Evacuation of Kolkanpää

Battle of Kolkanpää Part of Great Northern War Date October 16, 1708 (O.S.) October 17, 1708 (Swedish calendar) October 27, 1708 (N.S.) Location Kolkanpää, Swedish Empire, present–day Russia Result Russian victory Belligerents Swedish Empire Tsardom of Russia Commanders and leaders Henrik Mattias von Seulenberg Fyodor Apraksin Strength 600–800 men[1] 3,000–3,500 men[2] Casualties and losses 600–800 killed, wounded and captured[1] 50 killed, 220 wounded[3]

Great Northern War Campaigns Denmark Russia and the Baltic provinces Poland-Lithuania/Saxony Ottoman Empire Sweden and Northern Germany Norway Finland Battles 1st Riga 1st Tönning Humlebæk Varja 1st Narva Petschora Düna Rauge Erastfer Darsūniškis Vilnius Kliszów Hummelshof Nöteborg Saladen Pultusk Systerbäck Wesenberg Thorn Jakobstadt Posen 2nd Narva Punitz Gemauerthof Warsaw Praga 1st Grodno Fraustadt Olkieniki Kletsk Kalisz 2nd Grodno Holowczyn Neva Malatitze Rajovka Koporye Lesnaya Kolkanpää Desna Koniecpol Veprik Oposhnya Krasnokutsk–Gorodnoye Sokolki Poltava Perevolochna 2nd Riga 2nd Vyborg Pruth Campaign Helsingborg Køge Bay Wismar Gadebusch 2nd Tönning Bender Finland Battle of Fladstrand Hogland Pälkäne Storkyro Gangut Stralsund Fehmarn Rügen Stresow Dynekilen Göteborg Strömstad Fredriksten Carolean Death March Ösel Stäket Grengam Treaties

The Evacuation of Kolkanpää took place between October 18 and 27, 1708 close to Kolkanpää, in the Swedish Empire during the Great Northern War. The Swedes under the command of Georg Lybecker were evacuating their Finnish based army consisting of up to 11,279 men back to Finland, after their failed campaign in Swedish Ingria in an attempt to recover land previously lost to Russia.^[4] Fyodor Apraksin, the Russian commander in the area, decided to interrupt the evacuation with between 3,000 and 3,500 men.^[2] He decided to wait until only a portion, between 600 and 800 Saxon ex-prisoners recruited into Swedish service, remained on the beaches not yet evacuated, before commencing attack with all his troops.^[1] After several assaults the Saxons were soon overwhelmed and almost all of them were cut down or captured by the end of the battle.^[4] The Russians had lost about 50 killed and 220 wounded.^[3] The Swedes were also forced to slaughter about 4,000 of their horses which could not be evacuated so they would not fall into Russians hands.^[1]

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