Battle of Pälkäne

Battle of Pälkäne
Part of Great Northern War
Date 17 October 1713 Location Pälkäne, Finland Result Russian tactical victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt	Fyodor Apraksin Mikhail Galitzine
Strength
2,200 (infantry) 1,500 (cavalry) 28 field pieces	9,000 (infantry) 5,400 (cavalry) 22 field pieces
Casualties and losses
577 dead and wounded 233 captured	118 dead 555 wounded

Fyodor Apraksin

2,200 (infantry)
1,500 (cavalry)

9,000 (infantry)
5,400 (cavalry)

The Battle of Pälkäne, sometimes called the Battle at Kostianvirta or Battle on the Pialkiane River (Russian: Битва на реке Пялькяне) was fought between the Russian army under Admiral Fyodor Apraksin and the defending Finnish army of Sweden under General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt on 17 October 1713, as part of the Great Northern War. It resulted in a Russian tactical victory, although General Armfeldt was able to withdraw his army in good order.

Despite the crushing defeat at Poltava in 1709, Charles XII of Sweden refused to negotiate for peace. Indeed, Sweden was able to land an army in Germany in 1712 and win a victory at Gadebusch.

Most of the fighting of the war had to this point taken place outside of the Sweden's core territory. The anti-Swedish coalition decided to force Sweden to come to terms by invading Sweden from two directions, Denmark from the south and Russia from the eastern Finnish half. However, the Danish army was defeated at the battle of Helsingborg and the original plan was abandoned.

The Swedish army in Finland consisted almost entirely of Finnish soldiers, and was led by General Georg Henrik Lybecker. He was not a popular nor a successful commander. His previous attempted diversionary campaign against Saint Petersburg in 1708 had resulted in the Finnish army being severely mauled. In particular, he had been forced to abandon his cavalry while retreating, which would have dire consequences in the near future.

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