The Åland War was the operations of an Anglo-French naval force against military and civilian facilities on the coast of the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1854–1856, during the Crimean War between Russia and the allied France and Britain. The war is named after the Battle of Bomarsund in Åland. Although the name of the war refers to Åland, skirmishes were also fought in other coastal towns of Finland in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.
Russia, advancing on the Romanian front, had provoked the Ottoman Empire to declare war on 4 October 1853, and Britain and France decided to support the Ottomans. The purpose of the Åland War was to sever Russia's service routes and foreign trade and force it to sue for peace, and to involve Sweden in the war against Russia. The blockade was to be carried out in such a way as to render the Russian navy in the Baltic Sea inoperable by destroying the coastal defensive forts, the navy and the trade warehouses which served as foreign trade depots. A significant part of the damage was caused to Finland, as a large part of the merchant fleet flying the Russian flag at that time was in Finland, an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian crown since 1809.
The war had a major impact on the subsequent demilitarization of Åland.
Beginning of the war
The British Royal Navy's Baltic Fleet, which consisted of nine steam-powered ships, four older steam-powered second-line ships, four frigates, and several smaller paddle-wheel vessels, left Spithead for the Baltic Sea on 11 March 1854 under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Charles Napier. French troops were commanded by General Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, while a detachment of the French Navy was under the command of Vice Admiral Alexandre Parseval-Deschenes. However, the war was not declared to begin until 27 March. The British-French naval division of one hundred ships and boats was, by the standards at the time, quite modern with its steam-powered vessels, and it succeeded in bottling up the Russian fleet. The Russian Navy fought defensively, keeping close to the protection of sea forts. The majority of the Allied fleet's activities were directed against the Grand Duchy of Finland. The first Victoria Crosses ever awarded were given to sailors of the British-French Baltic Navy.
In June, the threat of the British-French navy had already been identified as necessitating the re-establishment of a standing army based on the allotment system similar to one that existed when Finland was still part of Sweden. Interim Governor-General Platon Rokassowski gave his consent. At the beginning of the war, the army in the Grand Duchy of Finland consisted only of a Guards Regiment, a naval captain and a battalion of grenadiers. Due to the antiquity of its fleet, Russia was not able to resist effectively, but considered its ships as a platform for their cannons as additional protection for war ports such as Sveaborg (now Suomenlinna) and Kronstadt. There was already a reserve army in Finland in 1855 to supplement the permanent army of nine battalions.
The course of the war
Battle in Åland
A British-French naval division besieged and captured the unfinished Bomarsund fortress on Åland in the late summer of 1854. The fort was blown up in early September. Because their cannons outranged the fort's, the ships were able to destroy the sea fortress without the latter being able to respond effectively.
Battles in Gulf of Bothnia
Rear-Admiral Sir James Hanway Plumridge sailed in the Navy Division, which included HMS Leopard, HMS Valorous, HMS Vulture and HMS Odin, to the Gulf of Bothnia with the task of destroying munitions found in stockpiles. In the Gulf of Bothnia, warfare extended to all coastal towns between 1854 and 1855, with the most significant skirmishes being seen in Rauma, Oulu, Raahe, Tornio and Kokkola. Plumridge had authorized Captain George Giffard of HMS Leopard to secure the closure of the Gulf of Bothnia. The British War Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, had asked to avoid destroying defenceless cities. Giffard's own initiative in the matter did not lead to action on the part of Admiral Plumridge. The devastation in Raahe caused a debate in the British House of Commons. The Quakers demanded fundraising to compensate for the damage. Kveekarintie ("Quakers road") in Raahe was built with compensation money.
From Nystad to Björneborg
The actions of the enemy, who sailed in the Gulf of Bothnia, extended to Nystad (Uusikaupunki) in June 1855, when the British corvette Harrier entered its waters. The captain of the ship sent a letter to the magistrate warning that the town would be bombed if soldiers came there. Russian troops commanded by Colonel Engelhard were then stationed seven kilometres from Uusikaupunki. At the same time, the British captured a Luvian galeas from the port and burned 14 other merchant vessels. On 6 July however, an optical telegraph operating in the town was bombarded when the town was unable to deliver the fresh meat the navy demanded. A few residents were killed and small fires broke out near the telegraph station.
A British warship entered the port of Rauma on 2 July 1855. Mayor Pettersson negotiated with the British, but refused to hand over the ships they demanded. British forces then landed with five boats and about a hundred men, starting to occupy the harbour. The British set fire to the warehouse buildings and ships, but had to withdraw after fire was opened by Russian Cossacks who defended the port and a civilian guard made up of townspeople. According to Swedish newspapers, the British lost seven soldiers dead and two injured in the skirmish. The British reported six injured, two of whom later died. During the battle, the British managed to set fire to one schooner and two galeases. After the withdrawal of the landing force, a warship anchored in front of the port began firing on the town of Rauma. During the 2,5-hour artillery fire, at least 200 shots were counted, but they did not wreak much havoc. The British version of the course of events was different from that of the Rauma people. Commodore A. H. Gardner claimed to have been deceived by Mayor Pettersson because he had imagined that his demands had been granted. Gardner's chief Commodore Warden, on the other hand, stated in a report to Vice Admiral Richard Dundas that the skirmish that caused the casualties was due to a misunderstanding and a lack of common language among the negotiators. Mayor Pettersson was also outraged by the incident and made his own complaint to Russian War Minister Vasily Dolgorukov, who in turn forwarded it as a French translation to Admiral Dundas and the British Admiralty. The British and French retaliation followed three weeks later on 24 July, when two enemy warships anchored in front of the port of Rauma. The next day, ships began firing on the town and at the same time a number of sailors landed, setting fire to port buildings and timber depots. Rockets and bombs were fired into the urban area until 11 p.m., but they did not wreak havoc either. In the port, on the other hand, a total of 54 buildings and a large amount of timber for shipbuilding were destroyed. The people of Rauma tried to respond to the firing with handguns, but the firing distance was too great and the bullets only hit the sides of the ships.
The town of Björneborg (Pori in Finnish) was the target of hostilities for the first time in the late summer of 1854, when an enemy struck the city's outer port on Reposaari and destroyed the mast of an optical telegraph erected there. In addition, property and livestock were taken from local residents. The enemy did not approach the city centre for the first time until a year later, on 9 August 1855. The British warship Tartar, commanded by Commodore Hugh Dunlop, had sailed from Säppi Island to Reposaari two days earlier. There were a small number of Russian soldiers in Pori at the time, as well as a group of about 70 volunteers, but Claes Adam Wahlberg, the Mayor of Pori, decided, after consulting with the local burghers, to give up the fight. The reason was that almost the whole of Pori had been destroyed by a major fire three years earlier, and there was no desire to endanger the partially rebuilt city. The cannons placed on Luotsinmäki were rolled into the river and Mayor Wahlberg set out to negotiate with the enemy who had invaded the city along the Kokemäki River. He reached an agreement according to which Pori will be saved from destruction when the enemy is handed over to the city-owned paddle-wheel steamer Sovinto and a dozen other ships in the river port, which had been taken for protection just over ten kilometres upstream of the Kokemäenjoki River to Haistila. The activities of the people of Pori were considered shameful and according to some information, Lieutenant General Alexander Jakob von Wendt would have later demoted the officer who had retreated from Luotsinmäki to sergeant during a review held at the Pori market square.
From Kristinestad to Nykarleby
At the beginning of the war, a battalion of soldiers and two artillery batteries were stationed to protect Kristinestad. The military detachment left the town in the spring of 1855, taking with it the rifles given to a group of civilian volunteers. At the same time, the cannons were also pulled out of their positions and hidden. On 27 June the British paddle steamers Firefly and Driver sailed in front of Kristinestad, destroying empty artillery emplacements and threatening to shell the town, the port's large timber depot and shipyard. As a result of the negotiations, the shelling was avoided, but in return the British received the schooner Pallas and food supplies. Firefly returned to top up its food stores in mid-July, when the French warship D’Assas was also involved. After that, Anglo-French forces no longer visited Kristinestad.
In the first summer of 1854, Vasa was spared destruction by the British, perhaps because the channels leading to the harbours were difficult to navigate and the British knew of the destruction of the city by fire two years earlier. In the autumn of 1855, on 3 August, the corvette Firelly anchored in front of the port of Palosaari. An empty house owned by G. G. Wolff, a trade counsellor near the harbour, was burned down as the British had heard that it had housed Russian soldiers. Wolff's ship Fides was seized and another newly completed ship was burned. In addition, the British took over Grönberg's Preciosa as well as two brigs. The British also decided to replenish their tar stores, and the previously seized schooner Necken was towed to port. However, the loading was interrupted as the Russian detachment sent to the scene arrived to defend the port. The corvette retreated beyond gunnery range and anchored near Fjällskär. The naval attack on the port of Palosaari took place on 8 August with two cannon-armed longboats, and the events of the attack are part of the legend of Vaasa's civil warfare:
"One longboat fired at Mansikkasaari with both cannons and fire-rockets and ignited a few buildings. The other positioned itself between Hietasaari and the mainland, from where it fired at both Mansikkasaari and Palosaari. When the barrage began, two companies of the Vaasa Battalion were ordered to the shore. The companies stationed themselves in Palosaari Harbour and on the shore opposite Hietasaari, and the sharpshooters were able to dislodge the longboats with their fire. Eliel Malmberg, a non-commissioned officer, was specially commended for the operation. He and some twenty other sharpshooters climbed on the roof of the Palosaari packing warehouse, where they were able to fire effectively at the enemy. Once the firing began, the governor had immediately asked the Vaasa detachment to send reinforcements to the town. A Russian half-battery arrived at forced pace from Kokkola under the command of a hard-drinking captain. The Vaasa residents offered drinks to the gunners who had come to the rescue, with the exception of the drunken captain, who was left without at the orders the governor. The captain was also kept aside when guns commenced firing. However, in the absence of skilled command, the salvos did not produce results, so the drunken captain had to be called up. He immediately contrived to score a bullseye."
The next day, 9 August, the British corvette set sail, towing two seized vessels. The port itself had suffered only minor damage, and other losses were minor. One Russian and one Finnish soldier were killed. The funeral with military honours of the Finnish signalman took place the next day at Kappelinmäki, with the residents of the city participating.
Nykarleby was completely spared the war, even though Anglo-French ships visited the city's outer harbour. The captains of the ships seized by the British provided incorrect information about the artillery batteries placed at the mouth of the Lapua River flowing through the city and the number of military units stationed in the locality, which apparently led the enemy not to attack.