# Battle of Rautu Church

The Battle of Rautu Church (Swedish: Slaget vid Rautus kyrka; Russian: Битва при церкви Рауту) was a failed Russian attempt to stop a Swedish relief force headed for Kexholm during the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658). The Swedes, led by Christoffer Burmeister successfully repelled the Russian attack at Rautu Church and forced them back. However, they withdrew from Rautu towards Viborg the next day, and the Russian forces claimed control of the battlefield soon after.

## Background

After burning down Taipale, the Swedish commanders at Viborg began planning an offensive to retake Nyen from the Russians, but when they received news of the ongoing Siege of Kexholm by the Russians, they instead decided to send all available units to relieve it. Fortunately for them, the veteran Christopher Burmeister was in the area to enlist a new cavalry regiment.
In late July, Burmeister led his force which consisted of 820 levied peasants, 200 dragoons, and 150–200 cavalry in a relief expedition.

## Battle

On their way to Kexholm, the Swedes set up a fortified camp at Rautu (present-day Sosnovo), taking advantage of the church building to strengthen their positions. After having learned of the Swedish expedition, Pyotr Potyomkin sent Sila Potyomkin to assault the Swedish positions in order to shield the ongoing siege of Kexholm.
On 4:00 am, on 14 July, the Russian force under Sila Potyomkin surprise attacked the Swedes. The number of men in Potyomkin's corps has been put to 700–800 men by some, but this claim has been doubted by other historians. The Swedes successfully repulsed both the first and second Russian attacks, and the Russians were forced to retreat, who were pursued by the Swedish cavalry.
After being repelled, the Russians once more formed into full battle ordered and challenged the Swedes to battle. Seeing this, Burmeister was not slow to accept their challenge and quickly ordered his men to assault the Russians. The Russians managed to defend for four hours until they were eventually defeated and scattered, being forced to flee into a nearby forest for safety.
Although many Russians died during the pursuit, the Swedish cavalry was too few in number to achieve any conclusive results.

### Losses
#### Swedish losses

The Swedish losses were as follows:
* 26 killed, among those killed were Petter Udny, Lieutenant Petter Dragoun, and Bartholdis Simonis
* 61 wounded

#### Russian losses

The Russian losses were as follows:
* 200 killed
* 2 captured
* 250 muskets captured
* 4 flags and drums captured

## Aftermath

Anders Koskull, the governor of Viborg, regarding the participation of the levied peasants during the battle, wrote the following to Charles X Gustav:
   "Uti denna träffning hafva våra finske bönder sig så friskt ocb redeligen anställt, att man deras beröm af officerarne med hugnad hafver förnummit"
Rough translation:
   "In this engagement, our Finnish peasants have conducted themselves so freshly and righteously that they have received praise from the officers with pleasure"
As a result of shortages of ammunition and in particular slow-match, Burmeister and his men would return to Viborg, and the Russians to their previous positions in the Karelian Isthmus.