Battle of Svensksund

The Second Battle of Svensksund (Finnish: Ruotsinsalmi; Russian: Rochensalm) was a naval battle fought in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9 and 10 July 1790. The Swedish naval forces dealt the Russian fleet a devastating defeat that brought an end to the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790). The battle is the biggest Swedish naval victory and the largest naval battle ever in the Baltic Sea. It qualifies among the largest naval battles in history in terms of the number of vessels involved.

For the 1789 battle of Svensksund, see First Battle of Svensksund.

Second Battle of Svensksund / Rochensalm / Ruotsinsalmi
Part of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–90)

The battle as depicted by Swedish painter Johan Tietrich Schoultz
Date9–10 July 1790 (28–29 June O.S.)
Location
Svensksund (now Kotka, south-eastern Finland)
Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
 Sweden  Russia
Commanders and leaders
Gustav III of Sweden
Carl Olof Cronstedt		 Karl von Nassau
Strength
14,000 men
275 ships[a]		 18,500 men
200–274 ships[b]
Casualties and losses
600–700 killed and wounded
6 ships sunk or destroyed[c]		 10,000 killed, wounded and captured
50–80 ships sunk, destroyed or captured[d]
Notes
  • ^[a] The Swedish archipelago fleet consisted of roughly 275 ships of various sizes with a total of over 14,000 men present, of these close to 13,000 were combat personnel with 206 ships while 1,200 men and 69 ships were on transport, hospital and other various civilian duties. There were a total of about 1,300 Swedish artillery pieces present, of which around 860 were swivel guns and 450 heavy cannons.
  • ^[b] The Russian fleet had roughly the same numbers as the Swedish, 274 ships or 200 although with heavier tonnage. There were about 18,500 men in total present with between 850 and 1,000 heavy cannons and almost as many swivel guns, resulting in around 1,600 or more artillery pieces in total.
  • ^[c] The Swedes suffered 171 dead and 122 seriously wounded in the action or 600–700 men in total applying the lightly wounded to the number. One Udema, two gun sloops and one gun yawl sank and one bomb ketch and one gun slope exploded, totalling six ships.
  • ^[d] The Russian losses are unknown but were significant. A lower estimation was made by Russian naval historian V. F. Golovachev who put the casualties to 7,369 men while another writer (Poselt) puts them as high as 14,648 men. Swedish historian Arnold Munthe estimates the Russian casualties to at least 9,000 men, but probably more considering the fact that captured Russian officers reportedly estimated 12,000 themselves. Kesar Ordin, another Russian historian finds the number of 10,000 Russian casualties, presented by some Swedish historians, as a realistic alternative of these a little over 6,000 were captured and 350 wounded, additionally 50–80 or more ships were lost.
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