Battle of Lesnaya

Part of the Great Northern War

Battle of Lesnaya by Nicolas Larmessin (1722–1724)

Date

September 28, 1708 (O.S.)
September 29, 1708 (Swedish calendar)
October 9, 1708 (N.S.)

Location

Leśna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
(present-day Lyasnaya in Belarus)

Result

Russian strategic victory

Destruction and capture of most Swedish wagons, along with all artillery.

Tactically Indecisive

Neither side broken. Swedish force allowed continued march towards the main army under Charles XII.

Belligerents

Swedish Empire

Tsardom of Russia

Commanders and leaders

Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt
Berndt Otto Stackelberg

Peter I of Russia
  Mikhail Golitsyn
  Aleksandr Menshikov
  Christian Felix Bauer
  Nikolai von Werden

Strength

12,500 men:

8,000 infantry
2,500 dragoons
2,000 cavalry
16 cannons

Lesnaya (9,700):
6,850 initially
2,806 men later arrived as reinforcements

Propoisk (2,800):
800 men in the vanguard
2,000 men or more protecting the supplies

26,500–29,000 men:

11,340 infantry
12,768 dragoons
2,500–5,000 irregulars
30 cannons, 60 mortars

Lesnaya (19–21,000):
15,000–17,000 initially
4,076 dragoons later arrived as reinforcements

Propoisk (1,400–1,900):
900 dragoons
500–1,000 irregulars

On the march (6,191):
Werden's infantry arrived late or just after the battle

Casualties and losses

3,000–3,873:

1,000–2,000 killed
1,000–2,000 wounded

In total (October 9–11):
About 4,000 killed, captured and dispersed
...other estimates

Around 7,000:

3,000 killed
4,000 wounded

...other estimates

Russian strategic victory

Tactically Indecisive

The Battle of Lesnaya (Russian: Битва при Лесной Bitva pri Lesnoy, Swedish: Slaget vid Lesna, Polish: Bitwa pod Leśną), was one of the major battles of the Great Northern War. It took place on September 28, 1708 (O.S.) / September 29, 1708 (Swedish calendar) / October 9, 1708 (N.S.) between a Russian army of between 26,500 and 29,000 men commanded by Peter I of Russia, Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, Christian Felix Bauer and Nikolai Grigorovitj von Werden and a Swedish army of about 12,500 men commanded by Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt and Berndt Otto Stackelberg, at the village of Lesnaya, located close to the border between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia (now the village of Lyasnaya, south-east of Mogilev in Belarus). The Swedes were escorting a supply column of more than 4,500 wagons for their main army in Ukraine.

Peter I intercepted Lewenhaupt's column before it reached the safety of Charles XII, the Swedish king, with the intention of destroying it. After eight hours of fighting, with heavy casualties, neither side stood as winner. As the night approached the Russians decided to withdraw to the nearest forest where they would stay until next morning to continue the fight. The Swedes however stayed in their battle formations for hours during the night, in case of a renewed attack. With no sign of further combat and intelligence saying further Russian reinforcements had arrived, the Swedes in turn withdrew from the place of battle, in order to continue the march towards the main army. Fearing a full-scale Russian pursuit, Lewenhaupt decided to burn or abandon most of the wagons and cannons in order to increase speed. While doing this many of the Swedish soldiers decided to loot the abandoned wagons and get drunk, thousands got lost in the woods, many of whom fell victim to Russian irregular cavalry. Lewenhaupt soon crossed the river of Sozh with the rest of his army, to find himself relatively safe. After some days he met up with Charles XII at Rukova with very few wagons left and only half of his initial army. The two soon continued their march towards Ukraine, eventually finding themselves at the battle of Poltava and the surrender at Perevolochna which severely crippled the Swedish army and is known for being the turning point of the war.

...
Wikipedia