The Great Northern War of the beginning of the 18th century, in which many states of northern Europe were involved, significantly influenced the geopolitical situation and the further development of the entire continent. The main battles of the Northern War led to the painful defeat of the Swedish Empire. The state that has ruled the ball for centuries in Scandinavia, the Baltic states and throughout northern Europe will never regain its former power. At the same time, the main battles of the Northern War
led to an unprecedented earlier exaltation of the Russian empire in the place of a sufficient local Moscow kingdom. As a result of this conflict, and, of course, thanks to the policy of the first emperor of the Russian state, the country strengthened its position in the Baltic states, the ports of the
North Sea and for the first time found a powerful fleet. However, this conflict was not always successful for the Moscow forces. Moreover, at the first stage, the war was very successful for Sweden. But when did these tipping points occur? Where did the main battle of the Northern War happen? The answers to this question can be very different. The confrontation dragged on for two whole decades - from 1700 to 1721. And several battles should be singled out at once, which have had a major impact on the history of Russia, Europe and the whole world.
The main battles of the Northern War
Battle of Narva
This battle was the first significant in the clash of Russian and Swedish armies. In August 1700, Charles XII forces him to capitulate Denmark allied to Russia and make peace with him. After this victory, the Swedish troops begin a campaign on the northern Russian fortress in Narva and in mid-November achieve victory. This defeat revealed a strong backwardness of the Russian state militarily and economically. The country was on the verge of conquest. However, the correct conclusions drawn from this defeat helped the Russian leadership to recover from it soon.
The main battle of the Northern War
Where and when did it happen? For our country, such, without a doubt, is the famous Poltava battle. By 1709, the Swedes not only managed to advance far to the south of the continent, but also removed a number of Peter's allies from the war. First of all, we are talking about Saxony and Poland. The whole burden of confrontation with a powerful enemy lay on the shoulders of Russia. The Swedish campaign in this land began in the spring of 1708. It probably makes no sense to repeat once again how the Battle of Poltava ended. This is known to every student today. But what’s important, it became the turning point of the entire conflict, after which the Russian armies managed to transfer the theater of war from Ukraine to the Baltic states.
Gangut battle
In 1714, the newborn Russian fleet won its first resounding victory at Cape Gangut. In fact, after this defeat, the offensive initiative goes forever to the armies of Peter.
Gregam battle
In 1720, the young Russian fleet won another high-profile victory near the island of Gregam. Sweden, previously defeated on land, and now with a defeated fleet, was forced to make peace. Thus, the main battles of the Northern War ultimately led to the so-called Nishtad Peace Treaty (by the name of the city where it was signed), as a result of which the coast of the Baltic Sea departed from Riga to Vyborg in favor of Russia, which turned it into a sea power.