Russian holidays - Russian Military Glory Day - victory at Cape Gangut (1714)

On August 9, Russia celebrates one of its great victories - the first ever winning battle of the naval fleet over the Swedes, near Cape Gangut in 1714 This event proved to the whole world that the Russian flotilla, despite its “young” age and inexperience, is a powerful enemy The holiday refers to the days of military glory, ie events that played a huge role in the history of our country Thus, the victory of the Russian Empire over Sweden, near Gangut, is celebrated annually on August 9 This battle was decisive during the Northern War and is considered the first victorious battle of the Russian naval fleet in history The holiday has been celebrated since 1995, in accordance with the law “on memorable dates and days of military glory” First of all, this event is celebrated by employees of the navy of our country On this day, festive fireworks are set off on ships and entertainment events are organized Every year, on August 9, according to tradition, they try to highlight particularly distinguished employees by awarding titles and medals Everywhere in temples and churches a memorial service is heard in memory of those killed in this battle Both senior management and ordinary citizens bring flowers and wreaths to monuments and memorials The Northern War between our country and the Kingdom of Sweden lasted 21 years, from 1700-1721 The main goal of the Russians was to return the territories that Sweden conquered in the 16-17th century and gain access to the Baltic Sea The Battle of Gangut, which took place on August 6-7, 1714, near the Gangut Peninsula in the Baltic Sea, is considered one of the turning points of this war At the beginning of 1714, Russia already occupied an advantageous position on the Baltic Sea, but the highest leadership was given a command to move the battle line to Swedish territory At the end of June, most of our fleet was located in the eastern territory of Gangut, with the goal of landing troops on the Abo-Aland archipelago to increase military power on land, while part of our garrison was already in the city of Abo But the problem of the Russian navy at that time was that, despite the number, they were all small ships (100 ordinary and small galleys) that could not compete in direct combat with Swedish linkers Our fleet was commanded by Admiral Apraskin Due to the difficult situation, he did not decide to take risks and reported the situation to Emperor Peter I To bypass the enemy, Peter the Great decided to split the fleet and strike from the rear To do this, a wooden flooring was built in the narrow part of the isthmus, through which part of the galleys could be thrown Having learned about this, the Swedish command, represented by General Vatrang, divided its army and sent part of the ships with General Erenshald to the main forces of the Russian fleet, and the other half to the isthmus I would like to note that on this day there was complete calm at sea, this greatly worsened the mobility of the Swedish linkers, but improved the position for the Russian galleys All this played into the hands of Peter I and our flotilla, thanks to maneuverability, the galleys overtook the Swedes and attacked Erenshald on August 7, 1714 Meanwhile, the remaining forces struck from the other flank After a long battle, 10 enemy ships were captured, and 361 people from Sweden were killed On August 8, the enemy fleet fled to the Åland Islands, and on August 9, mass celebrations took place in honor of the great victory The Battle of Gangut was of great importance during the Northern War; it is considered the first victory of the Russian fleet over enemy ships Peter I highly appreciated the tactics and heroism of our officers, because at that time the young and not yet so experienced Russian flotilla defeated the then invincible Sweden