Siege of Vyborg (1710)

Siege of Viborg
Part of the Great Northern War
The final days of the siege, by Alexei Rostovtsev
Date March 1710 – 12 June 1710 (O.S.) Location Viborg, Swedish Empire, later Russian Empire (present-day Leningrad Oblast, Russia) Result Decisive Russian victory, began Russian offensive into Finland
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Magnus Stiernstråle	Tsar Peter I Fyodor Apraksin
Strength
4,000 - 6,000 men 141 cannon 9 mortars 2 howitzers	18,000 men 104 cannon 32 mortars
Casualties and losses
about 2,200 men killed	about 1,800 men killed

The Siege of Viborg took place in the spring of 1710 during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), as a second attempt by the Russians to capture the fortress town of Viborg after a failed attempt in 1706. After the outbreak of the war, Swedish forces had fortified themselves in the port of Viborg. In order to assure safety for the newly founded city of Saint Petersburg, Peter the Great ordered the Swedish fort to be secured. A first unsuccessful attempt was made in 1706. Later plans were put on hold because of other ongoing conflicts but, after the Russian success at the Battle of Poltava in June 1709, the men and resources were available to capture the town.

Thirteen thousand troops under General-Admiral Fyodor Apraksin marched to Viborg and laid siege on 22 March 1710. Magnus Stiernstråle, the Swedish commander at the fort, waited in vain for Swedish assistance, while a stalemate ensued because the Russians lacked sufficient artillery. In April, Peter the Great managed to bring through a fleet of 250 ships to deliver guns and supplies, and to help perform a final assault on Swedish positions. After these Russian attacks, the Swedish garrison surrendered on 12 June 1710.

After the victory at the Battle of Poltava, the Russian army was able to proceed with further offensive actions in the northwestern theater of operations. In 1710, the Russian army undertook an offensive in two directions: on the Baltic coast (where, in the fall in 1710, Riga was besieged) and in Finland, with attacks on Viborg and Kexholm. The selection of the command staff destined for the siege of Viborg led to the main authority being given to General-Admiral Fyodor Apraksin, while his subordinates were Major-Generals Robert Bruce () and Wilhelm Bergholtz. Before the siege, Bruce and Bergholtz had operated mainly in defensive roles, chiefly in the defense of Saint Petersburg. They would later lead the offensive into Finland. They were chosen because, at that time, the commanders most experienced in siege warfare (including Boris Sheremetev, Jacob Bruce, and Anikita Repnin) were concentrated around Riga. Consequently, it was considered a possibility that Peter the Great himself would command forces at Viborg, so that he would not have to reassign the experienced generals and thus jeopardize the attacks on Riga.

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