(A fictitious battle)
After having put Denmark out the war the Swedish forces were shipped over to Livonia. The plan was to debark at Riga and thereafter attack the Saxons if they decided to stay put, before marching north to relieve the besieged Narva.
The Saxon commander Steinau had other plans though, and decided to attack the Swedish army before it was ready. The Swedish army took up position a few miles east of Riga and waited for the Saxon attack. Karl Gustav Rehnschiöld took command in the Kings[1] absence.
The Saxon units had been joined by a Russian Infantry contingent under the command of Menshikov, sent by the Tsar to help stalling the Swedes and to observe what their allies were up to. In all the allies were somewhat stronger in numbers, but the Swedish cavalry outnumbered the Saxon Cavalry by approximately one and a half to one.
The battle started at 10 with the Saxon cavalry moving forward and their Swedish counterparts doing the same. The Swedish cavalry facing the Russians however made a turn towards the centre, passing north of the village. The Swedish infantry started moving forward, aiming to pass beside the hill and not directly over it. Menshikov, under strict orders from the Tsar not to risk his troops unnecessarily, stood still and did nothing. The Saxon infantry waited as well, only shifting troops slightly towards the village.
The first clash of arms came on the right flank between the Swedish Left Cavalry wing and the Saxon Cavalry. The Swedes where slightly superior both in terms of numbers and training. Despite this the Saxon Chevalier Guard and Steinau’s Cuirassiers managed to push back parts of the Swedish cavalry. The Swedes rallied and returned however, and soon their superiority began to tell. Meanwhile the Swedish right wing Cavalry swung right again and approached the hill. The Russian had started moving but they were enough slowed down by the fields and the village to fail catching the Swedish Cavalry.
The Swedish Infantry came within shooting distance of the Saxon artillery shortly before noon. By that time the Swedish Right wing Cavalry, spearheaded by the Drabants had crossed the hill crest, and the Swedish Left wing cavalry were winning the cavalry clash. The Drabants hit the Saxon Flank guard and shattered the Beichlingen Infantry battalion with a furious charge.
The Swedish infantry centre moved despite getting a bit tangled up on the way, and the Saxon Artillery failed to make any serious damage to the advancing bluecoats.
On the Saxon left the cavalry was by now totally beaten. The Chevalier Guards had been more or less annihilated by a charge of the Smålands cavalry regiment. Most of the cuirassiers lay dead or wounded while the remainder and the dragoons were fleeing through the infantry lines, causing confusion as they past. The victorious Swedish Cavalry were still rather well organised and pursued the fleeing Saxons closely, almost getting in the way of their own infantry in the process.
The situation was by now more than critical for the Saxon infantry centre. The Russians were still too far away to aid and the cavalry had routed. When the Swedish infantry started their attack both flanks of the Saxons were already engaged by Swedish cavalry. The collapse came quickly. The only thing that saved the routing Saxons from total massacre was a heroic fight by the Polish Guards, being positioned on the rightmost part of the Saxon line and attacked in the flank by Swedish cavalry trying to encircle the routing Saxons.
[1] The ships carrying the King and the Guards regiment had been delayed. The only Swedish Guard unit that was present at the battle was the Drabants.