BATTLE // April 27, 1808

Battle of Revolax

Name: Battle of Revolax
Start: 1808-04-27
End: 1808-04-27
Location: Battle of Revolax

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Overview

The Battle of Revolax took place on 27 April 1808 at Revonlahti, now part of Siikajoki, Finland, when the Swedish supreme commander Wilhelm Mauritz Klingspor and the Savolax brigade under Colonel Johan Adam Cronstedt, a total of about 2,250 Swedes surprised an isolated Russian column of about 1,700 men under Major General Michail Leontievich Bulatov. The Russians were surrounded and tried to cut their way through but failed and the Russian general Bulatov was taken prisoner by the Swedes.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Revolax on 27 April 1808 produced one of the sharper Swedish tactical successes of the opening phase of the Finnish War. A combined Swedish force under Klingspor and Cronstedt, numbering around 2,250 men, caught an isolated Russian column of approximately 1,700 under Major General Bulatov in a surrounded position, inflicting nearly 500 casualties and taking Bulatov himself prisoner. The action demonstrated that Russian forces operating in the Finnish theater were vulnerable when their columns became separated from mutual support. The capture of a Russian general officer was a significant symbolic and operational result for the Swedish side at a moment when the broader campaign was already trending against Swedish control of Finland.

Tactics

The Swedish force achieved surprise against an isolated Russian column, surrounding it before the Russians could consolidate or withdraw. Bulatov's troops attempted to break out through the encirclement but were unable to cut their way through the Swedish lines. The engagement ended with the Russian column's failure to escape and the capture of its commander.