Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf |
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| Part of the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War) | |||||||
 Cossacks and Kalmuks attack Lehwaldt's army. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russia |
 Prussia |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin Pyotr A. Rumyantsev Vasily Lopukhin † |
Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 54,800 men | 24,700–27,700 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5,400 dead and wounded | 4,600 dead and wounded 28 cannons |
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The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf happened on August 30, 1757. It was a big win for the Russian army, led by Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin. They fought against a smaller Prussian army, commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt. This battle was part of the Seven Years' War. It was also the very first battle Russia took part in during that war.
Even though the Russians won, they had problems getting enough supplies. This made it hard to move further into East Prussia. Apraksin decided not to attack Königsberg and pulled his army back soon after the battle. Empress Elizabeth of Russia was unhappy with Apraksin's decision. She thought he might have been working with Chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who didn't want Russia in the war. So, she removed Apraksin from his command. She also had Bestuzhev-Ryumin investigated. Later, William Fermor became the new head of the Russian army. He led the army back into East Prussia the next year.
Contents
The Seven Years' War Explained
- Further information: Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a huge global conflict. In Europe, it was especially intense because of the recent War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). That war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. This treaty gave Frederick II of Prussia, also known as Frederick the Great, a rich area called Silesia.
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria signed the treaty to gain time. She wanted to rebuild her army and find new allies. She really wanted to regain power in the Holy Roman Empire. She also wanted Silesia back. In 1754, Britain and France started having more problems in North America. France saw this as a chance to challenge Britain's power in Atlantic trade.
Austria saw an opportunity to get back its lost lands. It also wanted to limit Prussia's growing strength. So, Austria put aside its old rivalry with France. They formed a new alliance. Because of this, Britain teamed up with the Kingdom of Prussia. This alliance included the British king's lands, like Hanover. It also included lands of his relatives, such as Brunswick-Lüneburg and Hesse-Kassel. These big political changes became known as the Diplomatic Revolution.
Prussia's Strong Army
At the start of the war, Frederick had one of Europe's best armies. His soldiers were very well-trained. They could fire their guns at least four times a minute. Some could even fire five times. By the end of 1757, the war was going well for Prussia. It was not going well for Austria.
Prussia won amazing victories at Rossbach and Leuthen. They took back parts of Silesia that Austria had recaptured. Then, the Prussians moved south into Austrian Moravia. In April 1758, Prussia and Britain made an agreement called the Anglo-Prussian Convention. Britain promised to pay Frederick a large sum of money each year. Britain also sent 7,000 to 9,000 soldiers. These troops helped Frederick's brother-in-law, the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
Ferdinand pushed the French out of Hanover and Westphalia. He also recaptured the port of Emden in March 1758. He crossed the Rhine River, which worried France a lot. Ferdinand won against the French at the Battle of Krefeld. He even briefly took Düsseldorf. But the larger French forces made him pull back across the Rhine.
Prussia's Challenges
While Ferdinand and the British allies fought the French, Prussia faced other enemies. These included Sweden, Russia, and Austria. There was a real chance Prussia could lose Silesia to Austria. It could lose Pomerania to Sweden, Magdeburg to Saxony, and East Prussia to Poland or Russia. This was a very scary thought for Frederick.
East Prussia was especially vulnerable. It was cut off from the rest of Prussia by about 500 kilometers of Polish land. It seemed like an easy target. However, some Russian officials, like Chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, didn't want Russia to join this war. They saw it as mostly a Western European problem. Bestuzhev-Ryumin didn't trust the Prussians. He also didn't like the French or the British much. In this conflict, it was hard to tell who was truly a friend or an enemy.
Armies Get Ready for Battle
The Russian Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin led an army of about 55,000 soldiers. They crossed the Niemen River. They captured Memel, which became their base for invading Prussia. But Apraksin was careful and didn't have much experience in war. Instead of marching to Wehlau, as expected, he moved his forces to cross the Pregel River safely. This was near the village of Gross-Jägersdorf.
The Russian army's position in East Prussia stretched their supply lines. This meant the troops had to search for their own food. This searching quickly turned into uncontrolled looting. It became a "scorched earth" policy, where everything was destroyed. Frederick thought the Russians were undisciplined because of this. He believed a well-trained army would easily defeat them. The Russians then moved towards Königsberg, hoping to capture the city.
Frederick sent his 70-year-old Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt. Lehwaldt was in charge of the forces in East Prussia. He had 28,000 men. Frederick also gave Lehwaldt permission to promote one hundred officers as he saw fit. He expected Lehwaldt to make the army stronger. Frederick gave Lehwaldt general orders to attack the Russians when he thought the time was right. He didn't give specific instructions.
The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf
The Russians started the day with a slow march. Their army was not very organized and hard to move in a planned way. Lehwaldt saw this as a chance to attack. The Prussians attacked the "unprepared crowd" of Russian soldiers. Lehwaldt's cavalry, which are soldiers on horseback, attacked the sides of the Russian army. They caused many losses right away. The Russians were completely surprised by an army half their size. They became even more confused.
Apraksin's commanders were not very experienced. They tried to get the infantry, or foot soldiers, organized. General Pyotr Rumyantsev, who later became one of Russia's best generals, managed to rally the Russians in the middle. They slowly recovered from the first attack. General Vasily Lopukhin was attacked with a bayonet by the Prussians. Some say he died in the arms of his friends. Others say he died a few days later.
At first, Lehwaldt's army had an advantage. The strong Prussian attack stopped the Russians from forming their usual square shapes. These squares were used to fight off cavalry. But the Russians did not break and run away. Also, people watching the battle said the main Prussian force fired many shots at the center. They did this with their usual deadly accuracy.
But the Russian army recovered from the first shock. They fought back. At first, the Prussians' attack had amazed them. But the Russians started shooting back. Their shots were not as accurate, but they were still effective. The Prussian line eventually fell apart under the Russian fire. Also, the Kalmyk cavalry and the Don Cossacks were on the Prussian left side. They pretended to retreat. This was a trick to trap the attacking Prussians under heavy artillery fire. Apraksin tried to surround the Prussians with his larger army. But Lehwaldt was able to avoid being trapped.
Lehwaldt's army then went back to their old camp and stayed there.
What Happened After the Battle
The Prussians made a surprise attack. They took several positions from a much larger force. They also caused about the same number of losses. Just like at another battle called Zorndorf, they showed they could fight well against stronger forces up close. On the other hand, a Saxon officer said the Russians "had neither time nor opportunity to form a square, and yet they did extremely well." This was true even though they were completely surprised. Lehwaldt lost between 4,600 and 5,000 soldiers. Apraksin lost about 5,400. Some reports say Russian losses were even higher, maybe around 7,000.
Even though Lehwaldt pulled his troops back from the battle, he later helped with the Blockade of Stralsund. The Russian victory at Gross-Jägersdorf also encouraged Sweden to join the fight against Prussia.
Why the Russian Army Pulled Back
After the battle, many in Russia expected Apraksin to chase the Prussians. They thought he would take over all of East Prussia. After all, he was only about 50 kilometers from Königsberg. But for some reason, the general stopped his advance. He pulled his army back into Russia. Historians have different ideas why:
- He might have heard a false report that Empress Elizabeth of Russia had died.
- He might have wanted to support Peter III as the next ruler.
- His troops didn't have enough supplies and many got sick or died.
- An epidemic of smallpox hit the Russian army, especially the Kalmyks. This caused 8.5 times more deaths than all the battles fought in 1757.
New studies suggest that the Russians were not ready for a war beyond their western border. They hadn't really thought about how hard it would be to get supplies in East Prussia. Apraksin was not a great commander. He thought there were enough supplies in the area. He hadn't set up Russian supply places in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was neutral. Instead, he planned to rely on local supplies.
In 1757, just feeding 92,000 horses needed more food than was available. This was true even in friendly areas like Livland, let alone unfriendly East Prussia. Also, the Russians hadn't tried to use the Baltic seaports to get supplies. This would have been the easiest way to feed so many troops so far from home. Finally, when the troops tried to take supplies, local farmers fought back. They burned their crops and destroyed their supplies rather than give them to the Russians. When the Russians reached Livland, people saw tired troops pulling carts. Their horses were dying by the hundreds every day from eating only oak leaves.
The Empress was very angry with Apraksin. She removed him from his command. She also started an investigation into what he did. She had Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, her chancellor and a friend of Apraksin, investigated. Bestuzhev-Ryumin was later sent away to his estates. Elizabeth chose William Fermor as the new Russian commander. The next year, the invasion started again. Fermor had a very different plan for supplying his troops. He set up many local supply depots and sources outside of Russia. Some of his political rivals in St. Petersburg said he was wasting money. But Fermor was much more successful in 1758 than Apraksin had been in 1757.
Images for kids
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Cossacks and Kalmuks attack Lehwaldt's army.
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Map of the battle
