Helsinki village landing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helsinki village landing
Part of the Finnish War
Inskeppningen efter striden vid Helsinge, by Jacob Hägg
Date 26–28 September 1808 Location Helsinki village (Taivassalo), Southwest Finland Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Gustaf Reinhold Boije Gustaf Olof Lagerbring	Pyotr Bagration Karl Gustav von Baggovut
Strength
3,500	4,500
Casualties and losses
60–110 killed 251 wounded 300–350 captured	120 killed 352 wounded 54 captured

The Helsinki village landing was an important battle during the Finnish War. This war was fought between Sweden and Russia in 1808. The landing happened near Helsinki village in Taivassalo, Finland. It was part of a bigger plan by Sweden's King Gustav IV Adolf. He wanted to land many soldiers, over 8,000 strong.

However, bad weather at sea stopped one group of Swedish soldiers. Their ships were damaged, and they had to go back to Sweden. Another group of 3,300 men, led by Lieutenant Colonel Gustav Olof Lagerbring, successfully landed at Helsinki village. These troops then moved further inland. King Gustav IV Adolf arrived later, on September 28, 1808, in his own yacht.

The Battle Unfolds

Monday, September 26

The Swedish landing started at 9:00 AM. Russian soldiers called Cossacks, who were patrolling the beach, were pushed back. The Swedish troops moved slowly forward. The Russians quickly responded. They sent three companies of soldiers and two cannons to stop the Swedes. However, an attack by the Swedish Kronoberg Regiment forced the Russians to retreat. On this first day, only four Swedish soldiers were wounded.

Tuesday, September 27

In the morning, the Swedes continued their advance. They moved towards the village of Viiainen. There, Russian Lieutenant General Karl Gustav von Baggovut had set up a defense line. His orders were to slow down the Swedish advance. But the Swedes managed to push the Russians back from their positions. Colonel Gustaf Reinhold Boije af Gennäs was put in charge of the Swedish forces. By the end of this day, 12 Swedes were killed, 71 were wounded, and 3 were missing.

Wednesday, September 28

During the night, Prince Pyotr Bagration brought many more Russian soldiers to help General Baggovut. Colonel Boije planned a two-part attack for the Swedes. One group would attack from the north of Viiainen. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Lagerbring's group would attack the side of the Russian forces.

However, because of the new Russian soldiers, General Baggovut decided to attack first. He strongly hit Boije's main line of soldiers. At the same time, he launched an attack on the side. Lagerbring's attack was stopped by the strong Russian forces, and he had to retreat. Boije saw that the situation was hopeless. He ordered a full retreat back to Helsinki village.

At the beach, everything was chaotic. The king had ordered all the gunboats away, leaving only defenseless troop ships. Loading the ships happened in a rush under Russian fire. This led to heavy losses for the Swedes. On this day, 45 Swedes were killed, 176 were wounded, and 346 were missing. More than 300 of the missing were captured by the Russians. Over the three days, the Russians had a total of 529 losses.