[3][4] Therefore, De la Gardie commanded his main force, under General Lieutenant Löwe to Wask-Narva, which had been chosen as the crossing point for the Swedes.

In eastern Livonia, only Estonian militias and a dragoon squadroon had been left to monitor the Russian activities in Dorpat.

[3][5][1][4] On 10 September, the Swedes crossed the River Narva, establishing a camp at Politjna, a few miles south of Wask-Narva.

Moreover, as reinforcements arrived under Ivan Khovansky, De la Gardie, after a meeting with his council of war, and having not intended for a siege, decided to order a retreat back to the camp at Politjna.

In his insecurity, De la Gardie did not wish to know the true strength of the Russians, only assuming that they were numerous, basing it off the amount of campfires, and because they had dared to engage in a skirmish, although they had estimated the size to be some 6,000 men.

[9] The disorganized Swedes finally arrived at Wask-Narva on 16 September, with reports to the government being notably sparse on the details of the retreat.

[11] Swedish losses are reported to have been around 150–160 men, although a proposal drafted on 8 October in Reval, claimed that 249 cavalrymen and 57 dragoons had died, and it is unclear where these numbers came from.