Battle of Oliwa

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Battle of Oliwa
Part of the Polish-Swedish War (1625–1629)

Date November 28, 1627
Location outside Danzig harbour
Result Polish-Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Flag of Sweden Sweden
Commanders
Arend Dickmann† Nils Stiernsköld†
Strength
10 ships with 179 guns 6 ships with 140 guns
Casualties and losses
Unknown 1 ship captured, 1 sunk

The naval Battle of Oliwa or Battle of Gdańsk Roadstead took place on 28 November 1627 during the Polish-Swedish War outside Danzig (Gdansk) harbour. It is commonly known as the Battle of Oliva (Polish: Oliwa), after a village outside of Danzig. It was the biggest and the last naval battle of the Polish royal navy, but it brought a victory over a Swedish squadron.

The Swedes had a strong navy, and they maintained a blockade of the Baltic shore, especially Danzig harbour. On 28 November 1627, the Polish fleet engaged the Swedish blockading squadron. The Polish ships were more numerous, but only four galleons had full combat value, the rest were smaller ships. The Swedes had a longer tradition of a seamanship, while the Polish navy was newly formed.

The Polish fleet of ten ships, commanded by admiral Arend Dickmann in the galleon Sankt Georg (Święty Jerzy), was anchored at Danzig roadstead, while the Swedish squadron of six ships sailed from the direction of the Hel Peninsula. The Poles raised anchors and rushed towards the Swedes, who did not expect such reaction. The battle soon split into two encounters.

The Polish flagship Sankt Georg, supported by a smaller ship Meerweib (Panna Wodna), attacked the Swedish Tigern, flagship of admiral Nils Stiernsköld. The ships stuck together and the Polish marines fought their way onto and captured Tigern. Meanwhile the Polish vice admirals ship, the small galleon Meerman (Wodnik) attacked the larger Solen ("The Sun"). As a result the captain of Solen blew his ship up rather than allowing it to be captured. The remaining four Swedish ships escaped and a pursuit failed. In the battle, both admirals were killed.

The battle was propagated widely by the Polish court. There also appeared a saying, that: "the sun set at noon that day", referring to the scuttling and subsequent sinking of one of the Swedish ships.

Polish ships:
They were known in sources with original German names, though now they are now known in Poland for their translated Polish names.

  • 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, under Jakub Mora
    • 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

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