The Battle of Desna, also known as the Crossing of the Desna River, was a three-day operation which took place on 11 to 13 November 1708 during the Swedish invasion of Russia of the Great Northern War. The Swedes under Charles XII tried to prevent the Russians from seizing the town of Baturyn, by crossing the river of Desna which was strongly defended by the Russian Army of 4,000 men under Ludwig Nicolaus von Hallart. On 11 November the Swedes attempted to build a bridge going over the river, however, the heavy fire from the Russians made for slow progress and so, on 12 November, Berndt Otto Stackelberg with 600 men crossed the river on rafts to cover the ongoing construction of the bridge. The Russians counterattacked but were fiercely repulsed by the outnumbered Swedish defenders. The Russians retreated on 13 November leaving about 356–800 men dead while having another 900–1,000 wounded. The crossing had been successful and was often compared to Alexander the Great's crossing of the Granicus. However, the Swedes were too late to defend Baturyn and the city had already been destroyed in the Sack of Baturyn.[2]

Battle of Desna
Part of the Swedish invasion of Russia
Date11–13 November 1708
Location
Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Swedish Empire Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Swedish Empire Charles XII
Swedish Empire Berndt Otto Stackelberg
Aleksandr Gordon
Ludwig Nicolaus Hallart
Strength
2,000
12 cannons[1]
4,000
8 cannons[1]
Casualties and losses
50 killed
150 wounded[2]
356–800 killed
900–1,000 wounded[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ett kort dock tydeligit utdrag utur then öfwer konung Carl den Tolftes lefwerne och konglida dater, Jöran Andersson Nordberg (1745). pp 593
  2. ^ a b Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 240.
  3. ^ Gordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. p. 279