards Umeå and another from Turku (Åbo) to the Åland Islands (Ahvenanmaa) and thence towards the vicinity of Stockholm. A third unit was to advance on Tornio (Torneå) and arrive to Sweden by land.
Although Knorring was urged to put the plan into execution as quickly as possible, he regarded the idea as unrealistic and procrastinated until March, when the czar dispatched the War Minister Arakcheyev to Finland in order to pressure Knorring into action before arriving at the army himself.
Spring 1809
As Russian forces embarked upon their unprecedented march across the frozen Baltic on 13 March, King Gustav IV — accused of fatal mistakes leading to the loss of Finland — was dethroned in Stockholm and his uncle was proclaimed Charles XIII of Sweden. Four days later, Bagration's corps of 17,000 men occupied the strategic Åland Islands (Ahvenanmaa), while Kulnev led the vanguard further across the frozen sea and on March 19 reached the Swedish shore within 70 km from Stockholm.
When news about Kulnev's incursion spread to the Swedish capital, the new king sent an embassy to Knorring, proposing a truce. The Russian commander agreed and speedily recalled Kulnev back to Åland. In the meantime, another Russian contingent — 5,000 men under Barclay de Tolly — endured great hardships in crossing the frozen gulf further north: they entered Umeå on March 24.
A third force, commanded by Count Shuvalov, struck against Tornio (Torneå) and, braving fierce frost, encircled a Swedish army, which capitulated on March 25. Six days later, the czar arrived in Turku (Åbo) and, on learning about the truce, not only revoked Knorring's signature but named Barclay de Tolly as new Commander-in-Chief. Hostilities thus continued until May, when Shuvalov finally reached Umeå, where he was succeeded by Kamensky.
Summer 1809
In August, Charles XIII, anxious to reach a better peace settlement, ordered Sandels to land in the north of Sweden and to attack Kamensky's rear. The last engagements of the war, at Savar and Ratan, proved inconclusive and Kamensky succeeded in neutralizing this belated counter-offensive.
Sandels's action was only a prelude to peace negotiations which opened in August and resulted in the Treaty of Hamina (Fredrikshamn) (September 17), in which Sweden ceded the whole of Finland to Russia, closed its harbours to British ships and joined the Continental System. The Grand Duchy of Finland was to retain the Gustavian constitution of 1772 with only slight modifications until 1919. Almost every Finnish soldier in Sweden (most in the Umeå area) returned to the homeland after the war.
References
- Ордин К., Покорение Финляндии, ч. 1, СПБ, 1889.
- Михайловский-Данилевский А. И., Описание финляндской войны в 1808-1809. СПБ, 1849.
- Ниве П. А., Русско-шведская война 1808-1809, СПБ, 1910.
- Захаров Г., Русско-шведская война 1808-1809, М., 1940.
- Фомин А.А., Швеция в системе европейской политики накануне и в период русско-шведской войны 1808–1809 гг., М., 2003.