Gunboat Number 14: More background: The Finnish War

Gunboat Number 14

It's 1808 and Sweden is at war with Russia. The war is not going well. On land, the Swedish army is retreating continuously and all that stands between the Russians and the Swedish mainland are the gunboats of the inshore fleet. The sea war amongst the islands of the Finnish and Swedish archipelagos is a special kind of war, fought in open boats by badly equipped men without proper training. Fighting the weather as much as the Russians, Lieutenant Johan Kuhlin commands a small squadron of three gunboats on special duty. During the short and wet summer, he learns that an independent command isn't all glory and that spies can be more dangerous than Russian guns.

Miss Anna's Frigate

Thursday, October 29, 2009

More background: The Finnish War

Several Readers have expressed the wish to read some more about the Finnish War of 1808-1809, a part of the Napoleonic Wars that isn't very well known outside Scandinavia. I found a very good summary of the events on this website. There is a special section dedicated to the coastal fleets as well as the involvement of the Royal Navy.

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