In the summer of 1709, the Swedish army under the command of King Charles XII invaded the territory of Russia. In the Russian headquarters, nothing was known about the plans for the direction of Karl’s campaign. Maybe he will go to obliterate St. Petersburg and conquer the native Russian lands. Maybe he will go east and, having captured Moscow, will dictate peace terms from there.
Peter has long tried to make peace with its northern neighbors. But Charles XII each time rejected the emperor's proposals, wanting to destroy Russia as a state and divide it into small vassal principalities. During the campaign, Charles XII changed plans and led his troops to Ukraine. There he was waiting for the hetman Mazepa, treacherously betraying Russia and deciding to cooperate with the Swedes. Below will be the history of the Poltava battle.
Traffic to Moscow
The Swedish army was moving slowly, and the Russians were retreating, taking cattle along the way, destroying provisions and fodder, and arranging barriers that impeded the enemy’s movement. Peter believed that it was necessary to delay the time of decisive battle, and tried to exhaust the strength of the enemy. But a clash happened. It ended in defeat for the Russians. Peter used it for educational purposes. And this was the last success of the Swedes in the annals of the Northern War.
The passionate and keen king, for whom the battlefield was more interesting than balls, and the sounds of the artillery cannonade and the groans of the wounded were music for him, did not develop success and turned to Mogilev. He waited a month for reinforcements. But it lingered. Having not received a convoy with fodder, food, gunpowder, uniform, as well as a detachment of 16 thousand people, Charles XII went to Smolensk. A battle took place near the village of Dobry, in which the Swedes suffered losses of 1-2 thousand people, the Russians had ten times less. Peter rejoiced as a child of excellent training in the Russian army.
South movement
From Smolensk, the Swedes abruptly changed the direction of movement, and Peter became aware that the long-awaited reinforcements were coming to them. The Russians attacked him. The result of a long battle in the swamps and marshes was the loss by the Swedish army of 8,000 soldiers and all supplies that the convoy was carrying. Peter praised the importance of the first great victory - it preceded the battle of Poltava. And Karl instead of a large army received 6,700 ragged, completely demoralized. Prior to the loss of this corps and convoy, Karl had the opportunity to maneuver. He could go north to capture St. Petersburg, he could go east to smash Moscow. Ukraine was the third destination. And in the end, Karl had the opportunity to stop playing with fate and calmly return to his native land, from where he came as an uninvited guest. Karl did not intend to retreat, this would mean the loss of the glory of the great commander. Therefore, only the road to the south, to Mazepa, opened before him. Almost a year remained before the crushing defeat that the battle of Poltava would present to him.
Mazepa
The cunning hetman managed to deeply rub his confidence in Menshikov and Peter. All reports that he has treacherous ties with Poland and Sweden, no one carefully investigated. Moreover, they punished until the execution of those who had the courage to tell the truth, citing irrefutable evidence. And when Mazepa fled to Baturin and began to wait for Karl with food and army, then for Peter this was a big blow. But it was decided that Russian troops would capture Baturin before Karl came to him. It was necessary to hurry. The count was not even for days, but for hours. Menshikov, as always, was ahead.
His detachment stormed Baturin. Menshikov took absolutely everything that he could. The rest simply burned. Approaching the ashes, the Swedes did not receive the fodder and food that Mazepa had promised. And the 30 thousandth army that he promised the king, Mazepa did not have. With him was a small detachment of Cossacks, whom he lured with him, promising that they would fight the enemy. (And there is still the battle of Poltava ahead, it will require forces that are already lacking.)
Winter in Ukraine
Winter was extremely harsh. The army of the Swedish king needed warm winter apartments and still needed food and fodder for the horses. Instead, she was surrounded by Russian troops and periodically attacked. The local population, who did not want to be captured by Catholics, gathered in partisan detachments and also did not give rest to the Swedes. As best they could, the Swedes set up open-air camps in the most cruel cold. The army roamed the steppes, trying to find shelter, rest and food. Each town that they met on their way had to be besieged, while incurring losses, often tangible. The army was melting. And in April 1709, Poltava attracted the attention of Karl. He could not even imagine what the battle of Poltava would result in!
Poltava
It was a strategic place. It allowed easy contact with the Crimean Khanate and get reinforcements from there. This was realized by both Karl and Peter. In Poltava, which was protected only by oak walls, the Russian garrison is located. Its number was ridiculous - 4200 people. Karl approached her with an army of 35,000. Naturally, it seemed to him that he would easily take possession of this small fortress. In April, attempts began to storm the fortress.
They were unsuccessful twice. The Swedes thought about it and decided to start a siege. But Poltava was already rushed to the rescue by a small Russian cavalry detachment - 7,000 men under the command of K. E. Renne. The siege by the Swedes of Poltava was complicated by the fact that it was assigned to lead the Cossacks. They were forced to carry out earthwork, and the hot Cossacks considered this a humiliation for themselves. In addition, the Swedes did not have siege weapons. And the garrison and the inhabitants strengthened the small fortress. They had no thought of surrendering it to the Swedes. Nobody knew yet that it remains three months before the battle of Poltava begins. 1709 will go down in our history forever, and July 10 will be celebrated as the Day of Military Glory of Russia.
Battle preparation
While preparations were underway on the Russian side for the most important battle, Poltava heroically defended itself. Peasants from nearby villages fled to the city, but there was not enough food in it. Already in May, people began to die of hunger. There weren’t enough cores, and the cannons were loaded with cobblestones. The garrison adapted to do arson of Swedish wooden buildings with pots filled with boiling resin. Poltava dared to make attacks on the Swedes. The situation of the latter was terrible. Summer has added new concerns. Due to the heat, worms started in the meat, and it became unfit for food. Bread was difficult and in small quantities. There was no salt. The wounded quickly developed gangrene. Bullets were cast from Russian lead picked up on the ground. And the Russian cannonade did not stop for days on end. The Swedish army was already exhausted, but Peter thought it was not enough.
Concerns of the Russian command
The Russian command helped the fortress hold on. Nine hundred soldiers were able to get into the garrison. With them in the fortress appeared both gunpowder and lead. In early June, led by Boris Sheremetyev, the entire Russian army gathered in a fortified camp. During one of the sorties of the Russian regiments, over a thousand Russian soldiers captured by the Swedes were freed. Soon Peter arrived in the army.
She was on the other side of the river. The Military Council decided to build crossings and move to the side where Poltava stood. This has been accomplished. And behind the Russians, as it once was on the Kulikovo field, there was a river. (The battle of Poltava in 1709 will take place very soon. In two weeks.)
Works in the Russian camp
The army tirelessly strengthened its position. The two flanks were protected by a dense forest, the rear - a river with bridges. Before the vanguard spread plain. It was from there that Peter was waiting for the Swedish attack. Here they built defenses - redoubts. The Poltava battle will take place on this plain, which will go down in our history along with such crucial ones as the Battle of Ice, Kulikovskaya and Stalingrad battles.
Prelude
Just before the battle, just a couple of days before it, Charles XII was wounded on his birthday. It was him, who had not received a single scratch during the years of battles, that the Russian bullet awaited. She hit the heel and went through the entire foot, crushing all the bones. This did not diminish the ardor of the king, and in the dead of night on June 27 the battle began. He did not take the Russians by surprise. Menshikov with his cavalry immediately noticed the movement of the enemy. Artillery shot Swedish infantry point-blank.
Four Swedish guns accounted for a hundred of ours. Excellence was overwhelming. Menshikov was eager for battle, asking for reinforcements. But Peter restrained his ardor and removed him to the rear. The Swedes took this maneuver as a retreat, rushed after them and imprudently approached the guns of the camp. Their losses were great.
Poltava battle, year 1709
At eight in the morning, Peter rebuilt the army. Infantry was placed in the center, between which artillery was evenly distributed. The cavalry was on the flanks. Here it is - the beginning of a general battle! Having gathered all his strength, Karl threw them into the center of the infantry and squeezed her slightly. Peter himself led a battalion in a counterattack.
Russian cavalry rushed from the flanks. The artillery did not stop. The Swedes, falling and dropping guns in huge numbers, made such a crash that the walls seemed to collapse. Two horses were killed near Menshikov. Peter was shot through his hat. The whole field is covered with smoke. The Swedes ran in panic. Karl was picked up, and he tried to hold back a crazy retreat. But no one listened to him. Then the king himself got into the carriage and rushed to the Dnieper. More in Russia they did not see him.
More than nine thousand forever fallen Swedes remained on the battlefield. Our losses amounted to a little over a thousand. The victory was complete and unconditional.
The pursuit
The remnants of the Swedish army, which was 16,000, were stopped the next day and surrendered to the victors. The military power of the Swedes was forever undermined.
If we say what the Battle of Poltava is, briefly, then we can put it in one word - this is a triumph that highly raised the opinion of Russia in Western countries. The country has come a long way from Russia to Russia and completed it on the field near Poltava. And therefore we must remember in what year the battle of Poltava was - one of the four greatest in the history of our country.