Qualla: Battle of Kronstadt https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:35 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Kronstadt https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt Battle of Kronstadt: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ By the spring of 1790, Gustav III of Sweden had been at war for two years and was running out of time. His grand plan to seize Saint Petersburg had collapsed at Hogland in 1788. The Russian Baltic Fleet remained intact. His own admirals were fractious. But on 29 May, the king issued a remarkable order to his brother, Duke Charles of Södermanland, commanding the Swedish open-sea fleet: sail east, all the way to the doorstep of Kronstadt, the great fortress island that guarded Saint Petersburg, and engage the Russian squadron based there before it could combine with the larger Russian force at Reval. It was an extraordinary roll of the dice. For a few days in early June, Swedish ships of the line would actually be in cannon range of the approaches to the Russian capital.

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Kronstadt: The fortress at the head of the gulf https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ Kronstadt sits on Kotlin Island in the easternmost reach of the Gulf of Finland, twenty-five kilometers due west of central Saint Petersburg. Peter the Great had picked the spot in 1703 — the same year he founded his new capital — because it was the only place where deep-water sh...

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-the-fortress-at-the-head-of-the-gulf.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Kronstadt: Four hours of inconclusive thunder https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ Duke Charles's fleet met Kruse's squadron on the morning of 3 June 1790. The two forces were roughly equal in strength. They formed lines of battle and exchanged fire for four hours without either side gaining a clear advantage. The Swedish coastal flotilla, which had been clawin...

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-four-hours-of-inconclusive-thunder.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Kronstadt: The trap closes https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ What Duke Charles had not yet realized was that Admiral Vasily Chichagov was sailing east from Reval with the main Russian battlefleet — twenty-nine ships of the line, eleven frigates, and an array of smaller craft. By 6 June, the two Russian forces had linked up. Now significant...

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-the-trap-closes.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Kronstadt: What the historians say happened https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ Considered on its own, the Battle of Kronstadt was a draw — a few days of cannonade, no ships sunk, casualties light by the standards of the war. Considered as part of the campaign, it was a Russian strategic victory. Kruse had done exactly what he was asked to do: delay the Swed...

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-what-the-historians-say-happened.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Kronstadt: Kronstadt afterward https://qualla.com/battle-of-kronstadt/ The fortress island that the Swedes never reached would dominate Russian naval history for two more centuries. Kronstadt was the home base of the Russian Baltic Fleet through the wars against Napoleon, the Crimean War, and the World Wars. In 1921, in one of the most painful episo...

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]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/d/s/v/battle-of-kronstadt-wp/udsv-battle-of-kronstadt-kronstadt-afterward.mp3 0:06 6 full