The main shipping route between the ports of Stockholm in Sweden and Turku in Finland passes through the Åland Islands. It enters the Ledsund strait from south-west with Föglö on the south-east side and Lemland on the north-west. An anchorage of the shore of Flisö in Föglö is protected from the prevailing south-westerly winds by two small islands. This anchorage was previously called Granhamn, Swedish for 'Spruce harbor'. On modern maps it is marked as Rödskärs flädan after the larger of the two protecting islands. The smaller island is now called Granhamns holmen or Granhamn's island. It should not be confused with the island also named Granhamn in the Stockholm archipelago.
Name
The wordGrengam in the name of the battle is a romanization of Гренгам, which is the traditional Russian cyrillization of Gränhamn, an older spelling of Granhamn. The spelling Gränhamn was used on Hans Hansson's map of Åland from about 1650. In Sweden the battle is known as the Battle of Ledsund after the Ledsund strait. In Finland the name Battle of Flisö is used.
The battle
The Swedish and Russian accounts of the battle differ significantly. Both sides agree that on July 27, 1720, a group of Swedish ships under Vice AdmiralCarl Georg Siöblad attacked the Russian fleet and, in a pitched battle, had their four frigates captured by Russian sailors.
Swedish accounts
A small Swedish naval unit sailed right into the mighty Russian fleet anchored at Granhamn. A fierce battle took place, the Swedes lost their four frigates after they had run aground but the Russian losses became so heavy that the entire fleet quickly decided to withdraw from Åland, leaving 43 sunken ships and 1000 dead Russians behind. The Russian losses prevented their navy from launching any further major operations until the war ended with the Treaty of Nystad the following year.
Name
Swedish Classification
Artillery
Pommern
Ship of the Line
Stor Phoenix
Frigate
Vainqueur
Armed Merchantman
Kiskin
Armed Merchantman
Danska Örn
Frigate
Aftermath
Both sides claim the outcome of the battle as their own victory. They agree only in that four Swedish frigates, the 34-gun frigateStor Phoenix, the 30-gun Vainqueur, the 22-gun Kiskin and the 18-gun Danska Örn were captured by the Russians. No significant naval battles took place between the Russian and Swedish navies after this one until Sweden's defeat in the war was sealed by the Treaty of Nystad.
Russian accounts
The Swedes lost 103 killed and 407 captured. The Russians had 82 killed and 236 wounded. The Battle of Grengam demonstrated the skillful use of the rowing fleet in the skerries environment and efficient reconnaissance and selection of the combat site, as well as perfect timing for the attack from different directions. The victory at Grengam allowed the Russians to consolidate in the archipelago, which was very important for carrying out operations against Swedish shipping in the area.
Swedish accounts
Four Swedish frigates ran aground and were captured by the Russian Navy. 43 out of 61 Russian galleys, were either sunk by the Swedish force or burnt and abandoned after the battle. The Swedish Vice Admiral Carl Georg Siöblad was initially criticised after the battle, but when the scope of the Russian losses were discovered he was praised. Russia celebrated the battle as a victory, but their fleet was unable to launch effective operations until the end of the war in 1721.
Commemoration
Like the previous Battle of Gangut, the Battle of Grengam was fought on Saint Pantaleon Day. In order to commemorate the perceived victory, a timber church to this saint was built in Saint Petersburg in 1722. It was rebuilt in stone in 1735–39. Since 1914 the facade of the church has borne two marble plaques listing the ships and regiments that fought at Gangut and Grengam.
