The Russian Tsar Peter I had begun his offensive in Finland in the spring of 1713.
The Russian armies had quickly advanced all the way to Turku on the southwestern coast of Finland, but naval advances had been blocked by a strong Swedish naval presence.
The Russian governor in Finland, Prince Mikhail Galitzine, with his headquarters in Turku, is unable to receive support by sea, which is at this time far more important than land-based support.
Admiral Apraksin's fleet has been sent by the Tsar to open these service lines.
When the Russian ships arrive near the Hanko Peninsula, they are met by a strong Swedish naval fleet under the command of Admiral Wattrang.
Apraksin decides to move his ships farther away to the other side of the peninsula and call for reinforcements.
The majority of the troops in Turku are moved according to his request to the peninsula.
A plea for help is also sent to the Tsar, who is with the rest of the Baltic Fleet in Reval (now Tallinn).
Admiral Apraksin specifically lets the tsar know that he should come personally to lead the attack.
The first attempt in breaking through the Swedish lines wais made by attempting to pull the galleys over the peninsula.
The friction is reduced using oxskins between the ground and the ships.
The first galley is successfully pulled over with much trouble, but the second is damaged, and the attempt is subsequently abandoned.
However, Admiral Wattrang had been informed of the Russians' attempt, and he sends a small naval detachment consisting of eleven ships led by Schoutbynacht (equivalent of a Rear Admiral) Nils Ehrenskiöld to intercept the Russians.
The second attempt by the Russians is to try to take advantage of the calm weather on the morning of July 26, the day of Saint Pantaleon.
The small galleys are easily maneuvered, whereas it is exceedingly difficult to try to turn the heavy Swedish battleships in such a weather.
Apraksin initially sends twenty small galleys and when it became obvious that the Swedish fleet can't stop them, he sends fifteen more.
Wattrang's fleet is moving outwards trying to block the Russian breakthrough, when Apraksin issues an order at midnight 26/27 July (O.S.) for the remaining ships to break through the Swedish lines.
Only one galley is lost when it runs aground.
Ehrenskiöld's detachment becomes encircled after the breakthrough, , and he ordered his vessels in a defensive line between two islands.
The largest Swedish ship, the pram Elefant, is positioned broadside-on to the approaching Russian vessels.
Three galleys were stationed end-on on each side, with the two boats behind each end of Elefant.
After Ehrenskiöld refuses to surrender, the Russian fleet attacks.
The Russian galleys, commanded by the tsar, attack twice (first with thirty-five, second with eighty galleys) but are thrown back.
The third time, when attacking with reinforcements and a combined force of about ninety-five galleys, the Russians manage to capture the Swedish ships.
During the capture, the galley Tranan capsizes and sinks, and admiral Ehrenskiöld himself is taken prisoner of war on the deck of his own flagship.
The Russians substantially outnumber the Swedish, according to some sources fifteen to one.
The Russian superiority in the battle is such that there isn't even enough room for all the Russian vessels to fight at once.
The battle is the first major victory of the Russian galley fleet, and can be as such compared with the Battle of Poltava.
Due to the victory, Russia is able to prevent Swedish ships from entering the waters east of the Sea of Åland and thus prolonging the occupation of Finland up to 1721, when the Treaty of Nystad ends the war.
