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Thesiege of Riga by the Russian army under TsarAlexei Mikhailovich was the main event of theRusso-Swedish War. The fortifications ofRiga consisted of a wall with ditch and 5 bastions around the old town. In 1652 Swedes had started construction of a new wall with 12 bastions around suburbs, but by 1656 the work had not been completed. The Russian vanguard consisting of the Vladimir v. Vizin reiters, Daniel Krafert infantry and Iunkmann dragoons approached Riga on August 20 and threw back the Swedes under count ofPärnu,Heinrich von Thurn into the city. Von Thurn was either killed, or captured in the action. The Swedes evacuated the suburbs and withdrew to the old town. A few days later, the main army under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich arrived on the ships on the Duna River, and laid siege to Riga. The Russian army occupied three camps, two on the east bank of the Duna in Riga's suburbs, and a Corps under Ordyn-Nashokin on the west bank of the Duna, opposite the Kobrun entrenchment.
| Siege of Riga (1656) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theRusso-Swedish War (1656–1658) | |||||||||
 Siege of Riga, engraving byAdam Perelle (c. 1697) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |  Tsardom of Russia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Simon Grundel-Helmfelt Heinrich von Thurn (POW) or † | Aleksey Mikhailovich Vladimir v. Vizin Ordyn-Nashokin | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Riga garrison | Daniel Krafert's infantry Lunkmann's dragoons | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 7,389 | 35,000[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Minimal | 8,000[2]–14,000 dead[3] (Swedish claims) | ||||||||
As Russia had no full-fledgednavy to intercept reinforcements coming to the Swedish garrison across theBaltic, Riga managed to hold out until October, when foreign officers commanding a small Russian flotilla defected to the other side and the Russians had to lift the siege. In the aftermath of this reverse, the Swedes recaptured much of Ingria and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Russian generalMatvey Sheremetev inbattle of Walk in 1657.
The events of the siege were recorded in an engraving by Adam Perelli that was first published in 1697 in Samuel Puffendorf's work,Konung Carl X Gustafs Bragder.
References
edit- ^Claes-Göran Isacson, Karl X Gustavs Krig (2002) Lund, Historiska Media. Page 79.ISBN 91-89442-57-1
- ^Shkvarov, Alexei (2012).Россия и Швеция. История военных конфликтов 1142-1809 [Russia and Sweden. The history of military conflicts 1142-1809] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: RME Group Oy:Алетейя. p. 140.ISBN 978-5-91419-754-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^Claes-Göran Isacson, Karl X Gustavs Krig (2002) Lund, Historiska Media. Page 81.ISBN 91-89442-57-1
56°56′56″N24°06′23″E / 56.9489°N 24.1064°E /56.9489; 24.1064
