Editing Suomenlinna (section)

==== Service ====
{{See also|Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)|Finnish War|Siege of Sveaborg}}
[[File:View from Länsi-Mustasaari.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|View from Länsi-Mustasaari to Pikku-Mustasaari]]
[[File:Adolf Geete-pojama at Sveaborg-1760.jpg|thumb|A [[pojama]] flying the blue [[naval ensign]] of the Swedish [[archipelago fleet]] in Artilleriviken (Tykistölahti); painting by [[Adolf Geete]], 1760]]
Sveaborg was formed and stocked according to the needs of the Swedish [[archipelago fleet]] and thus was unable to repair and refit the Swedish battlefleet after the [[battle of Hogland]]. Facilities were also found lacking at Sveaborg, especially in the areas intended for taking care of the sick and wounded. Russian control of the waters outside of Sveaborg practically blockaded the Swedish battlefleet to Sveaborg. By cutting the coastal sea route past Hangö, Russians prevented supplies from being shipped from Sweden to Sveaborg. The Swedish fleet finally managed to set sail for its base at Karlskrona on 20 November when the Baltic Sea had already frozen severely enough that ice had to be sawed open before some ships could move. The fleet could not overwinter at Sveaborg since it lacked the facilities and supplies for fitting the ships.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|pp=138–155}}

While the route to Sweden was open again in late 1788 and in early 1789, Russian ships cut the connection from Sveaborg to Sweden by forming a blockade at [[Porkkala]] cape. Sveaborg was the most important location for archipelago fleet's ship construction and fitting during the war. Even so, and despite efforts, several ships remained unfinished at Sveaborg until the end of the war. The importance of Sveaborg did not escape the Russians whose broad operational plan for 1790 included a siege of Sveaborg both from sea and land.{{sfnp|Mattila|1983|pp=155–193}}

Following a pact between [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] and [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]], Russia launched a [[Finnish War|campaign against Sweden]] and occupied Finland in 1808. The Russians easily took Helsingfors in early 1808 and began [[Siege of Sveaborg|bombarding the fortress]].<ref>Carl Nordling, L. "Capturing 'The Gibraltar of the North': How Swedish Sveaborg was taken by the Russians in 1808." Journal of Slavic Military Studies 17.4 (2004): 715–725.</ref> Its commander, [[Carl Olof Cronstedt]], negotiated a cease-fire. When no Swedish reinforcements had arrived by May, Sveaborg, with almost 7,000 men, surrendered. The reasons for Cronstedt's actions remain somewhat unclear; but the hopeless situation, psychological warfare by the Russians, some (possibly) bribed advisors, fear for the lives of a large civilian population, lack of gunpowder, and their physical isolation are some likely causes for the surrender. By the [[Treaty of Fredrikshamn]] in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastern territory of Finland and the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] was established within the [[Russian Empire]]. The Swedish period in [[History of Finland|Finnish history]], which had lasted some seven centuries, came to an end.
[[File:Guns of Suomenlinna.jpg|right|thumb|Naval guns of Suomenlinna]]