Battle of Gemauerthof

The Battle of Gemauerthof was a battle in the Great Northern War, fought south of Riga near Jelgava, in present-day Latvia in July 1705. The Swedish forces under Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt fought a Russian army under Boris Sheremetyev. The Swedes, exhausted after forced marching, went to camp and were cooking supper when the news came of a large Russian army[4] with 16 artillery pieces nearby. The Swedes, who themselves had 17 artillery pieces[2] quickly deployed into battle formation and, encouraged by General Lewenhaupt, attacked the Russians. Although suffering severe setbacks on their right flank, the assault continued. On the left, the Swedish cavalry charged and broke the Russians. The infantry in the centre fired carefully at point-blank range and then charged, pushing their foes back in disorder. The battle ended in a confused melee, which was eventually won by the Swedes. The Russian cavalry withdrew while the infantry was destroyed by a combined-arms assault leaving 5,000 men dead, wounded or captured. The Swedes were victorious, but the victory was only symbolic. In August, the Russians conquered Courland.[4]

Battle of Gemauerthof
Part of the Great Northern War
The Battle of Gemauerthof (engraving from the Johann Christoph Brotze's collection)
Date July 15, 1705 (O.S.) July 16, 1705 (Swedish calendar) July 26, 1705 (N.S.)[1] Location Gemauerthof, Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, (now Mūrmuiža, Vilce Parish, Jelgava Municipality, Latvia) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt	Boris Sheremetyev
Strength
7,000:[2] 4,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 17 regimental guns	13,000[2] or 20,000:[3] 3,600 infantry, 8,000–14,000 dragoon, 2,000 irregular, 16 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
1,900:[2] 900 killed, 1,000 wounded	5,000:[2][3] 2,000 killed, 2,000–3,000 wounded, 400 captured

See also

• Campaign of Grodno

References

Alf Åberg & Göte Göransson "Karoliner" p. 114 - 115

1. Peter Ullgren, Det stora nordiska kriget 1700-1721 (2008) Stockholm, Prisma. p. 128. ISBN 978-91-518-5107-5
2. The Battle of Gemäuerthof, 16 July 1705, H.E. Uddgren. "Karolinska Förbundets Årsbok 1913" (Translated by Dan Schorr)
3. Gordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. pp. 197–202
4. Liljegren, B., 2000. Karl XII: En Biografi. p 395.