The Battle of Gangut (, , Finland Swedish: Slaget vid Rilax, ) took place on 27 JulyJul./ 7 August 1714Greg. during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), in the waters of Riilahti Bay, north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy. It was the first important victory of the Russian fleet in its history. Name of the battle The word Gangut in the name of the battle is a romanization of Гангут, which is the traditional Russian cyrillization of Hangöudd, the traditional Swedish name of the Hanko Peninsula. Seldom used names are Battle of Hangö (Finnish Hanko) and Battle of Hangöudd (Finnish Hankoniemi). The battle took place in the Rilax bay north of the Hanko Peninsula. In Sweden and Finland, the battle is therefore known as the Battle of Rilax (Finnish Riilahti). It is also known in some sources as the battle of Ahvenanmaa, the Finnish name of Åland which Russia seized after its victory. Background The Russian Tsar Peter I had begun his offensive in Finland in the spring of 1713. The Russian armies quickly advanced all the way to Turku on the southwestern coast of Finland, and with Russian victory in the Battle of Storkyro on 19 February 1714, left southern Finland fully in Russian control. The Russian governor in Finland, Prince Mikhail Galitzine, with his headquarters in Turku, was unable to receive support by sea, which was then far more important than land-based support as Swedish battle fleet under Admiral Gustav Wattrang had started blockading the coastal sea route past Hanko Peninsula already on 24 April. While it also blockaded the Russian supply route the blockade also prevented the Russian coastal fleet from reaching Sweden and raiding the Swedish coast. First Russian transports left from Helsingfors in early May but had to stop east of Hangö to Ekenäs from where the supplies needed to be hauled overland. Russian attempts to provide ships to west of Hangö ended when newly formed Swedish coastal squadron led by Captain Anton Wrangel intercepted the Russian supply ships south of Turku on 10 May and in one sided engagement sunk most of them while the rest were scattered. Admiral Apraksin's fleet was sent from its base at Kronstadt by the Tsar to open these service lines. Arrival at Hanko When the 80 ship strong Russian galley fleet arrived