Battle of Walk

The Battle of Walk on July 8, 1657 between forces of Sweden commanded by Friedrich von Löwen on one side, and Russian forces led by stolnik Matvey Sheremetyev, who for the first time in his career commanded an army by himself, on the other side.[2] The largest part of the Russian army disobeyed Sheremetyev and left the battle at the beginning, forcing him to rely on the 250 reiters of Colonel Denis Fonvizin, who played the key role in the breakthrough and allowed the rest of the army to escape.[3] The Swedish forces won the battle,[1] and according to their sources they defeated an army of 8,000 men, 32 standards, banners and other field declarations had been captured in the battle and 1,500 Russians were dead or wounded along with their commander Matvey Sheremetyev, who later died in captivity.[4] However, a recent analysis of Russian 17th-century archive documents related to the battle demonstrates that the entire Russian force, most of which escaped, consisted of only 2,193 men, 353 additional troops failed to arrive in time, and even Tsar Alexis I in his correspondence expected his army to be no larger than 3,000, while the casualties included 108 killed, 28 wounded, 5 captured. The Swedish declaration has been criticized by Oleg Kurbatov, an expert in the Russian military history of the 17th century, as often tendentious and inaccurate in its description of the Russian army and having inflated numbers.[2]

Battle of Walk
Part of Second Northern War
DateJuly 8, 1657
Location
Walk, Swedish Livonia
Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Friedrich von Löwen

Matvey Sheremetyev † Prince Timofey Scherbatov

Denis Fonvizin
Strength
3,300 men[1] 2,193 (Russian sources)[2]
8,000 (Swedish sources)[1]
Casualties and losses
light[1] 108 killed, 28 wounded, 5 captured (Russian sources)[2]
1,500 killed and wounded (Swedish sources)[1]

References
  1. Claes Göran Isacson, "Karl X Gustavs krig" (2002) Lund, Historiska media. pp. 84. ISBN 91-89442-57-1
  2. Курбатов О. А. Русско-шведская война 1656-58 гг.: проблемы критики военно-исторических источников // Россия и Швеция в средневековье и новое время: архивное и музейное наследие. М., 2002. С. 150-166
  3. Курбатов О. А. Морально-психологические аспекты тактики русской конницы в середине XVII века // Военно-историческая антропология: Ежегодник, 2003/2004: Новые научные направления. — М., 2005. — С. 201—202
  4. Finlands historia under Karl X Gustafs regering. Karl Emil Ferdinand Ignatius. Edlund, 1865. p. 103


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