French
DeutschAttack on Nyen (1658)
| Attack on Nyen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) | |||||||||
 Nyen as depicted on a Swedish map from 1698 by Baron Abraham Kroniort | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |  Tsardom of Russia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown | Ladyzhenskiy | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Nyen redoubt | Unknown | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| At least 80 peasants | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 40 killed | ||||||||
The attack on Nyen (Swedish: Anfallet på Nyen; Russian: Нападение на Ниен) was the final action between Swedish and Russian forces during the Russo-Swedish War (1656–58).
Background
[edit]On 30 March, the Russian general Ladyzhenskiy led a force from Lava towards Nyen, but few details are known.[2] The Russians intended to capture several fortresses in order to use them as collateral in the peace talks.[3]
Attack
[edit]Local peasants immediately alerted the Swedish garrison in Nyen about the Russian offensive, and some 80 participated in the Swedish defense of Nyen.[3][2] Ladyzhenskiy sent scouts out during the night to find the best possible access routes through the new and well-built redoubts at Nyen, and they planet 12 small pennants to guide the assault.[2]
The next morning, on Tuesday, they attempted to storm the redoubt. Ladyzhenskiy's men managed to get past the outer defenses, after losing around 40 men in the fighting,[4] but were not able to penetrate the inner defenses. After withdrawing, Lazyshenskiy shot mortars which were loaded with stone projectiles at the redoubt, before eventually marching back to Lava.[2][3][4] The Russians also left the small pennants behind.[3]
Aftermath
[edit]The failed attack on Nyen was the final action of the war, although Swedish suspicions of a Russian offensive from the White sea lingered in northern Finland.[2][3] A month and a half later, a small force of Russian cavalry went to Nöteborg, with orders from the Tsar for the operations to cease.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Essen 2023, p. xvii.
- ^ a b c d e Essen 2023, p. 250.
- ^ a b c d e Lappalainen 1979, p. 159.
- ^ a b c Englund 2000, p. 651.
Works cited
[edit]- Lappalainen, Jussi T. (1979). Stade, Arne (ed.). Kriget på östfronten [The War on the Eastern Front] (in Swedish). Militärhistoriska förlaget. ISBN 9789185266098.
- Essen, Michael Fredholm von (2023). Charles X's Wars: Volume 3 - The Danish Wars, 1657-1660. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781915113603.
- Englund, Peter (2000). Den oövervinnerlige: om den svenska stormaktstiden och en man i dess mitt [The invincible: about the era of Swedish great power and a man in its midst] (in Swedish). Atlantis. ISBN 9789174869996.