Forgotten feat of Russian soldiers - the Battle of Fraustadt
One of the little-known pages of Russian stories is one of the tragedies of the Northern War - the battle of Fraustadt. The Saxon-Russian army suffered a heavy defeat, and hundreds of Russian prisoners were simply killed by the Swedes.As noted in the previous article on the Northern War (Grodno maneuver of the Russian army), by the winter of 1704-1705, Carl divided the forces of Augustus: the Polish and Saxon cavalry remained in Krakow, and the Saxon infantry and the Russian auxiliary corps were rejected behind the Oder. With the start of the 1705 campaign of the year, Augustus retreated and united with the Russian army at Grodno.
The main Saxon army at that time was almost completely demoralized. Constant defeats, retreats, a long exhausting campaign, lack of salary, problems with food supply, led to mass desertion, apathy and unwillingness to fight. Even more difficult was the position of the Russian auxiliary corps, which was sent to support the Saxon army in 1704. The corps did not have a centralized supply of food, fodder, ammunition. The Saxon command was indifferent to the position of the Russian soldiers - the salary was not paid, the new uniforms were not given out (uniforms in two years turned into rags). The problem was with the command - the Livonian nobleman, adventurer, compiler of various projects Johann Reingold von Patkul, who managed to serve Sweden, then Augustus, and in 1702, he went to the service of Peter I, asked for command of the Russian corps in the Saxon army. He constantly complained about the Saxons, not just expressed his opinion about the inability of the King Augustus and his ministers. As a result, Peter ordered him to withdraw troops from Saxony to Russia via the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or to transfer them temporarily to the service of the Austrian emperor. Patkul chose the second option. In 1705, the Saxon Privy Council arrested him and demanded that the Russian troops remain in Saxony. The Russian corps was led by the Saxons.
Bits
Despite the difficult situation in the army, the Saxons at the beginning of 1706, decided to attack. 20 thousand army was assembled, and under the command of Field Marshal Johann Schulenburg, she set out in the middle of January. She was confronted by an auxiliary 9-10 thousand Swedish corps under the command of the closest military adviser to Karl XII, General Karl Gustav Renshild. He had the task of covering the main Swedish army, which was located in Poland, from the west.
Renschild lured the Saxon-Russian army to Fraustadt (Polish. Wschowa, a city in Poland) and took the fight. The battle took place on 2 (13) on February 1706 of the year. On the left flank of the Saxon army was a Russian auxiliary corps under the command of Colonel Baron Heinrich von der Goltz - 6,3 thousand infantry (10 battalions), 6 battalions stood in the first line and 4 in the second. In the center of the position were 19 battalions (Saxon, French and Swiss mercenaries), 12 battalions of the first line and 7 in the second. They were commanded by major generals von Drost and von Zeidler. The right flank was held by Saxon cavalry under the command of Lieutenant-General Pletz - 2 thousand people. The Saxon artillery battalion in the 300 man with the 32 guns was located along the front between the battalions.
Renshild had 9-10 thousand soldiers without artillery, and, according to some data, cavalry prevailed, according to others it was slightly less than the infantry. The Swedish commander acted according to the standard for the Swedish army scheme - the most powerful blow was delivered to the center of the Saxon army - she was attacked by Westmanland and Västerbottensky infantry regiments (4 battalion), at that time the Swedish cavalry came from the flank and struck from the rear. After 45 minutes, the Saxon center position was defeated: “professionals” - the Swiss and French mercenaries not only surrendered, but also went over to the Swedes, the guns were turned and attacked the second-line Saxons and the Russian left flank. Saxons rushed to run, pursued by the Swedish cavalry, surrendering in masses.
Only the Russian left flank retained combat capability. The Russian battalions were surrounded and fought for several hours, shot by artillery seized from the Saxons, restraining the attacks of the Swedes, going to counterattacks. Saxon commander G. Goltz fled and surrendered. But the Russians did not flinch, they were headed by Colonel Samuel de Renzel, he organized a defense. The first line almost all died in battle. By nightfall, Colonel Renzel was able to break through the Swedish ring with a bayonet attack and remove the remains of the corps from the environment - about 2 thousand exhausted soldiers, many were injured.
The Swedes in this battle lost about 500 killed and more than 1 thousand wounded, almost all the losses were in Russian positions. Virtually the entire Saxon army was captured or escaped - the fact that the Swedes seized 7, thousands of loaded rifles, their masters didn’t even fire once said about the cowardice of commanders and soldiers. According to Swedish data, the loss of the army of Schulenburg amounted to more than 7 thousand killed and 7,6 thousand surrendered.
It is necessary to note the treacherous role of the Saxon ruler Augustus. He, with 10-15 thousand Saxon corps (mainly cavalry), stood only 10-15 miles from the battle, but instead of supporting Schulenburg's army, Augustus fled to Krakow.
War crime In the Battle of Fraustadt, the attitude of the “enlightened Europeans” to the “Russian savages” clearly manifested itself. The army of Schulenburg was multinational: Saxons, Russians, Poles, French, Scottish and Swiss mercenaries. After the victory, the Swedish soldiers captured all but the Russians. In addition, personally by order of Renshild, contrary to the laws of war, about 500 Russian prisoners of war soldiers were shot and stabbed. There is evidence that 3-4 thousand Russians were killed in captivity, but, apparently, they are wrong, the rest of the Russian soldiers died in battle or were finished off wounded on the battlefield. The Swedes in this war were generally distinguished by brutal cruelty to the Russians, but this order was not given in the heat of passion. He was well thought out, rational - there was no need to contain Russians, because, unlike mercenaries, they could not be turned over, and the Swedes wanted to teach a cruel lesson to the “barbarians”.
Unfortunately, when, after the Battle of Poltava, Renshild was captured, inappropriate generosity was shown to him.
The fate of the remnants of the Russian corps
Of the surviving soldiers, a regiment of three-battalion composition was created. In August, 1706, the Saxon army, without resisting the Swedish invasion, left Saxony for Austria, where the troops were interned. Schulenburg invited the Russian officers to do the same. But the military council of the Russian regiment decided to refuse to go for it. Then the Saxons resigned from all responsibility for the Russian connection, while the Swedish king Karl XII demanded that Augustus and the Austrian emperor give him Russian soldiers.
Renzel decided to make his way to Russia. The Russian soldiers went through the Cesar and Brandenburg lands to Poland, in Lublin, where the Russian army was stationed. The hike lasted 16 months. 1300 man came out to her. For their valor, the Russian tsar produced Renzel in major generals, and from the above squad formed the Saxon regiment. Later Renzel also valiantly served Russia. Distinguished himself in the Battle of Poltava, Peter personally placed the signs of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called on Renzel and appointed the division commander.
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