Battle of Jakobstadt

Battle of Jakobstadt
Part of the Great Northern War
The Battle of Jakobstadt (engraving from the Johann Christoph Brotze's collection)
Date 25 July 1704 (O.S.) 26 July 1704 (Swedish calendar) 5 August 1704 (N.S.) Location Jakobstadt, Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, (present day Jēkabpils, Latvia) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt Krzysztof Zawisza	Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki Grzegorz Antoni Ogiński
Strength
5,000: 3,000 Swedish 2,000 Lithuanian	15,000: 10,000 Polish 5,000 Russian
Casualties and losses
420: 238 killed 181 wounded	3,000: 2,300 killed 517 captured

The Battle of Jakobstadt (Lithuanian: Jėkabpilio mūšis, Latvian: Kauja pie Jēkabpils, Swedish: Slaget vid Jakobstadt, Polish: Krzyżbork) was a battle fought in the Great Northern War. It took place on 25 July 1704 (O.S.) / 26 July 1704 (Swedish calendar) / 5 August 1704 (N.S.) between a Swedish army under Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt and a combined Lithuanian/Russian force under Great Hetman Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki at the town of Jēkabpils (German: Jakobstadt) in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The Swedes were victorious.

Background

Shortly after the enthronement of Stanislaus I with the support of Swedish-Polish forces, in opposition to August II of Poland, Charles XII of Sweden sent General Lewenhaupt to secure Stanislaus’ recognition. The Lithuanians were divided into two factions. One part now fought under the flag of Sweden and the other under the flag of Russia and Saxony.

In the spring of 1704 General Oginski returned with 6,000 Russians to Lithuania, supported by 10,000 Poles who wanted to expel the Swedes from Lithuania. The two commanders, however, avoided direct fighting with the Swedes and dodged every confrontation. The commander-in-chief of Russia demanded from the Poles an oath of allegiance to the Russian flag, so that they would not leave the battlefield again in the midst of panic. The Poles agreed and the allies advanced against the fortress of Selburg on the Düna. Count Lindstjöld defended it with about 300 soldiers. Lewenhaupt and Sapieha reacted quickly by making a distraction move on Birse, in order to trick the Russians into having more time to prepare the fortress defense.

The Poles were so frightened by the power of the Swedes, that they evacuated Birse at once, trying to move all the castles’ money and treasures to Wiśniowieck's headquarters. The convoy was attacked by Sapieha's men who seized 36 tons of gunpowder, 300 food carts and 24,000 thalers.

Near Jēkabpils the Swedes managed to contact the Russians and Poles. Lewenhaupt were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favor of the wings.

Battle

Lewenhaupt divided his troops into two divisions. The first formed by the Swedes and the second formed by the Poles commanded by General Sapieha. The commander-in-chief of the Swedes did not intend for the Poles to bear the brunt of the battle, only the Polish cavalry could pursue the Russo-Poles after a hypothetical easy Swedish victory.

After disposing the troops, the Swedes marched on a broad front over the Russian lines. In the center, some battalions advanced too far and were repulsed.

Encouraged by the initial successes of the Swedes, Sapieha's son advanced with his contingent on the Russians. This interference with the order of the battle meant that the Russians gained the upper hand in this part of the battle and the Poles already saw the battle as lost. They left the battlefield in a panic.

The Swedes retreated and reorganized, and launched a second attack in perfect battle order. This attack had the support of artillery, which quickly put the Poles to flight, leaving only the Russians on the battlefield. The sun was turning and it was facing the Russians, obstructing their sight of the enemy, and it was not possible for them to know where and with what force they were attacking the Swedes. Lewenhaupt managed with an iron fist to regain control of his troops and ordered a simultaneous salvo of all battalions on the Russian battle line. When the smoke of the powder cleared, the damage caused by the Swedish fire could be seen. The battlefield was covered by dead and wounded Russians. The remaining Russian troops retreated to their camp where they formed a circle with the food chariots, so that they could easily repel the cavalry attack and inflict considerable losses on the Polish horsemen.

Consequences

Due to the success of the Swedes and the retreat of the Russians, the fortress and castle of Birse remained almost unprotected. The garrison numbered only 800 men, all of them veterans.

Because the Swedes did not have enough artillery and mortars at their disposal, Lewenhaupt wanted to lead his troops into the winter quarters. Only the escape of a Swedish prisoner from Birse allowed the Swedish field marshal to know the actual size of the garrison. To prevent bloodshed Lewenhaupt allowed Sapieha to write a letter to the fortress commanders urging them to surrender.

The letter explained General Sapieha's benevolence towards his Polish compatriots, who would not suffer any punishment if they surrendered. The letter clarified that the garrison would not survive if an attack was launched. The commander sent a mediator with the prayer for the surrender and free withdrawal of troops guaranteed by Lewenhaupt. The besieged commander agreed and the Swedes occupied Birse without a fight.