Battle of Ratan
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Battle of Ratan | |||||||
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Part of the Finnish War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Sweden | Russian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gustaf Wachtmeister | Nikolay Kamensky | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,420[1] | 3,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Swedish accounts: 150[2]–181[1] Russian accounts: 2,000 (including losses at Djäkneboda and Sävar)[3] |
Russian accounts: 150[3] Swedish accounts: 500[4]–700[5] | ||||||
The Battle of Ratan was the last battle fought on Swedish soil during the Russian-Swedish War of 1808 - 1809. It took place a day apart from the Battle of Sävar, on 20 August 1809. Having conquered Finland from Sweden, the Russians had a small force in the northern areas of Sweden. The Swedes sought to eliminate this through a combined assault from land and sea, but the Russians moved more rapidly, defeating the Swedish force landed at Ratan at Sävar on 19 August. The next day, on 20 August, the Swedish riflemen was attacked and pushed out of Ratan, turning to the flotilla and starting the evacuation. At the same time, artillery fire from Swedish warships kept the Russians at bay. Peace negotiations followed the heavy fighting.
Prelude to the battle
The Russians had successfully captured the city of
Chosen to lead the sea-borne task force was Lieutenant-General
There was no threat from the Russians possible on the waters, as the combined force of the
The Swedish task force sent was included the following vessels from both the navy and the archipelago fleet:
- 2 ships of the line (Adolf Fredrik and Försiktigheten)
- 1 frigate (Jarramas)
- 44 gunboats and bomb vessels
- 6 galleys
- 20-40 troop transport ships
- 6,800 soldiers
On 17 August the Swedish army disembarked from their ships in Ratan. Later the same day, they destroyed a small Russian detachment in Djäkneboda. The Russian commander, Lieutenant-General
The Swedish force under Wachtmeister was delayed at Sävar 20 km north of Umeå. The Russians attacked Wachtmeister's force in Sävar at 07:30 on 19 August. The Russian force took possession of high ground immediately and the Swedes counterattacked the Russians uphill. A fierce battle broke out and despite Swedish success in the fighting, Wachtmeister ordered his forces to retreat back to Ratan. The Battle of Sävar was over at 15:00. Although the Battle of Sävar turned out as a Russian victory, the Russian army was too damaged to dare face Wrede advancing from the south.
At Sävar, Sweden suffered casualties of 396 men dead and around 450 wounded, the Russians suffered around 600 men dead and around 1000 wounded.
Description of the battle
After the Battle of Sävar, the Swedish force fell back to the village of Ratan, in which they immediately prepared for another battle. On 20 August Kamensky ordered his army to attack the Swedes in a delaying battle to secure the Russian supply wagons' retreat north. This time Sweden had support from their
During the Battle of Ratan, Wachtmeister, due to support of the flotilla, managed to hold off Kamensky, who afterwards retreated north towards Piteå. Shortly after, Swedish troops entered Umeå.
Casualties at Ratan numbered 150 to 181 Swedes (26 dead, 2 prisoners). About 150 Russians were lost according to Kamensky,[2][1] while Swedish reports mention 500–700 Russian casualties.[4][5]
Aftermath
The Russians managed to take Ratan, but then were forced to abandon it due to Swedish flotilla fire. The Russian cannonballs did not reach the Swedish fleet. A forward line of Russian jägers stood in the woods. The Swedish field force was not defeated thanks to the fleet, boarded the ships unhindered, and sailed away to safety.[3] The Russian army could not stay with the enemy advancing from the south having just suffered so many casualties. Instead it retreated north after the battle, easing the situation for the Swedish army. It has also been argued that the outcomes of the battles helped Sweden to achieve a better position in the peace negotiations with Russia. Czar Alexander of Russia had demanded all of Österland, Åland, the parts of Norrland in present-day Finland and parts of Norrland in present-day Sweden. The Czar's demand was for the border to be drawn at the Kalix River. The engagements in Sävar and Ratan have been argued to have helped move the border north to the Tornio and Muonio rivers in the peace talks.
Having the border further north than demanded by the Russians in the initial talks turned out to be fortunate for Sweden in the long run as major findings of iron ore were discovered in these areas later.
References
- ^ a b c d Generalstaben (1922). Sveriges krig åren 1808 och 1809, Volume 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kongl. boktryckeriet P. A. Norstedt & söner. pp. 406–407.
- ^ ISBN 91-46-21087-3
- ^ a b c Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, Описание Финляндской войны на сухом пути и на море в 1808 и 1809 годах, St. Petersburg, 1841, pp. 478–480
- ^ a b Palmblad, Vilhelm Fredrik; Wieselgren, Peter; Werner, Karl Fredrik (1852). Biografiskt lexicon öfver namnkunnige svenska män, nittonde bandet (in Swedish). Uppsala: Palmblad och Sebell. pp. 126–130.
- ^ a b Johannesson, Bror E. (1959). Ofredens år: Historisk skildring av Kriget i Västerbotten 1809 (in Swedish). Umeå: Bröderna Larsson. p. 96.