Swedish navy in January of 1719

Swedish navy was of 24 ships-of-line, 20 frigates, 21 galleys, 18 brigantines & some other ships. Ships were divided into 3 departments/bases (see details below): Karlskrone (main base), Stockholm & Geteborg. Navy crew were about 13,600, incl. 10,300 of indelta, the rest were enlisted.

Siege of Kehl, 17-28 Oct 1733

Plan du Fort de Kell avec ses Environs
jusqu'à Strasbourg ou est marqué l'Attaque
de ce Fort par les François en 1733
(Bibliothèque nationale de France, link)

The first action of the War of Polish Succession in Germany was a siege & taking of Kehl by French troops under Marshal Berwick. Imperial garrison under general Phull composed of 1,200 Schwabian infantry & 250 Austrians. French army of Germany under Berwick was of 44 battalions & 71 squadrons.

On 12 October, French troops came to Rhine near Strassbourg. The same day they built a ship bridge near Auenheim in 2,5 km below Kehl. The crossing was completed on 14 October. General Phull, when the French began their movements, destroyed the bridge between Kehl and Strasbourg, and also destroyed those houses and other buildings outside the fortress that might provide the attacking French any sort of shelter.

French established a circumvallation line around Kehl:

Right flank (from Auenheim to Neumulh):

Infantry: Piémont, 3; Lyonnais, 2; Angoumois, 1; Luxembourg, 1; la Marine, 3; Rouergue, 1; Brie, 2; Bourbonnais, 2; Alsace, 2; Beauce, 1; Soissonnais, 1; Bavière, 1; Toulouse, 2; Tallard, 2 = 24 bataillons.

Cavalry was divided into two parts, one near Rhine (17 sqns) & the other at Neumuhl (13 sqns):

- Colonel-Général, 3; Turenne, 3; Lorraine, 3; Ruffec, 2; la Reine, 3; Saint-Simon, 3 = 17 escadrons.

- Conty, 3 ; Lenoncourt, 2 ; Gesvres, 3 ; Vaudrey, 2; Royal-Rousslllon, 3 = 13 escadrons.

Swedish naval squadron under Vice-Admiral De Prou at Narva, May 1704

In spring of 1704 Swedes decided to send a naval squadron to attack new Russian fortifications in the mouth of Neva (later S. Peterburg). It consisted of 6 ships-of-line (Westmanland, 62; Halland, 56; Wachtmeister, 40; Goteborg; Wrede; Norrkoping), 8 frigates (Reval, Stralsund, Falcon, Eleonora, Saurenfive, Dauphin, Postilion, Kischenfell), 2 brigantines (Goya, Castor), 2 mortar ships (Thunder, Vesuvius), one hospital ship, one ship with provision & an aviso - totaled 462 cannons & 2340 sailors excluding soldiers. The squadron was under command of Admiral Cornelius Anckarstjerna, Vice-Admiral Jakob de Prou & Schoutbynacht Claes Sparre von Sövdeborg. By the end of April of 1704 all ships except Anckarstjerna’s Westmanland arrived in Reval. Swedish captive captain Georg Stael von Holstein told that de Prou’s ship was of 58 cannons, other ships-of-line were of 40, 30 & 28 cannons. Brigantines were of 12 cannons. Landing party was about 2,000 men: infantry regiments Otto Rehbinder (about 600 men in 8 coys, incl. one of dragoons) & Boguslaw von der Pahlen (1,200 in 8 coys) & a battalion under Bruhn (no any info).

First Swedes sent a convoy of 9 armed ships (frigates & brigantines?) & 8 transports to supply a garrison of Narva which has a shortage of provision. They arrived to the mouth of Narova river on 7 of May, but couldn’t enter the river because of wrong wind. Next day Russian Corps under Petr Apraxin came to the Narova. It consisted of 3 weak infantry regiments (Shakhowski, Titov & Bilits) & Suwas Dragoons – totaled 2,456 men with 3 6-pdr & 6 3-pdr cannons. The same day Russians built a battery at the river’s mouth. On 9 of May the weather improved & two Swedish ships sailed into the river. They were met by Russian battery & had to retreat.

On 21 of May De Prou arrived with the rest of squadron. Now he had 35 ships: 17 armed & 18 transports. The same night Swedes disembarked Rehbinder regiment on the left bank of Narova. On 22 of May it marched to Narva & joined the garrison. Horn sent 300 foot & 200 of cavalry to meet it, but Russians were too weak to attack.

On 24 of May several Swedish ships, incl. both mortar ships, attacked the Russian battery, but without success. The next day De Prou returned to Reval, where he met with Anckarstjerna with Westmanland. Soon the Swedish squadron sailed to Retusaari, but it’s an other story.

Эскадра де Пру у Нарвы, май 1704.

Строительство новой крепости и базы в устье Невы серьезно беспокоило шведское командование, и весной 1704 из Карлскроны в Финский залив был снаряжена эскадра под командованием адмирала Корнелиуса Анкерштерны (Cornelius Anckarstjerna). В ее состав вошли 6 линкоров (Westmanland, 62; Halland, 56; Wachtmeister, 40; Goteborg; Wrede; Norrkoping), 8 фрегатов (Reval, Stralsund, Falcon, Eleonora, Saurenfive, Dauphin, Postilion, Kischenfell), 2 бригантины (Goya, Castor), 2 бомбардирских судна (Thunder, Vesuvius), по одному госпитальному и транспортному судну и авизо - всего 462 орудия и 2340 моряков без учета солдат. Вместе с Анкерштерном эскадрой командовали вице-адмирал Якоб Де Пру (Jakob de Prou) и контр-адмирал (Schoutbynacht, шутбинахт) Клаус Спарре (Claes Sparre von Sövdeborg). К концу апреля все суда эскадры, кроме флагманского Westmanland прибыли в Ревель.

Reich army in Upper Rhine in 1690 by G. Tessin

Reich army in Upper Rhine in campaign of 1690 was under command of Kurfurst Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria. It consisted of 46 battalions & 105 squadrons.

French & Reich armies on the Rhine in the campaign of 1693.

Reich states raised an army of 24 battalions & 67 squadrons to protect Germany from a French invasion in 1693. It was under command of General-Lieutenant Markgraf Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden. By the mid of May Kreis troops gathered in a camp near Heilbronn.

Ordre de bataille der deutchen Armee, 22 Mai 1693
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

It was opposed by a French army under Marshal Guy Aldonce de Durfort, duc de Lorges of 43 battalions & 160 squadrons which were assembled near Neustadt. French opened the campaign by crossing of the Rhine on 16-17 May. Then the main part under Lorge marched to Heilbronn to observe Baden’s troops, while a smaller part under Marshal Choiseul besieged Heildelberg on 21 May. Next day a small imperial garrison capitulated. 

Немного о стрельцах в начале Великой Северной войны.

Что мы знаем о стрельцах в годы ВСВ, кроме того, что «они были»? Фактически единственным источником по этому вопросу является статья М.Д. Рабиновича, которая довольно подробно описывает участие стрелецких частей в войне, но ничего не говорит об их структуре и организации. Архив Стрелецкого (Земского) приказа, к сожалению, погиб, но по различным фондам РГАДА то и дело попадаются различные документы, касающиеся стрелецких частей. Со временем, вероятно, собранных материалов наберется на статью, а пока несколько заметок.

Russian artillery in Narva campaign of 1700

- 45-pdr Dutch-made siege cannon casted in 1634 by E.Wageward

- 3-pdr regimental cannon of 1699 pattern

(Cannons looks of the similar size, but in a reality the top cannon

 was 4-5 times longer)

- 45-фунтовая пищаль «40-фунтовая картауна», 

изготовленная в 1634 г. голландским мастером Эвергардом

Вегевардом по заказу российского правительства;

- 3-фунтовая полковая пушка,изготовленная в 1699–1700 

(7207) г. Л. Жихаревым на Московском пушечном дворе

Пушки выглядят одинаково, но на самом деле верхняя 

была в 4-5 раз больше

Drawing by J. Thelott (Armemuseum, Stockholm)

A couple of years ago Alexey Lobin & me published a material about Russian artillery at Narva: Великанов В.С. Лобин А.Н. Русская артиллерия в Нарвском походе 1700 г. // Военно-исторический журнал "Старый Цейхгауз", № 48 (4/2012). М. 2012. СС. 3-10 (see the full Russia text here, link). There were 195 Russian cannons in that campaign: 64 siege cannons, 79 regimental cannons, 4 howitzers & 48 mortars (incl. 22 captured in a train at Yam soon after the battle). 16 of the siege cannons were casted in Holland in 1634-36 for Russian government (see details here, link). Their calibers were 45-58 pounds. 9 siege cannons were casted in Russia in 1590-1634. They had individual names & were rich-decorated, their calibers were 15-40 pounds. Other siege cannons didn’t have individual decorations to attribute them. Out of 79 regimental cannons 64 were 3-pdr cannons of 1699 pattern (see details here, link). Below is a table with details of 173 Russian cannons participated in the siege of Narva in 1700 (22 mortars didn’t have time to arrive):

Cannon	Number	Calibre (pdr)	Year of cast
Dutch-made	1	45	1634
Dutch-made	3	47	1634-1636
Dutch-made	7	50	1634-1636
Dutch-made	3	55	1634-1636
Dutch-made	2	58	1634-1636
“Lev” (Lion)	1	40	1590
“Medved” (Bear)	1	40	1590
“Solovey” (Nightingale)	1	25	1590

Великанов В.С. Лобин А.Н. Русская артиллерия в Нарвском походе 1700 г.

Пару лет назад Алексей Лобин и я опубликовали статью о составе и численности русской артиллерии под Нарвой в 1700 г.: Великанов В.С. Лобин А.Н. Русская артиллерия в Нарвском походе 1700 г. // Военно-исторический журнал "Старый Цейхгауз", № 48 (4/2012). М. 2012. СС. 3-10. «Срок давности» с тех пор уже вышел, и ниже приведен полный текст нашего материала.

- 18-фунтовая пищаль «Грановитая», отлитая в 1634 г. 

Д. Кондратьевым;

- 15-фунтовая пищаль «Соловей», отлитая 

М. Ивановым в 1634 г.

- 18-pdr cannon, casted in 1634 by D. Kondratiev

- 15-pdr cannon "Solovey", casted in 1634 by M. Ivanov

Drawing by J. Thelott (Armemuseum, Stockholm)

В отечественной историографии до настоящего момента отсутствует единая позиция о количестве и типах орудий, бывших осенью 1700 года под Нарвой. Анализ и сопоставление русских и шведских архивных источников, а также впервые вводимые в научный оборот рисунки трофейных русских пушек Я.Ф. Фелотта, позволяют прояснить и уточнить данный вопрос. 

Причина расхождений сведений об артиллерии заключается в том, что отечественные и иностранные источники по-разному оценивают численность и состав русской артиллерии под Нарвой в 1700 г. В работе Н.Г.Устрялова была опубликована ведомость, подготовленная в 1723 г. кабинет-секретарем А.В.Макаровым, согласно которой под Нарву было отправлено 110 орудий (в т.ч. 50 3-фунтовых полковых), 64 мортиры и 7 гаубиц, всего 181¹. В «Журнале Петра Великого» обозначены 145 орудий: 63 осадные пушки, 50 3-фунтовых полковых, 25 мортир и 7 гаубиц². Эти же данные с указанием собственных имен осадных пищалей приведены в статье В.Ратча³. В «Записке о порядке прибытия под Нарву русских войск и артиллерии» перечислены 95 орудий (в т.ч. «медных полковых пушек 32») и 3 мортиры, всего 98⁴, но данные этого документа явно не полные. Следует также упомянуть данные Л.Алларта о 229 орудиях: 64 осадных, 70 полковых пушек и 95 мортир⁵. Таким образом, отечественные источники не позволяют достоверно определить состав и количество русской артиллерии. Возможно, причина расхождения в количестве стволов кроется в том, что «ведомости» и «записки» составлялись в 1720-е гг. на основе старых черновых проектных записей, не отражавших реальное число отправленных в поход орудий.

Siege of Ghent, 11-15 July 1745

Ghent was the main Austrian base & magazine in Flandres. In July of 1745 it was held by two British battalions from 1st & 23rd regiments under command of Austrian gouvernor GFWM Baron Kieseghem. Soon after the battle of Fontenoy, French sent a Corps under General-Lieutenant Lowendahl to investigate the city. Allies immediately sent reinforcements to Ghent, but they were repulsed at Melle on 10 July of 1745 by French under General-Lieutenant Chayla (8 battalions & 24 squadrons).  Next day Lowendahl with 4 regiments of Dragoons & 4 of Grenadiers Royaux (total about 5,000) surprised the garrison & took the city without any serious resistance. The weak garrison closed at Ghent citadel. Then Lowendahl was reinforced by Chayla, combined French forces reached 15,000. French siege artillery arrived on 13 of July & the first battery of six cannons was ready on the next day. British soldiers decided not to wait a bombardment & agreed to capitulate the next day.  

"Relation exacte de la prise de Gand Le 11 juillet 1745" is available on-line here (link)

Siege of Nieuport, 28 Aug- 5 Sept 1745

After taking of Oudenarde (link) French troops under General-Lieutenant Ulrich Frederic Woldemar, Comte de Lowendal marched to Nieuport. It was defended by Austrian garrison under Generalfeldwachtmeister Jakob Gibson of 2 Bataillons of Priez Wall & one of Gaysrug. French avant-guard approached Nieuport on 28 of August. On the 30^th French opened siege works. The batteries were ready on 2 of September & the same night French started the bombardment. The garrison agreed to capitulate on 5 of September.

I found two siege journals from French side. They differed slightly in details & dates. One is available here (link). The other is from “Plans und Jornals von denen Belagerungen 1740-48”: