During the entire Northern War there was no more important battle than the Battle of Poltava. In short, it completely changed the course of that campaign. Sweden found itself at a disadvantage and had to make concessions to a stronger Russia.
Events the day before
Peter the First started a war against Sweden in order to gain a foothold on the B altic coast. In his dreams, Russia was a great maritime power. It was the B altic States that became the main theater of military operations. In 1700, the Russian army, which had just begun to undergo reforms, lost the battle of Narva. King Charles XII took advantage of his success to take on his other opponent - the Polish monarch Augustus II, who supported Peter at the beginning of the conflict.
While the main Swedish forces were far to the west, the Russian Tsar turned his country's economy onto a war footing. He managed to create a new army in a short time. This modern, European-trained army conducted several successful operations in the B altic states, including Courland and on the banks of the Neva. At the mouth of this river, Peter founded the port and the future capital of the empire, St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Charles XII finally defeated the Polish king and took him out of the war. In his absence, the Russian army occupieda considerable piece of Swedish territory, but so far she has not had to fight with the main army of the enemy. Karl, wanting to strike the enemy with a mortal blow, decided to go straight to Russia in order to gain a decisive victory in a long conflict there. That is why the Battle of Poltava happened. In short, the site of this battle was far from the previous position of the front. Karl moved south to the Ukrainian steppes.
Mazepa's betrayal
On the eve of the general battle, Peter became aware that the hetman of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, Ivan Mazepa, had gone over to the side of Charles XII. He promised the Swedish king assistance in the amount of several thousand well-trained cavalrymen. The betrayal infuriated the Russian tsar. Detachments of his army began to besiege and capture Cossack towns in Ukraine. Despite the betrayal of Mazepa, part of the Cossacks remained loyal to Russia. These Cossacks chose Ivan Skoropadsky as the new hetman.
Mazeppa's help was urgently needed by Charles XII. The monarch with his northern army had gone too far from his own territory. The troops had to continue the campaign in unusual conditions. Local Cossacks helped not only with weapons, but also with navigation, as well as provisions. The shaky mood of the local population forced Peter to refuse to use the remnants of the loyal Cossacks. Meanwhile, the Battle of Poltava was approaching. Briefly assessing his position, Charles XII decided to lay siege to the important Ukrainian city. He counted on the fact that Poltava would quickly capitulate to his significant army, but this did nothappened.
Siege of Poltava
Throughout the spring and early summer of 1709, the Swedes stood near Poltava, unsuccessfully trying to take it by storm. Historians have counted 20 such attempts, during which about 7 thousand soldiers died. The small Russian garrison held out, hoping for royal help. The besieged undertook bold sorties, for which the Swedes had not prepared, due to the fact that no one thought of such fierce resistance.
The main Russian army under the command of Peter approached the city on June 4th. At first, the king did not want a "general battle" with the army of Charles. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to drag out the campaign every month. Only a decisive victory could help Russia secure all its important acquisitions in the B altics. Finally, after several military councils with his close associates, Peter decided to fight, which was the Battle of Poltava. Briefly and quickly preparing for it was too imprudent. Therefore, the Russian army gathered reinforcements for several more days. The Cossacks of Skoropadsky finally joined. The tsar also hoped for the Kalmyk detachment, but he did not have time to approach Poltava.
Between the Russian and Swedish armies was the river Vorskla. Due to unstable weather, Peter gave the order to cross the waterway south of Poltava. This maneuver turned out to be a good decision - the Swedes were not ready for such a turn of events, expecting the Russians in a completely different area of operations.
Karl could still turn back and not give a general battle, which became Poltavabattle. A brief description of the Russian army, which he received from a defector, also did not give the Swedish generals optimism. In addition, the king did not wait for help from the Turkish sultan, who promised to bring him an auxiliary detachment. But against the background of all these circumstances, the bright character of Charles XII affected. The brave and still young monarch decided to fight.
State of troops
June 27, 1709 (July 8, new style) the Battle of Poltava took place. In short, the most important thing was the strategy of the commanders-in-chief and the size of their troops. Charles had 26,000 soldiers, while Peter had some numerical advantage (37,000). The king achieved this thanks to the exertion of all the forces of the state. In a few years, the Russian economy has come a long way from an agricultural economy to modern industrial production (at that time). Cannons were cast, foreign firearms were purchased, soldiers began to receive military education according to the European model.
Surprising was the fact that both monarchs themselves commanded their armies directly on the battlefield. In the modern era, this function passed to the generals, but Peter and Karl were exceptions.
Progress of the battle
The battle began with the fact that the Swedish vanguard organized the first attack on the Russian redoubts. This maneuver turned out to be a strategic mistake. The regiments that broke away from their convoy were defeated by the cavalry commanded by Alexander Menshikov.
Alreadyafter this fiasco, the main armies entered the battle. In the mutual confrontation of the infantry for several hours, the winner could not be determined. The confident attack of the Russian cavalry on the flanks became decisive. She crushed the enemy and helped the infantry put the squeeze on the Swedish regiments in the center.
Results
The great significance of the Battle of Poltava (it is rather difficult to describe it briefly) was that after its defeat, Sweden finally lost its strategic initiative in the Northern War. The entire subsequent campaign (the conflict continued for another 12 years) was marked by the superiority of the Russian army.
The moral results of the Battle of Poltava were also important, which we will now try to briefly describe. The news of the defeat of the hitherto invincible Swedish army shocked not only Sweden, but the whole of Europe, where they finally began to look at Russia as a serious military force.
