the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

along the coastline and twice he visited the fortifications. 8 In September-November 1807,
Alexander dispatched several letters to King Gustavus IV requesting him to honor
agreements and expel the British. Gustavus IV refused to close his ports to British until
the French troops were present on the Baltic coast and Napoléon had German ports
closed to Britain. Receiving Swedish rejection on 21 January 1808, Russia considered it
as casus belli. 9
The preparations for the war had already begun in December of 1807. Alexander
ordered a corps of three infantry divisions to the Russo-Finish frontiers. General Wilhelm
Buxhöwden, who distinguished himself in earlier wars in Finland under Catherine the
Great, assumed the overall command. Lieutenant General Peter Bagration commanded
the 21 st Infantry Division and was ordered to march towards Vyborg, where he would
join General Nikolay Tuchkov I’s 5 th Division, and Count Nikolay Kamensky’s 17 th
Division. The Russian divisions were under strength and exhausted by the previous
campaign in Poland. At battles at Pultusk, Eylau and Friedland, the Russians had suffered
high casualties and needed reorganization and supplies. Some of the regiments were in
such miserable condition that they were allowed to march through St. Petersburg only
during night to conceal their appearance. Nevertheless, by mid-January, the Russian
troops were assembled at the frontier; Kamensky with his 17 th Division was at
Friedrichsham forming the left wing, while Tuchkov was on the right wing between
Wilmansdrandt and Neschlodt and Peter Bagration’s 21 st Division was deployed in the
center between Davidstadt and Wilmansdrandt. 10 The divisions were arranged in columns
that the declaration of war was issued on 22 February after the invasion had begun.
8 Savary to Napoléon, 9 September 1807, RIO, vol. 83, No. 21; Shilder, Alexander I, II, 216.
9 Declaration of War, 22 February 1808, VPR, IV, 169; For Swedish response, see Sweden
Generalstaben, Krigshistoriska avdelningen, I, 44-46. Denmark declared war on Sweden on 29
February and delivered it on 14 March 1808. Declaration of War, 29 February 1808, Ibid., I, 295-
97. For Swedish response, see Response à la précédente Déclaratìon de Guerre du Dannemarc, 21
March 1808, Ibid., I, 298-99. For detailed on diplomatic negotiations on the eve of war, see
Raymond Carr, Gustavus IV and the British Government 1804-9, English Historical Review,
60/236 (January 1945), 52-60; Carl Kulsrud, “The Seizure of the Danish Fleet, 1807: The
Background,” American Journal of International Law, 32/2 (April 1938): 280-311.
10 Bagration’s division comprised of two infantry and one artillery brigades, and cavalry:
434