The Great Northern War marked the culmination
of the tumultuous past couple of centuries in Northern Europe. This war not only changed the balance of power
in the region, but on the continent as a whole. At the end of the conflict, one of Europe’s
newest and most militarized powers lay in ruins and from its ashes, an Empire previously
on the fringe of European affairs would start its explosive rise. In this episode, we will talk about the events
that led to the beginning of the Great Northern War and cover the battle of Narva - one of
the most interesting engagements of the era. Speaking of interesting, the sponsor of this
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game! The ascension of Gustavus Adolphus to the
throne of Sweden, in 1611, is generally regarded as the starting point of the Swedish Empire. The able young King inherited a multitude
of conflicts in the region, most notably the Ingrian war against the Tsardom of Russia. The war was concluded with the Peace of Stolbovo,
in 1618, which stipulated that Sweden would gain Ingria and parts of Karelia, thereby
denying Russia access to the Baltic Sea. Russia, which was still recovering from the
Time of Troubles, was unable to offer any significant resistance to Swedish expansion. The war with Poland-Lithuania, which had been
sporadically raging on since 1600, was concluded in 1629. Gustavus Adolphus was not able to force Sigismund
III of Poland to renounce his claims on the Swedish throne, but he was able to keep most
of Livonia, including the important port city of Riga, and gain valuable trade concessions. In 1618, one of the most destructive conflicts
in history, the Thirty Years’ War had started as well. Although the last phases of the Swedish-Polish
war are considered to be a part of the Thirty Years’ War, the Kingdom of Sweden did not
involve itself directly in the war before the King of Denmark, the former champion of
Protestantism, had been defeated. Worried about the Catholic domination in the
Empire, Gustavus Adolphus, who was a leader of the Protestant nation himself, intervened
on the Protestant side. Although the Catholics were close to a complete
victory, the Swedish involvement changed the tides of the war. Sweden’s superior army dominated the battlefield
even after the death of Gustavus, and by 1648, the war was grinding down to a stalemate. Large parts of Europe, especially the Holy
Roman Empire, were left decimated, demographically, economically, and militarily. In contrast, The Kingdom of Sweden, by acquiring
territories in Pomerania and Bremen-Werden at the peace of Westphalia in 1648, became
the pre-eminent power in the Baltic region and one of Europe’s leading states. Sweden may have been the dominant power in
Northern and Eastern Europe, however, its supremacy in the Baltic was incomplete. Only several years after the Peace of Westphalia,
they went to war against Poland, in what became known as the Deluge. Even though the Swedes were dominating for
most of the war, by the end, the coalition assembled against them proved to be too difficult
to deal with and peace was signed. The peace was merely a symbolic victory for
Sweden, as the Polish monarchs finally abandoned their claim to the Swedish throne. Moreover, it also proved that the Kingdom
of Sweden could not survive for too long against an organized coalition of enemies. Charles XI ascended to the throne of Sweden
in 1660 and the majority of his rule was peaceful, barring the relatively short Scanian war of
1675 – 1679. During the war, Sweden conquered Scania from
Denmark, but lost some of its lands in Germany, mostly due to the inefficiency of the army. After the war, Charles XI revitalized the
economy and administration of Sweden, however, his most notable reforms were of a military
nature. Those reforms aimed to make the Swedish army
one of the best in Europe. Charles XI’s death in 1697 left his only
son, Charles XII, as the new Swedish King. As Charles XII was barely 15 at the time,
Peter I of Russia and Christian V of Denmark saw this as an ideal opportunity to exploit
Sweden’s apparent weakness. On the 21st of April 1699, Russia and Denmark
concluded a treaty of mutual assistance in future wars against Sweden. One of the secret articles of the treaty,
however, stipulated that Russia would only join the war after it made peace with the
Ottoman Empire. Shortly afterwards, Peter concluded a treaty
with Augustus of Saxony, who was also the elected ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Augustus was a very proud and extravagant
ruler, and his main goal was to return Livonia to the Commonwealth. Livonia, although a land that brought insurmountable
wealth to the Swedish crown, was also a source of great concern. After Sweden had gained Livonia in 1629, through
the Treaty of Altmark, it gave certain assurances to the old Livonian nobility that they would
preserve the rights that they had under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and that they
would not lose any of the lands that were in their possession. For the first couple of decades, the relationship
between the Swedish monarchs and the Livonian nobility was amicable. Charles X, however, was not as lenient as
his predecessors and by 1655, he intended to revoke a quarter of the lands that belonged
to the Livonian nobility, only with The Second Northern War preventing him from doing so. Charles XI would turn his father’s plans
into reality after ascending the throne, and by the time of his death, in 1697, the Livonian
nobility held only a fifth of the original number of estates. One of the nobles, Johann Reinhold Patkul,
outraged by the Great Reduction, agitated the Livonian nobility to rise up against Sweden
in rebellion. He was swiftly arrested and sentenced to death
and to avoid execution, Patkul fled from Sweden. Patkul later played a key role in the formation
of the anti-Swedish coalition, as he was usually the diplomatic link between Peter, Augustus,
and Christian, and provided intelligence on the Swedish defenses in the Baltic. Sensing the impending danger, Charles XII
sent diplomats to Russia in the Summer of 1699, with the goal of confirming a peace
treaty between the two states from 1661. A skillful diplomat Peter the Great, assured
the envoys of his peaceful intentions but, in reality, he had already decided to go to
war. Augustus II also sent a diplomatic envoy to
Sweden, assuring the king of his friendly intentions and asking for Swedish mediation
in a dispute between himself and Prussia. While all of these diplomatic dialogues took
place, the coalition continued its preparations for war. Ultimately, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp became
alarmed by the Danish naval build-up and informed his ally, Charles XII of what had been transpiring. Though both the Swedes and Holstein had tried
to solve the matter peacefully, the new King of Denmark, Frederick IV, refused to negotiate. The first act of war was committed by Frederick’s
troops in March of 1700 when the Danish army had entered the lands belonging to the Duke
of Holstein and shortly afterwards laid siege to Tonning. Simultaneously, on the other side of the Baltic
Sea, Saxon forces under Augustus entered Livonia and captured the fort of Dunamunde. Charles XII, together with his war council,
seeing the Danish threat as more immediate, decided to strike at them first. Great Britain and the Netherlands were uneasy
at the prospect of a destructive war in the Baltic, as they had trade interests in the
region. Fearing that the conflict might destabilize
their economies, the maritime powers deployed their fleets to the Öresund to ensure that
no lasting harm to trade and their merchants would be done. By August, a Swedish force of 16000 had assembled
in Scania. Though attacking the main Danish army and
lifting the Siege of Tonning seemed like the most secure way to deal a decisive defeat
to Frederick IV, Charles opted for the riskier option of attacking the Danish mainland itself. The Swedish fleet, with Charles himself and
his troops on board, managed to outmaneuver their more formidable Danish counterpart and
make contact with the British and Dutch fleet. The maritime powers were willing to assist
the Swedish King, so the Danish fleet was forced to retreat to Copenhagen. Skillfully avoiding parts of the island where
coastal batteries were present, Swedish troops subsequently disembarked on Zealand. The Danish mustered up around 700 men and
7 artillery pieces to attack the Swedish disembarking forces , however, they were no match for 2500
Swedish soldiers led by Charles himself. It was here that Charles XII saw the battle
for the first time and proved himself an excellent leader, being the first one to jump in the
water and lead the assault. The Danish were caught completely by surprise
with this move and were starting to panic, as the Swedish army was within a stone’s
throw from their capital. A few days after Charles set foot on Zealand,
more Swedish soldiers landed there as well and preparations were made for the march on
Copenhagen. Meanwhile, the Swedish, Dutch, and British
fleets blockaded and started bombarding Copenhagen from the sea. With Copenhagen surrounded by both land and
sea, Frederick IV of Denmark made peace with the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and peace with
Sweden was achieved soon afterwards as well. On the 18th of August 1700, the same day that
peace was made between Denmark and Sweden, Peter I of Russia declared war on Sweden and
began his offensive into Ingria. The first target of Peter the Great’s campaign
was Narva, a crucial fort near the Baltic Sea. Peter besieged Narva with an army more than
30000 strong and with more than 150 cannons. Such an artillery force would have reduced
Narva to rubble, were it not for the fact that the Russians suffered from a lack of
ammunition due to bad roads. With trouble brewing in the West, in what
would become the War of the Spanish Succession, the fleet of the maritime powers transported
the Swedish army back to the mainland before setting sail westwards. As the Swedish army was finally united, Charles
was able to set sail for Livonia. Although Dunamunde fell to the Saxon forces
quickly and with little resistance, Patkul gravely misjudged the loyalty and intentions
of the Livonian nobility. He had expected the Livonian nobility to join
Augustus and Riga to fall quickly too, however, Livonian support was minimal and Saxon forces
alone were not strong enough to take the city. Learning of the Danish defeat, Augustus II
retreated across the Duna river in hope that Charles would agree to a ceasefire. Charles arrived with a part of his army in
Pernau in Autumn. As Augustus retreated beyond the Duna river
for winter quarters, Charles decided to head towards Narva and the Russian army. The rest of the Swedish war council, along
with foreign emissaries, tried to persuade Charles to postpone the attack on the Russian
army until after winter had passed and the army was united. Charles, however, wished nothing other than
to meet his enemy in an open battle, and not even the knowledge of the size of the Russian
army could dissuade him. While marching towards Narva, on the 7th of
November, a part of the Swedish army clashed with a Russian raiding party under the command
of Boris Sheremetev at Johvi. Although the Russian raiding party suffered
relatively heavy casualties compared to the Swedish ones, General Sheremetev became aware
of how far the Swedish army was from Narva. On the 18th of November, Charles XII arrived
with his army at the village of Lagena, about 8 kilometers away from Narva. Seeing that many of the horses were ill and
that there was heavy snowfall, he knew he needed to act quickly. As soon as he was certain that Narva had not
fallen and that his men were ready, Charles left Lagena. Meanwhile, the Russians, being aware that
the Swedish army was on its way, began defensive preparations. Trenches were dug around the Narva river’s
meander and wooden stakes were placed in the center, on the Goldenhof hill. There were two rows of ramparts running alongside
the trench as well, and between them there were soldier’s barracks. Several artillery batteries were placed along
the trenches, though they would not have any effect on the battle, as the Russian army
ran out of ammunition several weeks before. Sources differ when it comes to the exact
size of the Russian army, but modern estimates agree that they had between 35000 and 40000
men at their disposal, with the overwhelming majority being infantry. The Russian forces were stretched for over
6 kilometers on their side of the trenches. The Russian army was under the general command
of Peter I and Field Marshal Fyodor Golovin. The right-wing of the Russian forces were
commanded by General Avtonom Golovin, the center by Ivan Trubetskoy, and the left by
Adam Veyde. The Russian cavalry, placed on the far side
of their left wing, near the bank of the Narva river, was commanded by Boris Sheremetev. The Swedes had around 9000 men, out of which
5500 grenadiers, 3500 dragoon cavalry, and 37 cannons. The army was split into two relatively equal
parts. The right wing contained 3000 grenadiers and
was commanded by Otto Vellingk, a veteran of the Scanian war. It was divided into three columns, with the
one in the center being smaller and being hollow in the middle. The left wing was divided into two groups,
with one being commanded by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Rehnskiold, and the other by Magnus
Stenbock. Rehnskiold had around 1500 infantry, divided
into two columns, while Stenbock had 1000 infantrymen under his command. The Swedish cavalry was positioned on the
flanks, mostly in order to guard the infantry against Russian flanking maneuvers. Charles XII himself led the cavalry on the
left flank. The Swedish artillery core, under the command
of Johan Siöblad, had 16 artillery pieces placed in between the left and the right wing
of the army, and 21 were positioned on the left wing. Moving his army through the forest and barely
passable trails, Charles reached the outskirts of Narva and positioned himself on Germansberg
hill. After performing reconnaissance of the Russian
defenses, at 10 a.m. of the 19th, Charles positioned his army in preparation for battle. He was hoping to meet Peter on the battlefield,
however, the Tsar, had left Narva the day before the battle, taking Fyodor Golovin with
him. The command of the army was given to Charles
Eugene de Croy, a Saxon diplomatic envoy to Peter. De Croy, aware of his lack of military skill,
was initially unwilling to take command of the army, however, it is said that Peter convinced
him over a glass of wine. Avtonom Golovin, Veyde, and Trubetskoy were
just as inexperienced as De Croy was. The most capable Russian commander at Narva
was Boris Sheremetev, though he was passed over for holding a lower rank than the others. The Russian commanders, even though fielding
a superior force, were unwilling to commit to open battle, fearing that the Swedish army
that they were seeing was merely the vanguard of a much greater unit. The battle commenced when Charles ordered
his soldiers to fire two volleys at their enemies and advance toward the trenches. At 2 p.m., the weather changed. A heavy snowstorm and hailstorm started and
the wind was blowing directly in the face of the Russian soldiers. Using the snowstorm as a screen, Charles ordered
his men to fill up the trenches with fascines and start directly assaulting the Russian
positions. In less than 15 minutes, the Swedish infantry
filled up the trenches enough for their cavalry to pass. The Russian soldiers did not see the Swedes
until they were right in front of them. The infantry under the command of Rehnskiold
quickly captured the artillery batteries in the center , while the infantry under Stenbock
directly assaulted the Russian army. Due to the number of barracks and the bad
positioning of the Russian ramparts, the Russian troops did not have much room to maneuver
and brutal closer quarters combat ensued, where the Swedish soldiers had the clear upper
hand. Due to the Swedish relentless assault, and
the surprise of the attack, the majority of the Russian right flank descended into complete
disarray. A large number of the soldiers fled towards
the bridge to the North. Few managed to escape though, as the bridge
collapsed under their weight, taking many men with it to the bottom of the river. Many of the Russian soldiers tried swimming
across the ice-cold river as well, with almost all drowning in the process. The soldiers who were left in the trenches
also tried to flee, only to be forced back by Charles’ dragoons. The only part of the Russian right which still
posed some organized resistance were the elite Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky guards. They created a wagon fort on the far side
of the Russian right wing, near the Narva river. Continuous assaults against the wagon fort
did not yield any results and the Swedish army suffered heavy casualties. In the meantime, the Swedish right wing saw
as much success as the left. The Russian forces were quickly routed and
part of the Swedish right was able to join the left wing shortly afterwards. Sheremetev, seeing that the cavalry would
be useless in this type of close quarters combat, fled southwards. De Croy, also aware of how dire the situation
was, decided to surrender to Charles. As night began to fall, the battle became
even more fierce and bloody. Charles drew up many of his footmen in between
the city and the entrenchments so that he could not be surprised from any side. Wishing to cut the lines of communication
between what was left of the Russian army’s wings, Charles ordered Sjoblad to capture
the artillery battery on Goldenhof hill. By morning, General Golovin surrendered as
well. His troops were allowed to keep their arms,
as Charles admired the bravery of the two elite guards. General Veide, learning of the surrender of
the right wing, subsequently surrendered the left wing. After receiving the arms and standards of
the left wing, Charles allowed the rest of the Russian army to leave over the bridge
which his forces had already repaired. The battle was a catastrophe for the Russians,
as their casualties amounted up to 10000 men, with de Croy and most of the other commanders
ending up as prisoners. The Swedish army, on the other hand, lost
less than 1500 men. To make matters worse for the Russians, the
Swedes had captured 143 cannons and 28 mortars, almost the entire amount of artillery that
Peter the Great had at his disposition, as well as the entire Russian baggage train. The battle of Narva confirmed two things to
Europe - that the Swedish army was one of the best and that the Russian army was as
ineffective as it was large. Charles XII, merely 18 years of age, proved
that he was a more than capable military commander who, backed by an army of as great quality
as the Swedish one, could overcome the insurmountable odds that were stacked against him. With the victory at Narva, a complete Swedish
victory in the war seemed like a distinct possibility. On the other hand, knowing that his army was
merely beginning to reform, Peter the Great was not disheartened, and he famously remarked:
“they have beaten us, they might beat us again, but in time they will teach us how
to beat them”. Our series on the Great Northern War will
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