Unless otherwise stated, this article uses dates from the Gregorian calendar (new style), in preference to the Swedish or the Julian calendar (old style) which were used simultaneously.
Battle of Lesnaya
Part of the Swedish invasion of Russia
Battle of Lesnaya by Nicolas IV Larmessin
Date
October 9 [O.S. September 28] 1708 29 September 1708 (Swedish calendar)
Location
Leśna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Lyasnaya in Belarus)
On the march (6,191):[4] Werden's infantry arrived late or just after the battle
Casualties and losses
3,000[5]–3,873:[6]
1,000–2,000 killed 1,000–2,000 wounded
In total (October 9–11):[7] About 4,000 killed, captured and dispersed ...other estimates
Around 7,000:[8]
3,000 killed 4,000 wounded
...other estimates
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Location within Belarus
Show map of Belarus
Battle of Lesnaya (European Russia)
Show map of European Russia
v
t
e
Great Northern War
Denmark and Holstein-Gottorp (1700)
1st Tönning
Reinbek
Humlebæk
Swedish Baltic dominions
1st Riga
Varja
1st Narva
Düna
Rauge
Erastfer
Hummelshof
Nöteborg
Systerbäck
Wesenberg
2nd Narva
Neva
Koporye
Kolkanpää
2nd Riga
Courland and Western Lithuania
Tryškiai
Darsūniškis
Vilnius
Saločiai
Jakobstadt
Palanga
Gemauerthof
1st Grodno
Valkininkai
Kletsk
2nd Grodno
Poland and Saxony
Kliszów
Pułtusk
Thorn
Poznań
Lemberg
Poniec
Warsaw
Praga
Fraustadt
Rosenhain
Frauenwald
Kalisz
Koniecpol
Russia and Eastern Lithuania
Petschora
Holowczyn
Malatitze
Rajovka
Lesnaya
Desna
Baturyn
Veprik
Oposhnya
Krasnokutsk–Gorodnoye
Sokolki
Poltava
Perevolochna
Sweden proper (including Finland)
Helsingborg
(2nd Viborg
Helsinki
Pälkäne
Napue)
Göteborg
Strömstad
Marstrand
Stäket
Moldavia
Pruth Campaign
Bender
Swedish German dominions
Wismar
Usedom
Stresow
Stralsund
Mecklenburg and Holstein-Gottorp
Gadebusch
2nd Tönning
Norway
Høland
Dynekilen
Fredriksten
Carolean Death March
Naval battles
Køge Bay
Fladstrand
Hogland
Gangut
Fehmarn
Rügen
Ösel
Grengam
Treaties
v
t
e
Charles XII invasion of Russia
Grodno II
Holowczyn
Neva
Malatitze
Rajovka
Lesnaya
Desna
Baturyn
Koniecpol
Veprik
Oposhnya
Krasnokutsk–Gorodnoye
Sokolki
Poltava
Perevolochna
The Battle of Lesnaya (Russian: Битва при Лесной, romanized: 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 October 9 [O.S. September 28] 1708[b] 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.
^Robert K. Massie. Peter the Great: His Life and World. Ballantine Books, 1981. p. 452
^ abcThe Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Dorrell, Nicholas. Partizan Press (2009). pp. 105–108
^Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava. Lund (2007). pp. 104–111
^Artamonov V. The Mother of the Poltava Victory: the Battle of Lesnaya. Saint Petersburg. (2008). p. 193
^Timothy C. Dowling, Russia at War: From the Mongol conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and beyond. California (2015). p. 481
^В. А. Артамонов. Заря Полтавской победы – битва при Лесной.
^Konovaltjuk & Lyth, Pavel & Einar (2009). Vägen till Poltava. Slaget vid Lesnaja 1708 (in Swedish). Svenskt Militärhistorisk Biblioteks Förlag. p. 233
^Gordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. pp. 277–278
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