Sankarihautojen muistomerkki (Kyrön karhu)

What happened here

Battles, troop movements and military operations recorded near this site.

1. 2 March 1714

   Battle of Napue

   Battle · suuri Pohjan sota · 1,4 km

   The Battle of Napue, the Battle of Isokyrö (Storkyro), or the Battle of Lappola was fought on 2 March [O.S. 19 February] 1714 at the villages of Napue and Laurola, located in the Isokyrö parish of the Swedish Empire (modern-day Finland). The battle took place between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia and was the final land battle of the Finnish campaign in the Great Northern War. The Swedish detachment, consisting almost entirely of Finnish troops, was defeated by the numerically superior Russian forces. As a result, all of Finland fell under Russian military occupation for the remainder of the war—a seven-year period of hardship known in Finland as the Great Wrath. The Medal "For the Battle of Vasa" was created in 1714, which was awarded to the Russian participants in the battle. Named after the nearby town of Vaasa (Vasa).

   == Prelude == By 1703, Russian forces had reached the inner parts of the Gulf of Finland, and founded the city of Saint Petersburg. Since the Swedish main army was engaged in Poland and later in Russia, Sweden was hard pressed to defend its Baltic territories. After the Battle of Poltava, Russia seized all of Livonia, Estonia and Ingria, as well as the counties of Viborg and Nyslott and Kexholm. When Charles XII of Sweden refused to enter peace negotiations, Denmark and Russia drew up plans to threaten Stockholm. Two attack routes were considered: one through southern Sweden and the other through Finland and the Åland Islands. The southern attack was deemed more important, but the attack on Finland aimed to tie down as much of the remaining Swedish army as possible. However, the southern offensive was successfully fended off by Magnus Stenbock's victory at Helsingborg in 1710. The Russian attack on Finland never developed as planned. With Peter the Great engaged in a war against Turkey, a shortage of soldiers forced him to postpone the conquest of Åbo (Turku). Initially, Russian actions in Finland consisted of raids and reconnaissance operations aimed at occupying southeastern Finland and devastating the region in order to deny Swedish forces a base of operations against Russian-controlled areas around Saint Petersburg. Significant Russian military action in Finland began in 1713, after logistical problems caused the failure of an initial foray the previous year. By May, Peter the Great and his galley fleet were spotted off Helsingfors (Helsinki), and over the summer, Russian troops occupied all of southern Finland. The Swedish forces under General Georg Henrik Lybecker retreated inland. Before returning to Russia, Peter ordered Fyodor Apraksin, the commander of the Imperial Navy, to attack the Swedish army during the winter. In August 1713, General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was given command over the troops in Finland. He faced a hopeless task, as Lybecker had left him with a neglected, starving, and destitute army. Reconnaissance was impossible because the cavalry was too exhausted to fulfill its duties.

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Nearby

One site is rarely a trip on its own. These are the closest others.

• Karjalaan jääneiden vainajien muistomerkkiIsokyrö · Memorial33 m
• Isokyrö, Isonkyrön kirkkohautausmaa, sankarihauta-alueIsokyrö · War cemetery161 m
• Napuen taistelun joukkohaudan muistomerkkiIsokyrö · Memorial996 m
• Entisen suojeluskuntatalon muistolaattaIsokyrö · Memorial1,2 km
• Kaamin kivi, Napuen taistelun ensimmäinen muistomerkkiIsokyrö · Memorial3,5 km
• Napuen taistelun muistomerkkiIsokyrö · Memorial3,5 km