Battle of Lesnaya The Battle of Lesnaya ( " Bitva pri Lesnoy " , ) , was one of the major battles of the Great Northern War . It took place on September 28 , 1708 ( O . S . ) / September 29 , 1708 ( Swedish calendar ) / October 9 , 1708 ( N . S . ) between a Russian army of 18 , 000 regulars and an unknown number of irregulars commanded by the Princes Repnin and Menshikov , and a Swedish force of around 12 , 000 men , under the command of General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt , 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 4 , 500 wagons , needed by their army in the Ukraine . Background . Early Swedish victories at Humlebaek and at the Battle of Narva in 1700 temporarily took both Denmark and Russia out of the war . However , King Charles XII of Sweden proved unable to speedily end the war as it took eight years to deal with the remaining combatant Charles Augustus of Saxony - Poland . Meanwhile , Peter the Great rebuilt his army into modern form , concentrating on infantry trained to use linear tactics and modern firearms properly . He then achieved a stunning victory in Livonia , where he established the city of Saint Petersburg . In retaliation , Charles ordered an attack on the Russian heartland , launching an assault on Moscow from his campaign base in Poland . Lewenhaupt , one of Sweden ' s foremost generals , was the commander of one of Sweden ' s best armies , based at the Baltic Sea port of Riga . In the summer of 1708 , King Charles ordered him to march southward with most of his force and link up with the main army of 25 , 000 men , based in Poland . Lewenhaupt was to bring a fresh supply of ammunition and food to support the Swedish army in a proposed march on the Russian capital of Moscow . However , Lewenhaupt found that gathering the needed supplies and preparing the army for an overland march took longer than expected and , on September 26 , after waiting for Lewenhaupt for weeks , Charles XII abandoned his camps and decided to invade Ukraine , hoping to reach that rich granary before winter . At the time , Lewenhaupt was only about 80 miles from Charles ' s position . Having observed these movements , Peter decided to attack Lewenhaupt ' s smaller force before Charles could support it . Menshikov moved quickly to intercept Lewenhaupt ' s force and prevented it from crossing the Sozh River to safety . Lewenhaupt ' s convoy . In early April 1708 , the governor of Riga , Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt visited Charles XII at the Royal army ' s winter quarters in Radoszkowice to discuss strategy and receive orders for the ongoing campaign against Russia . Here he was instructed to obtain a large amount of supplies and wagons that could be sufficient for the main army for about three weeks . Once having collected the supplies Lewenhaupt would assemble as much men as possible from the area , without leaving the garrison s completely stripped . Lewenhaupt would then use these troops to escort the convoy and rendezvous with Charles ' main army at Mogilev , in early August . In May same year , Lewenhaupt returned to Riga in order to complete the task , which proved far from easy . The near lands had suffered many campaign s in the years of the Great Northern War and so much was drained of needed resources . In early June , the column — of which Lewenhaupt was gathering — was ordered to start campaigning to reach Charles XII in Mogilev , according to schedule . However , the convoy was nowhere ready to leave because of the difficulties assembling it . Only in the beginning of July it was " ready " , having then suffered three to four weeks behind the schedule and a significant shortage of men ( 20 , 000 men were expected , however , in reality only 12 , 000 soldiers were ready to march with a general size of 13 , 000 soldiers and 1 , 300 officers ) proved unable to make it to Charles ' army before September . On the march . The march turned out slower than expected , torrential rain turned the roads into mud , streams became over flooded which turned out to be a major task to cross and so , unfortunately for Lewenhaupt and Charles , the expected time of arrival kept moving back . However , after several weeks of waiting and no words heard from Lewenhaupt , there was a twist to the plans as Charles found his position in Mogilev unsustainable and instead on September 26 , decided to abandon his camps and march South towards Severia in Ukraine , hoping to reach that rich granary before winter . During this time Lewenhaupt was about 135 kilometers ( 90 miles ) away from Charles and on September 28 , he received new orders to rendezvous at Starodub and started marching south himself . His convoy passed between Mogilev and Gorki heading for Propoisk on the river Sozh . By October 3 , Lewenhaupt had crossed the Dnieper and headed south , the crossing itself has to be considered a " military masterpiece " . Having observed these movements , Peter I dispatched an army under Boris Sheremetev after Charles and gathered a force of his own to intercept with Lewenhaupt . The Russians made contact with Lewenhaupt ' s convoy on October 6 , and immediately started harassing it , forcing the Swedes to march in defensive formation across difficult terrain while the numbers of shadowing Russian troops steady grew . Skirmish at Belitsa . Peter I , who overestimated the Swedish force being 16 , 000 men strong , had gathered numbers far superior of those of Lewenhaupt and was eager to catch his convoy while it was still out of reach of Charles ' main army and safety . Therefore , he desired to confront and destroy it before its ' crossing of the river Sozh where it would otherwise reach — as Peter thought — the protection of the main army ( the Russians had misleading reports saying Charles was 25 kilometers away from Sozh and not 120 as they had previously presumed ) . On October 8 , the Russians in the area were large enough that they posed a considerable threat to the convoy and so the two sides confronted each other for some time at the village of Belitsa . Subsequently however , Lewenhaupt ordered a cavalry attack consisting of 4 , 000 men on the equally numbered Russian dragoon s who were facing them , the Russian horse did not desire a fight and instead started retreat ing , persecuted by their enemies for a good four – kilometers step . In this encounter losses amounted to about fifty Russians and three to four wounded Swedes , a real battle did not develop as both sides parted and the confrontation ended with the quick cavalry skirmish . Later the same day , Lewenhaupt reached the small village of Lesnaya and was within a day ' s march from Propoisk . By now he knew that Peter I was in the area with a fairly large amount of Russian troops . But he did not know exactly how large the Russian army was of if more units were on its ' way . Once he reached Propoisk he could cross the Sozh river and achieve relative safety in case he was the target of the whole Russian force . The Russians gathered their forces to attack the Swedes in the rear as they were crossing the stream of Lesnjanka at the village of Lesnaya , to march south against Propoisk in order to reach safety by crossing the river of Sozh . Thousands of wagons made for slow progress and bottleneck s and the scattered Swedish army was by then very vulnerable to Russian attacks , subsequently Peter I took the advantage and pressed home the assault . His forces included 26 , 000 Russian regulars ( 13 , 000 under his direct command ) , 5 , 000 dragoons under Christian Felix Bauer at Berezovka , 8 , 000 infantry under Werden at Patskovo ( infantry which would not participate in the battle ) and an irregular force of ' estimated ' 2 , 500 to 5 , 000 Cossacks and Kalmyks in total , Peter had close to 30 , 000 men against Lewenhaupt . When the attack began , more than half of the Swedish army had crossed the Lesnjanka stream . They numbered about 12 , 000 men in seventeen battalion s , with more than 4 , 500 wagons in their train . Engagement . Peter I split his force of 13 , 000 regulars into two column s , the right ( Western , 6 , 045 men ) under himself with Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn assisting ( in reality Golitsyn commanded this group and Peter worked as his assistant ) and the left ( Eastern , 6 , 896 men ) under General Aleksandr Menshikov . The two columns marched toward the " Middlefield " between the northern and southern forest fringes . Lewenhaupt ' s army was behind the southern fringe and Peter I attacked from the north . Menshikov ' s force traversed two kilometers of road while Peter I struggled to penetrate three kilometers of dense forest . Excluding officers , at least 17 , 000 Russian regulars including Bauer ' s dragoon force would engage during the battle ( adding ~ 10 % officers to this number it would reach close to 19 , 000 ) , with 2 , 500 – 5 , 000 irregulars . In total , 21 , 000 to 24 , 000 engaged . Lewenhaupt initially had around 4 , 500 men ( excluding officers ) on the northern side of the Lesnjanka stream to receive the initial attack , his other forces having crossed the stream and marching towards Propoisk . However , as the battle raged , he was able to obtain reinforcements and reach a total fighting force of around 9 , 000 men ( including officers ) against the Russians . At least 2 , 900 men were ordered to protect and maintain the baggage convoy . A Swedish outpost had also been placed on the " Middlefield " , consisting of no more than three battalions ( reduced to 900 men ) , to warn of and stall a possible Russian attack . This is where the two columns of Peter I marched . The outpost . Around 10 : 00 , October 9 , 1708 ( N . S . ) , the battle began . Peter I ' s column under Menshikov had reached the " Middlefield " from the north - west , finding the 900 Swedes deployed there . Unfortunately for Menshikov , the commander of the heavily outnumbered Swedish outpost , Lieutenant Colonel Freijbourg , seized the initiative and launched a " Carolean - style " surprise attack which threw the Russian column into confusion , while the sudden musket and cannon fire alerted the nearby main Swedish force . After this initial success , the Swedes were forced to retreat with many wounded through the southern fringe of the forest , where they were relieved by five fresh battalions under the command of Berndt Otto Stackelberg which had marched from Lesnaya . Meanwhile , Tsar Peter ' s right column had reached the Crossroads and traversed the marshes of Krivl , just south of the " Middlefield " , close to where Menshikov ' s column had been in action . Having Peter to their left flank and Menshikov to the front , Stackelberg ' s five Swedish battalions were now fighting two Russian columns numbering 13 , 000 in all . Six other Swedish battalions were on their way to the battle zone . The Russians at the Crossroads under Peter were almost routed by the Swedes and could have faced a crushing defeat , had not the Russian Guard s halted their advance . The fighting at the Crossroads surged back and forth . The Russian line was strengthened by six artillery pieces . However , the Swedes who themselves had no artillery in this particular fight , were able to capture four of them and block Peter ' s progress at the Krivl bridge . Swedish withdrawal . At little past 11 : 00 , Facing the Swedish right flank at the " Middlefield " , Menshikov ' s guardsmen executed a successful flanking maneuver , forcing the five Swedish battalions to retreat into the southern fringe of the forest and prepare to receive the expected Russian onslaught . Their departure left unguarded a bridge near the " Crossroads " , leaving it clear for Russian troops to march out and form up " en masse " . Thus trapped in a " pincer movement " , hemmed in and outnumbered , Stackelberg — against the wishes of Lewenhaupt — ordered an orderly withdrawal . The six Swedish battalions which were yet to arrive on their march through the forest , were also ordered to retreat , an action which isolated and exposed Hälsinge ' s second battalion which had previously routed the Russians and now came close to being annihilated by them . Lewenhaupt ( who sought to gather his cavalry to support the Swedish infantry during the fighting at the " Middlefield " and " Crossroads " ) came under attack by Russian dragoon s who swept eastward through the southern fringe of the forest and headed for the Swedish dragoons deployed east of Lesnaya , on the open field . The Russians had some success at first , but as soon as the main bulk of the Swedish cavalry arrived and charged in typical Carolean wedge formation the Russian cavalry was being repulsed and quickly broke . Tsar Peter with his Russian infantry and dragoons had now pushed away the last retreating Swedes and had full control over the " southern forest edge " . The Russians now strove to reach the " Lesnaya field " between the forest and the village of Lesnaya , to block the bridge over which the Swedes might obtain further reinforcements . ( A company of 1 , 000 cavalry had already managed to get back to assist in the fight at Lesnaya . ) A Swedish counter - offensive to push the Russians out of the forest was now ordered by Lewenhaupt , who had been very disappointed by Stackelberg ' s decision to retreat . The Swedes counter – attacked with the support of 16 artillery pieces from Lesnaya . However the Russian troops , backed by their own 30 cannons , were too strong and the Swedes had to fall back . Pause in hostilities . The Swedes retreated almost to the village of Lesnaya and the Russians followed them to the adjacent open terrain , intending to launch a decisive attack from there . However , both sides being exhausted by the day ' s intense combat , hostilities were ceased at about 15 : 00 when , separated by only 150 – 200 meters , the two sides sank down on the field , facing each other , and rested . During this extraordinary interlude , in which only three Russian cannons sounded off , the two armies distributed food , water and ammunition to their ranks , issued orders and deployed reinforcements in preparation for the final conflict . Somehow during this remarkable phase , the Russian General Friedrich von Hessen - Darmstadt was shot and mortally wounded as he rode back and forth in a provocative manner between the two armies . He died of his wounds four days later . The hour - long pause concluded at about 16 : 00 , with the arrival , after a long march , of Bauer ' s company of 5 , 000 Russian dragoons . Lesnjanka bridge . At a little past 16 : 00 , the Swedes opened fire , with cannons positioned 600 meters from the southern forest edge , on the newly arrived dragoons , who were then attaching themselves to the Russians ' left flank . The Russian dragoons under Bauer then — without awaiting orders from Peter I — charged against the Swedes , supported by most of the other Russian troops . The open terrain gave the Swedish army opportunity to closely coordinate its infantry and cavalry , an advantage which they gratefully seized . Repeatedly , Russian front line troops retreated from infantry " Gå – På " shock attacks only to find themselves under immediate attack from the rear by Swedish cavalry . However , this could only be a temporary advantage in view of the Russian reserve strength , reportedly three battalions deep by this time , enabling an irresistible grinding advance . The Russian right flank under Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn moved to secure the sole bridge across the Lesnjanka in order to prevent the flow of Swedish reinforcements across it , while seeking to trap them with their backs to the river . However , the bridge was ferociously defended and the Russians were beaten off , suffering heavy losses . At this time , both sides were inconvenienced by a snowstorm , a rare event for early – October , even in Russia . At 17 : 00 , Lewenhaupt ordered a concerted attack which , however , was blunted by a tactic of continuous fire which the Russians had devised to counter the Swedish " Gå – På " onslaught . The Swedes took heavy casualties and were driven further back towards the village . Their line was also split in two , one side against the Lesnaya ( east of the bridge ) and the other against the forest to the west . The all – important bridge was on the brink of being taken when it was saved by the arrival of 900 Swedish dragoons from across the river , whose fierce onslaught drove the Russians back . At 19 : 00 when night fell , the Russians left the field and drew back to the forest fringe . The Swedes stood in their battle formations for several hours , expecting a night attack which did not come . Aftermath . For a few hours the Swedes remained in their positions in case of a renewed attack and to convince the Russians that they intended to stay . Subsequently Lewenhaupt decided to withdraw his army under the cover of the darkness and continue on his march against Propoisk . Each unit slowly made its way across the stream as they were covered by the remaining units . During this progress , a number of wagons broke and partially blocked the road where the Swedish artillery was moving down , so it was decided a number of these would be sunk in the mud ( to prevent them falling in Russian hands ) as they were hard bringing in the rapid march . Having successfully crossed the stream with all his troops , Lewenhaupt continued towards Propoisk . However , this withdrawal was the beginning of the end for a large part of his army . Swedish disaster . Despite the difficult condition , having men lost in the woods during the march , the Swedes reached Propoisk , only to find that the town and bridge had been burned down . This was most likely done by Bauer ' s detachment as they were still blocking the crossing . By now the Swedish army was disintegrating into a mob as fear grew , possibly of being trapped between Peter ' s army behind them and Bauer ' s detachment . There were also no suited material for building a bridge . The Swedes saw the risk in having the Russian army pursue them from behind and so Lewenhaupt decided that everything that could be carried be taken from the wagons , subsequently the whole wagon train was burned and the bulk of the essential supplies within . This resulted in that a large part of the army took the opportunity to get drunk and so was left for the enemy to catch , others decided that they were better off surrendering or try to reach home by themselves , in total perhaps 4 , 000 men went missing after the battle . The next morning the Russians caught of with these deserters and stranglers , about 500 of them were killed at Propoisk . The Russians were content with this and proceeded to round up any deserters they could find , however , they did not attempt to confront the main body of Lewenhaupt ' s army as they were allowed to withdraw unmolested . The following day Lewenhaupt found a crossing over the river Sozh and over the next two days the soldiers swam across the river to relative safety . By now order had been restored in the Swedish army and all signs of Russian pursuit had gone . The army — now without any artillery or wagon train — made good speed to reach its ' rendezvous with Charles ' army at Starodub . During their way they were attacked by a large detachment of Russians , however , these were soon driven off . On October 23 , Lewenhaupt ' s troops reached the main army at Rukova , having only 6 , 500 men left in his lines without the sufficient wagon train . Modern look . Lesnaya is often seen as the first great Russian victory of the war and the first indication of the final result of the campaign , in Russia it is said to be the " mother of Poltava " . The battle was certainly proclaimed as a Russian triumph at the time , but in modern view , this may not be the case . The victorious Russian army had suffered considerable losses throughout the battle and did not manage to succeed with their goal , to crush the Lewenhaupt ' s army . Neither did it seriously pursue the retreating Swedish army , instead they contented themselves with catching the stranglers and march in the opposite direction of Lewenhaupt to celebrate their victory . Tsar Peter arranged for the news of the victory to be spread as much as possibly through official declarations and leaflets . At first the Russian version of events claimed they had completely destroyed a superior force , it soon became clear that this was not true so they subsequently modified it down to only equal odds . But the official declarations , leaflets etc , had already been dispatched and still influence the view of the battle today . The two sides were in fact not equal in numbers , they only appear so in many accounts because the numbers given usually only count the initial Russian forces under the Tsar without taking in account the irregular s that accompanied the force or the later arrival of Bauer ' s command . Sometimes the Swedish units are also assumed to have been at full strength at the battle . Also while the initial Russian forces were about the same strength as the whole Swedish army , they did not all participate in the fighting . The Russians , in fact enjoyed a considerable numerical advantage in all stages of the battle , yet they had not been able to defeat their enemy . Similarly the Swedes were greatly constrained during the battle by the need to protect the vital wagons and their supplies . Casualties . Swedish casualties numbered not much more than 1 , 000 dead and captured during the battle itself , along with some thousands of wounded , totalling fewer than 3 , 000 , according to Lewenhaupt . 1 , 000 Swedes were later killed or captured while making their way to the main army ; 3 , 000 went missing ( about 1 , 500 of whom found their way back to Courland ) . All of the supply wagons were abandoned and destroyed . According to official Russian estimates , the Swedes lost 8 , 000 killed in the battle and another 1 , 000 on the march , along with 876 captured , numbers which are questionable . Russian casualties amounted to about 1 , 111 dead and another 2 , 856 wounded in the battle , according to Russian official claims , figures which are disputed as " incomplete and contradictory " , according to Russian historian Pavel Konovaltjuk . The Swedish official reports claimed more than 20 , 000 Russians died in the battle , again a questionable number . Lewenhaupt initially estimated more than 6 , 000 dead and wounded Russians during the battle , but later — during captivity in Moscow — discovered that numbers of 9 , 000 dead and wounded Russians were reported by officers who took part in the battle .