Battle Of Fraustadt - Swedish superiority

[Zhyper]

This is how Sweden fought the Battle Of Fraustadt,
Swedish soldiers 3 700 infantry 5 700 cavalry
Saxony-Russian soldiers: 16 000 infantry and 2 000 cavalry and 32 canons.

Swedish losses: 367 men.
Poland-Russian losses: 8 000+ and about 7 600 captured.

Still it was Sweden that attacked, with no support of canons, no weather support and etc.

War Background:

Year 1700 Sweden was invaded by Denmark, Poland-Saxony and Russia that was in an alliance with eachother to take over Swedish land. They thought the 17-year old Swedish king Karl XII (Charles XII, Carlous XII, Carolus Rex) would be defeated easily, but they were later on suprised. Sweden first fought the Danes and won but the English and Dutch threatend Karl XII not to take over Copenhagen (Denmarks Capital), So after that Karl gatherd an army and went to Narva in todays Estonia. (Sweden held Estonia, Finland, and some northern parts of Germany.) But this WAS Sweden back then and not occupied land. Well Karl came to the city of Narva with 8,000 tired and hungry men and attacked Peters I of Russia army of 37,000 men. The victory was great about 600 Swedes fell and 18,000 Russian fell. Now when Russias army was crushed Karl could have marched for Moscow and destroyed Peter oncen for all, because Peter didnt have any big army left. But Karls generals insisted that they got rid of the Saxon-Polish king August first so that their back was secured when marching for Moscow. And this war is called "The great northern war".

Battle background:

Karl XII is with an army of 20,000 men in Poland to get August I dethroned as Polish king. Longer at west his best general, general Carl Gustav Rhenskiöld are guarding a Saxon-Russian army of 20,000 soldiers with his 10,000. Peter and August have comed up with a plan and that is to trick Karl XII to the city of Grodno where there is 27,000 Saxon and Russian soldiers. And then the 20,000 soldiers at the west are supposed to defeat Rhenskiölds soldiers to then attack Karl XII from the back and trap him in. The trap works but Karl XII makes a quick march to Grodno and siege it, now the Saxon-Russian Grodno army cant send reinforcement to the western army. But when the western armys general Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg get the information that his army is twice times bigger then Rhenskiölds army he decide to go to attack. Rhenskiöld that have a great experince in war and know the Carolean warfare tactics(come to that soon) know that he have to trick Schulenburg out to a plain site, and this works. Before Schulenburg is going to attack the Swedes now "fleeing" (thats what Schulenburg thinks), Schulenburg decide to chase the Swedes, but when Rhenskiöld now have gotten Schulenburgs army out on a good site they turn around. When Schulenburg get this information he deploy his soldiers. He orders the Russians to put their coats outside-in to look more like Saxon soldiers, because his afraid Rehnskiöld perhaps will put the main attack right there if he sees there are Russians there. But the attack dont come but the Saxons and the Russians stands in battle formation for hours and keep them self warm with rifle exercies. At ten a clock on morning of February 3th 1706 Rhenskiöld attacks and the battle of Fraustadt has now begun...

The Battle:

Swedish soldiers 3 700 infantry 5 700 cavalry
Saxon-Russian soldiers: 16 000 infantry and 2 000 cavallary and 32 canons.

The Swedish warfare tactics was: To march towards the enemy without firing back. It requiers much courage and exreme discipline. But when the the officers sees the white in the enemies eyes they scream "Ge Fyr!" (Fire!), the distance isnt more than 30 meters the devestation is total. By the cover of the powder-smoke the Swedish infantry of 3 600 men goes loose on the enemies 16 000 infantry. The Saxon-Russian flanks are suddenly attacked by the Swedish cavalry. The cavalry tactics are to ride closely knee-to-knee, and ride right in the enemy lines which plow away the enemy. The Saxon-Russians left flank that consist only of Russians are quickly beaten. Now the cavalry rides along the flank towards the middle where the Swedish infantary is. The Swedish left flank that consist of cavalry are chasing away the Saxon cavalry after a quick fight. The Saxon infantary flees the Swedish infantry takes over the Saxons canons and shoot at the fleeing. Later on, the cavalry catches the fleeing infantary of Russians and Poles.

Reult as I said:
Swedish losses: 367 men.
Saxon-Russian losses: 8 000+ and about 7 600 captured.

The Russian prisoners were though killed, this was a revenge.
The Polish king August the great was dethrone, and replaced to a Swedish friendly king. Now Sweden could begin their invasion of Russia...

"The Swedes are well built, powerful, supple, capable of enduring the hardest work, starvation and trouble. They are born warriors, full of pride..."
- Francois Voltaire, 1731

That quote should have been in Empire: Total War.

Well I hope this helped your knowledge about Swedish Warfare. If there is anything you want to ask me about Swedish history youre all welcome I know alot about Swedish history.
PS: I know I don't speak very well English, so excuse me for misspelling.

Here is a documentary about the battle NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Part 1:


Part 2:

[Radosław Sikora]

This is how Sweden fought the Battle Of Fraustadt,
Swedish soldiers 3 700 infantery 5 700 cavallary
Poland-Russian soldiers: 16 000 infantery and 2 000 cavallary and 32 canons.

Zhyper, Polish army didn't fight in this battle. There was Saxon, not Polish army.

Year 1700 Sweden was invaded by Denmark, Poland and Russia that was in an alliance with eachother to take over Swedish land.

Once again. Poland was not a member of this anty-Swedish coalition. It was Saxony, not Poland. Poland was in personal union with Saxony. It means that we had one ruler, but states were independent on each other. Saxon army wasn't Polish one. Saxon alliances were not Polish ones.
Poland was involved in GNW only since 1702, when Swedish army invaded Poland. Formal war vs Sweden was declared by Poland only in 1704.

[Zhyper]

Yeah, but it was almost as the Polish army because it was under command of August II that was Polish king. But youre right it was Saxons that fought this battle. But I edit my first post now so it says Saxony and not Poland.

[Radosław Sikora]

Yeah, but it was almost as the Polish army because it was under command of August II that was Polish king.

Do you mean the battle of Fraustadt or the year 1700? If you mean the battle of Fraustadt, the commander-in-chief was Saxon gen. M. Schulenburg. There wasn't August II at all.
If you mean 1700 campaign, there was indeed August II. But I can't agree with you that Saxon army was almost Polish one. It wasn't. The best proof you have in years 1715-1716 (still during GNW; still both countries had 1 ruler - August II the Strong), when Polish army waged regular war vs Saxon one.
Polish army (Poland) and Saxon army (Saxony) were really separate things - independent on each other. August the Strong only happened to be the ruler of both countries. That's all.

[Zhyper]

Yeah, but as both of us said, August was ruler of both nations. That made it almost as Sweden and Holstein-Gottorp. But I dont know Polish or Saxon history as well as I do Swedish history. But August controlled both the Polish and the Saxon army. Schulenburg was field marshal commanded by August.

[Radosław Sikora]

Yeah, but as both of us said, August was ruler of both nations.

But it doesn't change the fact that it wasn't Poland, which attacked Sweden in 1700. And it wasn't Polish army at Fraustadt.

That made it almost as Sweden and Holstein-Gottorp.

In what sense?

But August controlled both the Polish and the Saxon army.

August, as a king of Poland, was the highest commander of the Polish army. It is true. Polish kings had this right. But August, being a king of Poland, was also limited by Polish law. This law said that Polish king couldn't begin any war without permission of Polish Parliament. August didn't have any permission of Polish Parliament to begin the war vs Sweden. Therefore Polish army didn't join to Saxon one, when August with his Saxon army marched to Livonia to begin the war. Polish army stayed in Poland.
BTW, Poland in 1699 finished the war vs Ottoman Empire. After the war Poland reduced the army to peacefull number. Who reduces an army if he wants to begin a new war?

Schulenburg was field marshal commanded by August.

August, as a ruler of Saxony, had a right to command Schulenburg. But August wasn't present in the battle of Fraustadt. In that time he was far away from this place, because he was in Piotrków. So either in theory or in practice, Saxon gen. M. Schulenburg was commander-in-chief of Saxon-Russian army in the battle of Fraustadt.

[Zhyper]

As I said, the Saxony army was under command by August not in the battle of Fraustadt I have never said that, the commander was Schulenburg but he was commandend by August. And August had orderd to attack the Swedish western army that guarded the Saxon army. August ruled over the Saxon-army and attacked Sweden from Polish territory. That is why Sweden went into Poland to dethrone August as Polish king. And thats also why Rehnskiöld was in the west to secure that no help could arrive from Saxony.
But I have now changed that it stands Saxony instead of Poland

[Sfwartir]

Ah yes, Fraustadt. The battle of Fraustadt was Rehnskiöld's finest hour in my opinion. Excellent use of the double envelopment tactic also used by Hannibal in the battle of Cannae, resulting in a convincing victory.

Now, Rehnskiöld was a well educated nobleman, so I'm pretty sure he had read up on the classics. I have often wondered if he had Cannae in mind when planning his deployments... Who knows? An entertaining thought anyway

The last time I was registered on a Total War forum (this was in the olden days when RTW was the latest thing), I chose the online name Rehnskiöld in honour of..well Rehnskiöld.

[wojsport]

Yes, the battle of Fraudstadt was a great victory of Swedish but there weren't polish units at all in this battle

[Sithenidon]

Sfwartir: In fact, the concensus among historians is that Rhenskiöld really did model his tactics after the battle of Cannae. I'm currently studying Carolean Warfare as part of a summer course, and according to Gunnar Artéus, an authority on Swedish military history, Cannae was indeed Rhenskiöld's inspiration.
The casualty rating in this battle is just staggering. For each dead Swede, more than 15 Saxons and Russians died.

[Toxic]

One slight error you have made is that you add the Swedish dragoons (infantry on horses) to the cavalry, but for Saxony's you add the dragoons (infantry on horses) to their infantry. Making it looks like Sweden had much more cavalry then the enemy.
It is a common mistake for this battle.

Sweden had
~1800 cavalry.
~3900 Dragoons
~3700 Infantry.

Saxony had:
~2000 Cavalry.
+4000 Dragoons.
~12000 Infantry.
+ artillery.

General Schulenburg "mistake" was that he used his dragoons as they where intended to be used,a highly mobile infantry.
Rehnskiöld "misused" the dragoons as cavalry, they had the same weapons as the cavalry (+ a musket with bayonet), but they where not trained as hard as the real cavalry.
Never the less, that tactic won the battle for Rehnskiöld.

As we can see from the battle you could add the dragoons as you did, and like other people usually do. But when you do that, you make the battle order too simple and doesn't show the real difference in the tactics from the two sides.
One commander that was following the rule book, and the other commander that ignored the rule book.

The battle of Fraustadt is one of the few battles where a smaller attacker has won the battle with a double envelopment.
What i know it has only been done at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC between the Greeks and Persian Empire).
Hannibal's famous battle of Cannae was a defense where the center pulled back and cavalry that pushed on the flanks, hence the Roman army was the attacker.

[Toxic]

Sorry, I forgot to comment this thing.

The Russian prisoners were though killed, this was a revenge.

Actually the 260 Russian(Moscoviter) prisoners where sent to Pommern.

A letter from Rehnskiöld to Karl the XII after the battle.
"...Medh fångarnas afsendandhe har jagh nu giördt begynnelse, till Elbingh ähro afskickadhe till 1500 mäst af alle Sachsiske Regementer, ock till Pommern dess lijkest 400 af konung Augustus gvarde ock 260 Moscoviter, ......"

A quick translation of the letter
"....Concerning the prisoners I have decided to; send the 1500 ordinary soldiers from Saxony to Elbingh, and too Pommern I will send the 400 men from Augustus's Guard regiment and the 260 Russian prisoners, ......"

The rest of the prisoners, the Germans(from other states then Saxony) and the French(prisoners from the French vs German war that where forced into service against Sweden) was drafted into the Swedish army.

But why did only 260 Russians survive the battle?
During beginning and middle of the battle the swedes refuse any discussions about partial surrendering.
If the enemy should surrender then their whole army had to surrender, because the swedes didn't had enough men to guard them, and if they where not guarded then the swedes would easily get an attack from the just surrendered enemies in their back.
The Russians where the first infantry to be engaged on the Swedish right flank and they broke formation quickly and where cut down by the cavalry and dragoons.

[Didz]

I watched the entire video without understanding a word that was being said, but nevertheless it was very interesting and what was happening was quite understandable from the diagramatic content. However, I do have three questions which I could not work out from the video content, and perhaps someone could enlighten me.

a) Near the beginning of the video some infantry are being shown turning their coats inside out. I assume they were Russian soldiers being told to turn their coats inside out to show their red lining, so that they match the Saxon uniforms, but that isn't clear.

b) During the attack on the Saxon right some Swedish cavalry are shown forced to dismount in order advance over a frozen lake, and the Saxon Infantry are laughing at them as the slide about on the ice. Can you provide any more detail on this incident and why nothing was done to stop them?

c) Who was the general on the horse supposed to be? I assumed throughout that he was the Swedish commander as he seemed quite pleased with how things were going right up to the point where he apparently got shot. At which point I wondered if he was supposed to be the Saxon General, as he was in a red coat.

Minor details, but they are nagging me.

[TitusMede]

A) Yes that is Russian infantry turning their coats inside out to look like Saxon's. Understandable since the Russian soldiers were much worse then the Saxon ones so The Saxon commander figured that if the Swedes knew where the Russian's where they would just attack that flank

B) Since the Saxon's were twice the size of the Swedish army they were over confident. The Swedish cavalry on the right flank had to dismount to move over the frozen lake, if the Saxon's would had been more, well i guess smart they would attack the swedish cavalry when it couldn't defend itself, but they instead stood on the side of the lake and laughed and mocked the swedes, a mistake they were to regret a couple of minutes later when the swedish cavalry slaughtered them.

C) It is the Saxon Commander, he was confident of victory during the entire battle and it wasn't until almost half the army was dead or retreated he realized that the battle could be lost. He was over confident, it costed him several thousand countrymen.

[poa]

in the 2nd movie, at 1.30, it says Schulenburg ordered his troops to fire when the swedes had advanced to 80 paces, (60 meters)
it then says Rehnskiöld lined up at 3000 paces, meaning that should be just out of reach of the german cannons.

The swedes fired their first salvo at 30 meter to good effect unlike the german salvo that was fired at too far range,
after which they charged.
it doesnt say here, but by 1706, the carolean tactic was for the first rank to fire their only salvo when they were already in bayonet range.

the hardest fight was on the german right flank where Schulenburg had his elite troops.

the principle of elite/honor troops on the right flank dates back to phalanx,
where the shield would actually protect the guy to the left rather then the carrier,
but that meant the furthest guy to the right didnt have any shield protection,
and so the most seasoned warriors was chosen for this position