British intervention in Sweden 1808

 I was listening to the Age of Napoleon podcast on Sweden in the Napoleonic Wars, which reminded me of Britain's intervention in their war against the Russians in 1808-9. We were planning to have another go at General d'Armee 2 rules this week, so this was an opportunity to dust down my Swedes, with new allies.

The little-known Swedish–Russian War of 1808–1809 (often called the Finnish War) was fought because Sweden resisted Russian pressure to join Napoleon's trade blockade against Britain. Russia was allied to France at this stage, but enforcing Napoleon's Continental System wasn't Russia's primary reason for attacking its old enemy. 

Russian forces quickly occupied much of southern Finland. Swedish and Finnish troops were poorly prepared but, led by commanders such as Johan August Sandels, won several local victories, including the Battle of Koljonvirta, yet could not stop the overall Russian advance. Russia had larger forces and better logistics, gradually forcing Swedish troops to retreat northward. The war ended with the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in September 1809, which ceded all of Finland and the Åland Islands to Russia. This article by Goran Frilund is a good overview.

Britain got involved because Sweden was resisting the Continental System. In 1807, Admiral Gambier had intervened in Denmark, destroying the Danish navy, but it also ensured that Denmark would remain a French ally. The British retained a Baltic fleet, and when the war broke out between Sweden and Russia, Admiral James de Saumarez was sent to the Baltic Sea. The Baltic command was established and effectively protected the coasts of southern Sweden from a Franco-Danish invasion, as Marshal Bernadotte of the French army had arrived in Denmark with an army to invade Sweden. On May 17 1808, General Moore arrived outside Gothenburg with a British expeditionary corps of 10,000 (some sources say 12,000) troops bound for Sweden. The troops were never landed in Sweden because King Gustav IV Adolf protested strongly. Moore was sent to Portugal instead, with well-known consequences. The Royal Navy remained on station.

10-12,000 men was a large force for Britain at this stage of the war, and it was therefore a bold move to send it to a remote conflict in very tough terrain. And while they didn't land, our game assumes they did.

Sadly, as this was only our second game with General d'Armee 2, and it's not a simple set of rules, we didn't make as much progress as we hoped. The Russians got across the table, as the Allies floundered a bit. The Russian left made a charge on the British line but was rebuffed. They didn't reach the Swedish line, but did a lot of damage with firepower. We will return to the game and rules, although I am finding the rules hard work. Not ideal for a wargames butterfly like me.