One of the most controversial monarchs of Scandinavia was the Swedish king Charles 12. During his reign, the conquests of this Scandinavian country reached their maximum limits, but under him, due to the defeat in the war, the end of the Swedish great power came. Was one of the greatest heroes of the nation, or was Charles the 12th the King of Sweden a failure? The biography of this monarch will allow us to understand this issue.
Childhood
What kind of person was this - the Swedish king Charles 12? A brief biography of this monarch, as expected, originates from the birth of a crowned person. It will be the starting point of our story.
So, the future Swedish King Karl 12 was born in June 1682 in the capital city of Stockholm. His father was the Swedish monarch Charles 11 of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken dynasty, and his mother was Ulrika Eleonora, daughter of King Frederick 3 of Denmark.
Charles 12 received a very good education for those times, as evidenced by at least the fact that this husband spoke several languages.
Ascension to the throne
Charles 11 died quite early, at the age of 41, when his son was only 14 years old. Since then Carl12 - Swedish king. He was crowned immediately after the death of his parent in March 1697.
Despite his father's wishes and immature age, Charles 12 insisted on recognizing him as an adult and refused to introduce a regency.
First military campaign
From the first years of his reign, Karl 12, the Swedish king, got involved in various military campaigns. The biography of this ruler consists almost entirely of descriptions of his campaigns. In such a stormy activity, youthful maximalism played an important role.
Charles 12 knew that he would face a confrontation with a coalition of Russia, Denmark and Poland, but, nevertheless, was not afraid to enter into a confrontation with these countries. He directed his first blow against Denmark in 1700. Thus began the great Northern War.
The pretext for hostilities was the attack of the cousin of Charles 12, King Frederick of Denmark, on an ally of the Swedish monarch Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp. Taking with him a relatively small military contingent, Charles 12 made a lightning landing in the capital of his rival - the city of Copenhagen. The decisiveness and speed of action of the Swedish king forced the Danish monarch to ask for peace, who did not expect such agility from young Charles.
The fact of Denmark's capitulation caused acute displeasure among its allies - the Polish king Augustus 2, who was also the Elector of Saxony, and the Russian Tsar Peter 1, later nicknamed the Great.
War inB altics
Already in February 1700, the Saxon troops of August 2 laid siege to the Swedish cities in the B altic. Soon, the most powerful of the representatives of the anti-Swedish coalition, Peter 1, joined the conduct of hostilities.
Russian troops besieged the B altic cities of Narva and Ivangorod, which belonged to Sweden. In this situation, Charles 12 again demonstrated his determination and quick thinking. At the head of the expeditionary corps, which had previously triumphed over Denmark, he landed in the B altic. Despite the fact that the forces of the Russian army under the command of Field Marshal de Croix were three times larger than the army of the Swedes, Karl was not afraid to give a decisive battle. His audacity was rewarded as Sweden triumphed in total victory. The Russian army suffered significant numerical and material losses, in particular, lost all artillery.
Control of the B altic states was restored by Karl 12.
War with Poland
The next opponent of Charles 12, who had to be de alt with, was the Polish king and at the same time the Saxon elector August 2.
It must be said that August 2 could only fully rely on his Saxon army. In Poland, he was a stranger invited to the throne. In addition, the very political system of the Commonwe alth provided for the absence of a rigid centralized government, significant freedoms for the gentry, which made royal power rather weak. Not to mention the fact that in Poland there was an opposition against August 2, ready to support Charles 12. The leading role in it was played bytycoon Stanislav Leshchinsky.
Swedish king Charles 12 in 1702 invaded Poland. At the Battle of Kliszow, he defeated August 2, despite the fact that his army was twice as large as the enemy army. The Swedes captured all enemy artillery.
In 1704, representatives of the Polish gentry, who supported Charles 12, deposed August 2 and proclaimed Stanislav Leshchinsky king. King Stanislav was able to establish actual control over the territory of the Commonwe alth with the support of the Swedish monarch in 1706. This happened after Charles 12 finally defeated August 2 and forced the latter to conclude the Treaty of Altransted, according to which he renounced the Polish throne, but retained the Electorship of Saxony.
Trip to Russia
Thus, by the end of 1706, of the entire coalition of countries opposing Sweden, only Russia remained in service. But her fate, it seemed, was sealed. Charles's army won victories over the Russians, while at the same time opposing other states. Now, when Peter 1 lost allies, only a miracle could save the Russian kingdom from complete capitulation.
However, while the Swedish king Karl 12 was busy with Polish affairs, Peter 1 managed to recapture a number of B altic cities from him and even found his new capital in that area - St. Petersburg. Naturally, this state of affairs caused the displeasure of the Scandinavian monarch. He decided to end the enemy with one blow, capturing Moscow.
As in the war withPoland, before the start of the invasion, Charles 12 found allies. They were the Little Russian hetman Ivan Mazepa and the Cossack foreman, dissatisfied with the restriction of their freedoms by the tsarist regime. It was Mazepa's support that played a paramount role in Karl's decision to move to Moscow through Little Russia. Until the last moment, Peter 1 did not believe in this conspiracy, since he was rather loyal to the Cossack hetman, although he was repeatedly informed about the fact of the agreement between the Swedish king and Mazepa. In addition, the Ottoman Empire, which at that time was at war with the Russian state, was supposed to act as an ally of Charles 12.
In the autumn of 1708, the troops of Charles 12 entered the territory of the Russian kingdom, which was soon to become the Russian Empire. The Swedish king went to Little Russia, and General Levengaupt moved to help him from the B altic states. In September 1708, he was defeated by Russian troops near Lesnaya, without having time to connect with his sovereign.
Battle of Poltava
Charles 12 (Swedish king) and Peter 1 met in 1709 in the battle of Poltava, which the Scandinavian monarch had been besieging for several months. It was in fact the decisive battle not only of the purely Russian campaign, but of the entire Northern War. The slaughter was fierce, and the scales leaned first to one side, then to the other. Finally, thanks to the genius of Peter 1, the Swedes were completely defeated. They lost almost 10 thousand people killed and wounded, and more than 2.5 thousand people were captured.
Karl 12 himself was wounded and barely escaped with loyal people, leavingmost of the army to their fate. After that, the remnants of the Swedish army capitulated at Perevolochna. Thus, the number of captured Swedes increased by 10-15 thousand people.
For Russia, the battle became a landmark, in which the Swedish king Charles 12 was crushed. A photo of the church built in memory of this glorious event at the site of the battle is placed above.
Causes of defeat
But why did Karl 12 - the Swedish king lose the battle? The years of the reign of this monarch were marked by glorious victories and in more difficult conditions. Is it really all about the genius of Peter 1?
Of course, the military talent of the Russian sovereign played a significant role in the victory over the Swedes, but there were other significant factors. The Russian army twice, and maybe more, outnumbered the Swedish. Ivan Mazepa, on whose help Charles counted so much, could not convince most of the Cossacks to go over to the side of the Swedish monarch. In addition, the Turks were in no hurry to help.
A significant role in the defeat of Charles was played by the fact that the transition through the territory of Russia was not at all easy for him. His army suffered large non-combat losses associated with the severity of the campaign. In addition, she was constantly ruffled by irregular Russian cavalry, attacking and hiding. Thus, the total losses of the Swedish army by the time it approached Poltava amounted to almost a third of the troops. After that, the Swedes kept Poltava under siege for about three months. The forces of the Russians not only outnumbered the Swedes twice, but were also relatively fresh, in contrast to the batteredenemy army.
We should also not forget that although Charles 12 was already a famous commander at the time of the battle, he was only 27 years old, and youth is a frequent companion of fatal mistakes.
Sitting in Benders
The rest of Charles 12's life was a series of defeats and setbacks. The Battle of Poltava became a kind of Rubicon between the years of glory and humiliation. After a terrible defeat from Peter 1, Charles 12 fled to the possessions of his ally, the Turkish Sultan. The Swedish monarch stayed in the city of Bender, on the territory of modern Transnistria.
Having lost the entire army, the king of Sweden was forced to fight against Russia by diplomatic means. He persuaded the Turkish sultan to start a war with the Russian kingdom. In 1711, his attempts were finally crowned with success. Another war broke out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Its results were disappointing for Peter 1: he was almost captured and lost part of his possessions. But Karl 12 did not gain anything from this victory of the Turks. Moreover, according to the peace concluded in 1713 between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the Swedish king was forcibly expelled by the Sultan from Turkish possessions. There was even a skirmish with the Janissaries, during which Charles was injured.
Thus ended the four-year stay of the Swedish king in Bendery. During this time, his empire noticeably decreased in size. Territories were lost in Finland, the B altic States, Germany. In Poland, the old enemy of Charles 12 again reigned - August 2.
Return home
In twelve days, Charles 12 crossed all of Europe andreached the city of Stralsund - a Swedish possession on the southern coast of the B altic Sea. It was just besieged by the Danes. Karl tried to defend the city with a small contingent of troops, but failed. After that, he moved to Sweden in order to maintain his possessions at least in Scandinavia.
Karl continued active hostilities in Norway, which was part of the Danish crown. At the same time, realizing the complexity of his situation, he tried to conclude a peace treaty with Russia.
Death
According to the official version, Karl 12 was killed in 1718 in Norway by a stray bullet while fighting against the Danes. It happened at the Fredriksten Fortress.
According to another version, his death occurred as a result of a conspiracy of the Swedish aristocracy, which was dissatisfied with the failed foreign policy of the king.
The question of who killed the Swedish king Charles 12 still remains a mystery. The years of the life of this monarch are from 1682 to 1718. Death overtook Charles at 36.
General characteristics
The Swedish king Karl 12 lived a glorious, rich, but short life. Biography, the history of his campaigns and death were considered by us in this review. Most historians agree that Charles 12 was an excellent commander who knew how to win battles with fewer soldiers than the enemy. At the same time, his weakness as a statesman is noted. Charles 12 was unable to ensure the future prosperity of Sweden. Already during his lifetime, the once mighty empire began to fall apart.
But definitely Carl12 is one of the brightest personalities in Swedish history.
