The battle of Narva is one of the most remarkable in the chronicle of the battles of Peter I. In fact, this was the first major battle of the young Russian state. And although it ended unsuccessfully enough for both Russia and Peter I, the significance of this battle can hardly be overestimated. It showed all the weaknesses of the Russian army and posed many unpleasant questions about weapons and logistics. The subsequent solution of these problems strengthened the army, making it one of the most victorious at the time. And the beginning of this was the battle of Narva. We will try to briefly talk about this event in our article.
Background
The beginning of the Russian-Swedish confrontation can be considered a conflict that erupted over the conclusion of a thirty-year Turkish peace. The process of concluding this agreement could be frustrated due to strong Swedish resistance. Upon learning of such opposition, the tsar ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador Knipper-Kron from Moscow, and ordered his representative in Sweden to declare war on this kingdom. At the same time, Peter I agreed to end the matter in peace, provided that the Swedes ceded the Narva fortress to him.
Charles XII found this appeal outrageous and took countermeasures. At his command, all property of the Russian embassy was confiscated, and all representatives were arrested. In addition, the king of Sweden ordered the arrest of the property of Russian merchants, and they themselves use it for hard work. Almost all of them died in captivity and poverty. Karl agreed to the war.
Peter I found this situation unacceptable. However, he allowed all Swedes to leave Russia and did not arrest their property. Thus began the Northern War. The battle of Narva was one of the first episodes of this conflict.
The beginning of the confrontation
Trying to break through to the shores of the Baltic, Russian troops from August 1700 led the siege of Narva. Six regiments of the Novgorod governor Prince Trubetskoy were sent under the Swedish fortress, in addition, to strengthen the position of the Russian army directly under Narva, the cavalry of Count Golovin and the remaining regiments of his division were redeployed. The fortress was subjected to numerous bombardments. which several times led to serious fires. The Russians were in no hurry to storm the well-defended walls, hoping for an early surrender of Narva.
But soon they felt a lack of gunpowder, shells, the supply of provisions worsened, the smell of treason. One of the captains, who had Swedish roots, violated the oath and went over to the side of the enemy. The Tsar, in order to avoid the recurrence of such cases, sacked all the foreigners who occupied command posts and sent them into the depths of Russia, awarding them with ranks. On November 18, Peter I personally went to Novgorod to track the supply of military supplies and provisions. The continuation of the siege was entrusted to the Duke de Croix and Prince Y. F. Dolgorukov.
The deployment of Russian troops
It should be noted that the battle of Narva in 1700 was designed for active offensive operations - the Russian troops occupied positions suitable only for active retreat, but not for defense. The advanced units of Peter's divisions were stretched along a thin line almost seven kilometers long. There was also no artillery in its place - because of the acute shortage of shells, she was in no hurry to take her positions at the bastions of Narva.
So the Russian army met the dawn of November 19, 1700. The battle began near Narva.
Swedish attack
Taking advantage of the absence of the king, the Swedish troops, covering themselves with a blizzard and fog, advanced on the offensive. Charles XII created two strike groups that managed to break through the Russian defenses in the center and on one of the flanks. The decisive offensive confused the Russians: many foreign officers of the Petrine troops, led by de Croix, switched to the enemy’s side.
The battle of Narva showed all the weaknesses of the Russian army. Bad military training and treason of command completed the rout - the Russian troops fled.
Departure from Positions
The Russians were retreating ... A large number of people and military equipment randomly flocked to the decrepit bridge on the Narva River. Under exorbitant weight, the bridge collapsed, drowning many people under its rubble. Seeing a mass flight, the cavalry of the boyar Sheremetev, who occupied the rearguards of Russian positions, succumbed to general panic and began to force Narva to swim.
The battle of Narva was virtually lost.
Counterattack
Only thanks to the stamina and courage of two separate regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky - did the Swedes manage to block the offensive. They stopped the panic and successfully repelled the onslaught of the royal troops. The surviving regiments were gradually joined by the remains of the remaining Russian units. Several times Karl XII personally led the Swedes to attack, but each time he had to retreat. As night fell, the fighting subsided. Negotiations have begun.
Narva Agreement
The battle of Narva ended in the defeat of the Russians, but the backbone of the army survived. Despite the difficult situation of Peter's troops, Charles XII was not sure of the unconditional victory of the Swedes, therefore he accepted the terms of the peace treaty. Opponents concluded an agreement according to which Russian troops were allowed to retreat.
When remelted to the other side of Narva, the Swedes captured several officers and took all the weapons. The shameful world initiated by the
Narva confusion lasted about four years. Only the next battle near Narva, 1704, made it possible for the Russian army to even the score in this war. But this is a completely different story.
Results of Narva Confusion
The battle of Narva showed the entire backwardness of the Russian army, its poor experience even before a small enemy army. In the battle of 1700, only about 18 thousand people fought on the side of the Swedes against the thirty-five thousandth Russian army. Lack of coordination, poor logistics, poor training and outdated weapons are the main reasons for the defeat in Narva. After analyzing the reasons, Peter I concentrated his efforts on combined arms training, and sent the best of his generals to study military affairs abroad. One of the priority tasks was the rearmament of the army with the latest models of military equipment. A few years later, the military reforms of Peter I led to the fact that the Russian army became one of the most powerful in Europe.