Battle of Oliwa - 1627 Poland versus Sweden

[Bart Smith]

     The naval Battle of Oliwa took place on 28 November 1627 during the Polish - Swedish War slightly north of the port of Danzig (Gdańsk) near the village of Oliva (Oliwa). It was the largest naval battle fought by the Polish Royal Navy, and resulted in the defeat of a small Swedish squadron. The Poles slipped out of the Danzig harbor and captured the Swedish flagship and sank another vessel.

 

     The Swedes had a long tradition of seamanship and maintained a strong navy, and were able to land troops from the Swedish mainland at will along the south Baltic shore. They were also able to blockade Poland's ports, the most important of which was Danzig, maintaining a stranglehold on Polish trade. On 28 November 1627, a small, newly formed Polish fleet emerged from Danzig to engage the Swedish blockading squadron.

 

     Polish ships

• 1st Squadron
  • Ritter Sankt Georg (Rycerz Święty Jerzy) ("Knight St George") - galleon, 31 guns, 400t (also known as Sankt Georg)
  • Fliegender Hirsch (Latający Jeleń) ("Flying Deer") - galleon, 20 guns, 300t
  • Meerweib (Panna Wodna) ("Sea Virgo") - 12 guns, 160t
  • Schwarzer Rabe (Czarny Kruk) ("Black Raven") - 16 guns, 260t
  • Gelber Löwe (Żółty Lew) ("Yellow Lion") - 10 guns, 120t
• 2nd Squadron
  • Meermann (Wodnik) ("Aquarius") - galleon, 17 guns, 200t
  • König David (Król Dawid) ("King David") - galleon, 31 guns, 400t
  • Arche Noah (Arka Noego) ("Noah's Ark") - 16 guns, 180t
  • Weißer Löwe (Biały Lew) ("White Lion") - 8 guns, 200t
  • Feuerblase (Płomień) ("Fireblaze") - 18 guns, 240t

Swedish ships

• Tigern ("Tiger") - flagship, galleon, 22 guns, 320 t - captured
• Solen ("Sun") - galleon, 38 guns, 300 t - scuttled by her own crew
• Pelikanen ("Pelican") - galleon, 20 guns, 200 t
• Månen ("Moon") - galleon, 26 guns, 300 t
• Enhörningen ("Unicorn") - galleon, 18 guns, 240t
• Papegojan ("Parrot") - 16 guns, 180t

 

     The Polish ships were more numerous: numbering ten in all, but were mostly small, and only four galleons had full combat value. The Polish vessels were commanded by Admiral Arend Dickmann in the galleonSankt Georg (Święty Jerzy). The Swedish squadron numbered six vessels, under Nils Stiernskold in his flagship the Tigern. The Polish vessels had a larger complement of marines on board than the Swedish ships, and this in large part determined the tactics employed in the action.

 

The Polish ships anchored off the Danzig roadstead, while the Swedish squadron sailed southwards from the Hel Peninsula. The Poles weighed anchor and suddenly rushed towards the Swedes squadron, much to their surprise.

The battle split into two main encounters. The Polish flagship, Sankt Georg, supported by a smaller vessel, Meerweib (Panna Wodna), attacked the Swedish flagship, "Tigern". The Polish ships came alongside the "Tigern", and Polish marines boarded, overwhelmed the Swedes and captured the vessel. Meanwhile the Polish vice-admiral's ship, the small galleon Meerman (Wodnik) attacked the larger Solen ("The Sun"). The captain of the Solen blew his ship up rather than allowing it to be captured. The four surviving Swedish ships quickly headed towards the open sea and managed to escape pursuit. Both admirals were killed in the battle.

The Polish court used the victory to its maximum in its propaganda. A popular saying had it that on that day "the sun went down at noon", referring to the scuttling of one of the Swedish ships, the Solen.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Bart Smith