Battle of Grodno (1706)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Grodno


caption=
partof=Great Northern War
date=January 15, 1706
place=Hrodna, present-day Belarus
result=Swedish tactical victory
combatant1=
combatant2=flag|Russia
commander1=Charles XII
commander2=Georg Benedict Ogilvy
strength1=20,000 men
strength2=23,000 men
casualties1=unknown
casualties2=8,000The blockade of Grodno by the 20,000 men strong Swedish army took place between January and March 1706. In the city there were about 23,000 Russian troops under the command of general-fieldmarshall Ogilvy as well of general Repnin. On January 13, 1706 the Swedish army coming from Poland crossed the Neman and squeezed out the Russian cavalry units of Menshikov towards Minsk, cutting of all connections to Russia for the Grodno garrison. The situation of the Russian troops was made even more difficult after the allied Polish-Lithuanian king Augustus II quickly left Grodno in Polish direction, taking four Russian dragoon regiments with him. As a result, the Grodno garrison was left without cavalry which was necessary for reconnaissance and food supplies.

After putting Grodno under siege, the Swedes occupied Nesvizh and besieged Lyakhovichi. Meanwhile, the Russian garrison of Grodno suffered big trouble from the lack of food as well as from diseases. This took the lives of about 8,000 soldiers. After the blockade of his main troops in Grodno Peter the Great had only 12,000 men in Belarus. Being in Minsk with this army he communicated with the besieged garrison via a poruchik named Yakovlev who made his way to Grodno dressed as a Polish peasant. Besides that 14,000 Ukrainian cossacks of Mazepa were ordered to constantly engage the enemy. Peter I didn't want to have a open battle with Charles XII so far from Russia. Because of that he ordered the Grodno garrison to hold out until spring when the rivers get free of ice. Then they had to retreat behind the Neman towards Brest and further to the Dnieper what they successfully did until May 1706.

Charles estimated the direction of the Russian retreat wrongly, expecting them to retreat eastwards where he placed his main forces. Having discovered the surprisingly rapid Russian retreat towards south-west too late, he started the pursuit, hoping to catch up the Russians via the Polesye swamps shortcut. However, they proved to be impassable and Charles had to give up the pursuit of the Russians and to seek a battle with the Saxons first.

ources

* Николай Шефов. Битвы России. Военно-историческая библиотека. М., 2002.