swedish empire Kingdom of Russia Commanders Charles XII
Carl Gustav Rehnschild Peter I
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov Side forces General Forces :
26,000 Swedes (about 11,000 cavalry and 15,000 infantry), 1,000 Wallachian hussars, 41 guns, about 2,000 Cossacks

Total: about 37,000. 30 thousand Swedes, 6 thousand Cossacks, 1 thousand Vlachs.

Forces in battle:
8270 infantry, 7800 dragoons and reytars, 1000 hussars, 4 guns

Did not take part in the battle: Cossacks

General Forces :
about 37,000 infantry (87 battalions), 23,700 cavalry (27 regiments and 5 squadrons), 102 guns (according to other sources, 302 guns)

Total: about 60,000 (according to modern data, 80,000). of which 8 thousand Cossacks Skoropadsky.

Forces in battle:
25,000 infantry, 9,000 dragoons, Cossacks and Kalmyks, another 3,000 Kalmyks came to the end of the battle

Poltava garrison:
4200 infantry, 2000 Cossacks, 28 guns

Military casualties 6700-9234 killed and wounded,
2874 prisoners during the battle and 15-17 thousand at Perevolochna 1345 killed, 3290 wounded

Northern War (1700-1721)

Poltava battle- the largest battle of the Northern War between Russian troops under the command of Peter I and the Swedish army of Charles XII. It took place on the morning of June 27 (July 8), 1709, 6 versts from the city of Poltava on Russian lands (the Left Bank of the Dnieper). The decisive victory of the Russian army led to a turning point in the Great Northern War in favor of Russia and put an end to the dominance of Sweden as one of the leading military forces in Europe.

background

In October 1708, Peter I became aware of the betrayal and defection to the side Charles XII hetman Mazepa, who negotiated with the king for quite a long time, promising him, in case of arrival in Ukraine, up to 50 thousand Cossack troops, food and comfortable wintering. On October 28, 1708, Mazepa, at the head of a detachment of Cossacks, arrived at Karl's headquarters. After that, Peter I was amnestied and recalled from exile (accused of betrayal on the slander of Mazepa) Ukrainian colonel Semyon Paly (real name Gurko); thus the king enlisted the support of the Cossacks.

Of the many thousands of Ukrainian Cossacks (registered Cossacks, there were 30 thousand, Zaporozhye Cossacks - 10-12 thousand), Mazepa managed to bring only about 10 thousand people, about 3 thousand registered Cossacks and about 7 thousand Cossacks. But even those soon began to scatter from the camp of the Swedish army. Such unreliable allies, of whom about 2 thousand remained, King Charles XII did not dare to use in battle, and therefore left them in the wagon train.

Charles XII, having received information about the imminent approach to the Russians of a large Kalmyk detachment, decided to attack Peter's army before the Kalmyks completely disrupted his communications (a defector from the Germans was allegedly sent to the Swedes. He said that Tsar Peter would not come today - tomorrow he would come to the rescue detachment of Kalmyk cavalry numbering 18 thousand sabers). Wounded during reconnaissance on June 17, the king handed over command to Field Marshal K. G. Renschild, who received 20 thousand soldiers at his disposal. About 10 thousand people, including Mazepa's Cossacks, remained in the camp near Poltava.

On the eve of the battle, Peter I traveled around all the regiments. His brief patriotic appeals to soldiers and officers formed the basis of the famous order, which required the soldiers to fight not for Peter, but for "Russia and Russian piety ..."

Tried to raise the spirit of his army and Charles XII. Inspiring the soldiers, Karl announced that tomorrow they would dine in the Russian wagon train, where a lot of booty awaited them.

The course of the battle

Swedish attack on redoubts

According to Englund, two battalions of the Uppland Regiment suffered the greatest losses, which were surrounded and completely destroyed (14 out of 700 people survived).

Side losses

Church at the site of the battle

In the battle, the Swedes lost over 11 thousand soldiers. Russian losses were 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded.

Results

As a result of the Battle of Poltava, the army of King Charles XII was so bloodless that it could no longer conduct active offensive operations. Menshikov, having received reinforcements of 3,000 Kalmyk cavalry by evening, pursued the enemy to Perevolochna on the banks of the Dnieper, where about 16,000 Swedes were taken prisoner.

During the Battle of Poltava, Peter used tactics that are still mentioned in military schools. Shortly before the battle, Peter dressed the experienced soldiers in the uniform of the young ones. Karl, knowing that the form of experienced fighters is different from the form of young ones, led his army to young fighters and fell into a trap.

Cards

event memory

Museum-Reserve "Field of the Battle of Poltava"

• On the site of the battle at the beginning of the 20th century, the Poltava Battlefield Museum-Reserve was founded (now the National Museum-Reserve). A museum was built on its territory, monuments to Peter I, Russian and Swedish soldiers were erected, on the site of the camp of Peter I, etc.
• In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava (held on the day of St. Sampson the Hospitable) in 1735, a sculptural group “Samson Tearing the Mouth of a Lion” was installed in Peterhof, designed by Carlo Rastrelli. The lion was associated with Sweden, whose coat of arms contains this heraldic beast.
• In honor of the Battle of Poltava, the Sampson Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Sampson Church in Poltava were built.
• To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, the medal "In Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Poltava" was instituted.

• Monument at the resting place of Peter I after the battle
• Monument to Colonel Kelin and the valiant defenders of Poltava.

On coins

In honor of the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, on June 1, the Bank of Russia issued the following commemorative silver coins (only reverses are shown):

In fiction

• In the novel "Poltava Peremoga" by Oleg Kudrin (shortlist for the Nonconformism 2010 Prize, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow), the event was "replayed" in the genre of alternative history.

In music

• The Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton dedicated their song "Poltava" from the album Carolus Rex to the Battle of Poltava. The song was recorded in two versions: in English and Swedish.

Images

Documentary film

Art films

In philately

Notes

1. A. A. Vasiliev. On the composition of the Russian and Swedish armies in the battle of Poltava. Military history magazine. 1989. No. 7.]
2. see Krotov P. A. Battle of Poltava: on the 300th anniversary. St. Petersburg: Historical Illustration, 2009. 416 p.
3. All the wars of world history, according to the Harper Encyclopedia military history R. Dupuis and T. Dupuis with comments by N. Volkovsky and D. Volkovsky. St. Petersburg, 2004, book 3, p.499
4. The Day of Military Glory of Russia - The Day of Victory over the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava is celebrated not on the eighth, but on July 10. The date of the battle fell on the day of remembrance of St. Sampson the Stranger, who is rightfully considered the heavenly patron of the Battle of Poltava; in memory of which the Sampson Church near Poltava and the Sampson Cathedral in St. Petersburg were built. And the day of memory of Sampson the Stranger The Orthodox Church honors every year not on the 8th, but on July 10th.
5. There is no documentary evidence of the details of Mazepa's preliminary proposals to Karl. However, it is known that the negotiations were conducted for quite a long time. According to T. G. Tairova-Yakovleva in his book “Mazeppa”, which is replete with typos and inaccuracies, he opened his entourage on September 17, 1707. In her book, Tairova-Yakovlevna cites Mazepa’s statement, recorded by his faithful follower, the clerk Orlik: “I did not want and did not want Christian bloodshed, but I intended, having come to Baturin with the Swedish king, to write a letter of thanks for the protection of the royal majesty, describing everything our grievances ... ". Thus, plans to bring Karl to Baturin existed. In addition, in a later signed agreement with Karl Mazepa, he undertakes to give him as a base for the duration of the war, in addition to other cities, Baturin (which has already been completely burned and is not suitable for these purposes). Apparently, the agreement itself was prepared before the burning of Baturin.
6. Sergey Kulichkin. Peter the First. Historical portrait of the commander.
7. According to the research of P. A. Krotov, based on a comparison archival documents, there were much more guns in the battle - 302 , see Krotov P. A. Battle of Poltava: on the 300th anniversary. SPb., 2009
8. All wars of world history, according to the Harper Encyclopedia of Military History by R. Dupuis and T. Dupuis with comments by N. Volkovsky and D. Volkovsky. St. Petersburg, 2004, book 3, pp. 499-500
9. Vitaly Slinko. Poltava battle. Orthodox news agency "Russian Line"
10. V. A. Artamonov Battle of Poltava and Eastern Europe -, Golden Lion Magazine No. 213-214 - edition of Russian conservative thought
11. Englund P. Poltava: A story about the death of one army. - M: New book review, 1995. - 288 with ISBN 5-86793-005-X
12. According to P. Englund, out of 8000 Swedish infantrymen, 2000 died during the assault on the redoubts, and about 2000 separated with Roos.
13. Vladimir Lapin Poltava // "Star". - 2009. - V. 6.

Literature

• Krotov P. A. Battle of Poltava: on the 300th anniversary. - St. Petersburg: Historical illustration, 2009. - 416 p.
• Krotov P. A. Peter I and Charles XII in the fields near Poltava ( comparative analysis military leadership) // Problems of war and peace in the era of modern and modern times (on the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit): Materials of the international scientific conference. St. Petersburg, December 2007 - St. Petersburg: SPbGU Publishing House, 2008. - P. 48-57.
• Krotov P. A. Military leadership of Peter I and A. D. Menshikov in the Battle of Poltava (To the 300th anniversary of the Poltava victory) // Menshikov Readings - 2007 / Ed. ed. P. A. Krotov. - St. Petersburg: Historical illustration, 2007. - S. 37-92.
• Moltusov V. A. Battle of Poltava: Lessons of military history. - M.: OR of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation; Kuchkovo field, 2009. - 512 p. ISBN 978-5-9950-0054-9
• Poltava: To the 300th anniversary of the Poltava battle. Digest of articles. - M.: Kuchkovo field, 2009. - 400 p. ISBN 978-5-9950-0055-6
• Pavlenko N. I., Artamonov V. A. June 27, 1709. - M .: Young Guard, 1989. - 272 p. -( Memorable dates stories). - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-235-00325-X(reg.)
• Englund Peter. Poltava: The story of the death of one army = Englund P. Poltava. Berattelsen om en armés undergång. - Stockholm: Atlantis, 1989. - M .: New Book Review, 1995. - ISBN 5-86793-005-X

see also

• Mass grave of Russian soldiers who fell in the Battle of Poltava

Links

July 10 - Day of military glory, dedicated to the great victory of Peter I over the Swedes in the Poltava battle.

The Battle of Poltava, which took place on June 27 (July 8), 1709, is a key battle Northern war 1700-1721. The defeat of the army of the Swedish king Charles XII by the Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter the Great made it possible to turn the tide of the war in favor of Russia and lay the foundation for further victories, as a result of which our country gained access to the Baltic Sea and became an empire.

North War

Before the Poltava victory, Russia was actually losing the war with Sweden. Russia's allies represented by Denmark and the Saxon Elector and Polish King Augustus II proved to be extremely unreliable. To withdraw Denmark from the war, the Swedes needed only one demonstration of serious military force near Copenhagen, and Augustus II, after a series of serious military and political defeats that deprived him of the Polish table, signed a separate peace with Charles XII.
As a result, by 1707 Russia was left face to face with a significantly strengthened Sweden.
Despite a number of victories won by the Russian troops in Ingermanland, Estland and Livonia, which made possible the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, the ghost of a heavy defeat near Narva continued to wander over Russia and its army, especially after Charles XII all their forces on the young power of Peter, hoping to quickly capture it, dismember it and deprive it of statehood.

Charles XII goes to Russia

The threat looming over Russia caused a wide popular upsurge. Throughout 1707, the country was intensively preparing for defense in the face of an inevitable invasion from the enemy. Pskov, Novgorod, Smolensk, Bryansk, Kyiv and other border towns were turned into impregnable fortresses. Moscow was also preparing for defense and, of course, St. Petersburg, recently founded on the territory recaptured from the Swedes at the mouth of the Neva.
In the following year, 1708, the Swedish army led personally by King Charles XII defeated the Russian army near Golovchin near Mogilev, crossed the Dnieper and invaded the Russian state. However, the approaching autumn and the widespread popular resistance of the inhabitants of Belarus to the Swedish invaders forced Charles XII to turn to Little Russia, rich in bread, whose hetman Ivan Mazepa was already in secret correspondence with the Swedish king, promising him to go over to his side and all kinds of assistance.

"Mother of Poltava Victoria"

However, the betrayal of Mazepa, whom Peter I trusted very much, did not bring the Swedes either a quiet winter, or a complete and timely supply of food, fodder and ammunition. Did not take the side of the traitor and the bulk of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. On September 28, 1708, the Russian army, led personally by Peter I, defeated the Swedish corps of Levengaupt near the village of Lesnoy, which was heading from the Baltic to join the main forces of Charles XII. The sovereign himself subsequently called the battle near Lesnaya "the mother of Poltava Victoria." A huge convoy with a supply of food for several months and military supplies fell entirely into the hands of the Russians. As a result, wintering in Little Russia brought the Swedes great amount problems. As a result of famine, epidemics and clashes with both regular and irregular Russian detachments, the Swedish army by the spring of 1709 had lost up to a third of its strength.

"Hooray! We are breaking, the Swedes are bending ... "

In April 1709, Charles XII begins the siege of Poltava. Despite the fact that Poltava was not a powerful fortress and did not have serious fortifications, the garrison of the city, led by Colonel Alexei Kelin, managed to hold the city for two and a half months and repel assaults from the enemy. At the end of May, the main forces of the Russian army, led by Peter I and his closest associates Boris Sheremetev and Alexander Menshikov, came to the aid of the besieged. At the military council, Peter I decided to give a general battle to the enemy.
On June 20, 1709, the Russian army crossed the Vorskla River and set up a fortified camp near the village of Semyonovka, about eight miles north of Poltava. On June 25, Peter I moves his camp a couple of miles closer to the city, to the area of ​​the village of Yakovtsy. On the path of a possible enemy offensive, redoubts were erected in a very short time, with an attack on which by the Swedes the battle began.
Shortly before dawn on June 27, 1709, Swedish infantry and cavalry, led by General Karl Roos, attacked the Russian redoubts, occupying two unfinished forward fortifications. However, in the oncoming battle with Menshikov's cavalry, the Swedes were defeated, were pushed back to the Yakovets forest and forced to surrender.
After this unsuccessful episode, the Swedes lost the initiative. A new attack followed only three hours later. At some point, the Swedes managed to break through the Russian system, strongly pushing one of the battalions of the Novgorod regiment. Then Peter I personally led the counterattack of the Novgorodians and restored the situation.
The fierce battle lasted for about two hours. By 11 o'clock in the morning, the Swedes faltered and began a retreat, which then turned into a rout. Over 9,000 Swedish soldiers were killed in the battle near Poltava, more than 2,900 more, including Field Marshal Renschild, generals Roos, Schlippenbach and Hamilton, were captured. Charles XII himself miraculously managed to escape. Together with his close associates and the traitor Mazepa, he fled to Bendery (at that time the territory Ottoman Empire). Three days later, on June 30, the remnants of the Swedish army, led by Levengaupt, were overtaken by Menshikov's cavalry while crossing the Dnieper near Perevolochna and capitulated.

Russia becomes an empire

The victory at Poltava completely changed the geopolitical map of Europe at that time. Denmark and Saxony again declared war on Sweden, which had sharply lost its power, and Russia took control of the Baltic states and then transferred fighting on the territory of Finland, which made it possible to eliminate the threat to St. Petersburg, which since 1712 became the Russian capital.
As a result of the Peace of Nystadt concluded in 1721, Ingermanland, the Swedish part of Karelia, Estland and Livonia were annexed to Russia.
Thus, thanks to the victory at Poltava, Russia entered its golden imperial era.

This battle became the decisive battle in the Northern War and one of the most striking victories of Russian weapons in history.

god of War

One of the main factors that ensured the victory of the Russian army over the enemy was artillery. Unlike the Swedish king Charles XII, Peter I did not neglect the services of the "god of war". Against four Swedish guns brought to the field near Poltava, the Russians put up 310 different-caliber guns. In a few hours, four powerful artillery strikes were brought down on the advancing enemy. All of them led to serious losses on the part of the Swedes. As a result of one of them, a third of Karl's army was captured: 6 thousand people at once.

Peter the commander

After the Poltava victory, Peter I was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant general. This promotion is not a mere formality. For Peter, the battle of Poltava was one of major events in life and - with certain reservations - he could sacrifice his life if necessary. At one of the decisive moments of the battle, when the Swedes broke through the Russian ranks, he rode forward and, despite the aimed fire that the Swedish riflemen fired at him, galloped along the infantry line, inspiring the fighters personal example. According to legend, he miraculously escaped death: three bullets almost reached the target. One pierced the hat, the second hit the saddle, and the third hit the pectoral cross.
“Know about Peter that life is not dear to him, if only Russia would live in bliss and glory for your well-being,” these are the famous words spoken by him before the start of the battle.

So that the enemy is not afraid ...

The fighting spirit of the soldiers was to match the mood of the commander. The regiments left in reserve seemed to be asking to go to the front line, wishing to take an active part in such an important battle for the country as much as possible. Peter was even forced to justify himself to them: "The enemy is standing near the forest and is already in great fear; if all the regiments are withdrawn, he will not give battle and will leave: for this, it is necessary to make a reduction from other regiments in order to draw the enemy into battle through his belittling" . The advantage of our troops over the enemy was indeed great not only in artillery: 22 thousand against 8 thousand infantrymen and 15 thousand against 8 thousand cavalry.
In order not to frighten the enemy, Russian strategists also resorted to other tricks. For example, Peter ordered that experienced soldiers be dressed in the uniform of recruits so that the deceived enemy would direct his forces at them.

Enemy Encirclement and Surrender

The decisive moment in the battle: the spread of the rumor about the death of Charles. It quickly became clear that the rumor was exaggerated. The wounded king ordered himself to be raised like a banner, like an idol, on crossed spears. He shouted: "Swedes! Swedes!" But it was too late: the exemplary army succumbed to panic and fled.
Three days later, demoralized, she was overtaken by the cavalry under the command of Menshikov. And although the Swedes now had a numerical superiority - 16 thousand against nine - they surrendered. One of the best armies Europe.

sue the horse

However, some Swedes were able to benefit from a crushing defeat. The batman of the Life Dragoon Karl Strokirch during the battle gave the horse to General Lagerkrun. After 22 years, the cavalryman decided that it was time to return the favor, and went to court. The case was considered, the general was accused of horse stealing and ordered to pay compensation of 710 dalers, which is approximately 18 kilograms of silver.

Relation about victoria

Paradoxically, despite the fact that in the battle itself, the Russian troops were doomed to victory in all respects, the report about it, compiled by Peter, made a lot of noise in Europe. It was a sensation.
The Vedomosti newspaper published a letter from Peter to Tsarevich Alexei: "I announce to you a very great victory, which the Lord God has deigned to bestow on us through the indescribable courage of our soldiers, with a small bloodshed of our troops."

Memory of victory

In memory of the victory and the soldiers who died for it, a temporary oak cross was erected at the site of the battle. Peter also planned to lay a monastery here. The wooden cross was replaced by a granite one only after a hundred years. Even later - by the end of the 19th century - on the site of the mass grave they built the monument and the chapel that today's tourists see. Instead of the monastery in 1856, a temple was erected in the name of St. Sampson the Old-Receiver, which was attributed to the Exaltation of the Cross Convent. By the 300th anniversary of the battle, the chapel of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, standing on the mass grave, was restored, but like many historical monuments in Ukraine, it is still in disrepair and is almost always closed to the public.

There was a battle that took place between the armies and Charles the 12th on June 27 (July 8), 1709. In the spring of 1709, Poltava was besieged by the 35,000th army of Charles the 12th. The King of Sweden hoped to use the city to replenish food supplies. In addition, the capture of Poltava would open the way to Kharkov and Moscow. The garrison stationed in the city under the leadership of A.S. Kelin, reinforced by A.D. Menshikov, successfully resisted the attacks of the Swedes, holding down the main forces of Charles. This made it possible for Peter to concentrate his troops and prepare for battle.

the date Poltava battle was determined at the military council on June 16 (27). But, trying to get ahead of Peter, Charles the 12th started the battle first. His troops advanced to the Russian redoubts at 2 am. The attack began at dawn, at 4 am. Quite quickly, the Swedes managed to capture two Russian redoubts, and then, by 6 in the morning, go through the entire longitudinal line of fortifications. As a result, the right flank of the army of Charles the 12th was only 100 steps from the Russian camp and, having fallen under artillery fire, was forced to retreat to the Budyshchansky forest.

At the same time, Menshikov's successful attack on the Ross group put the Swedes to flight. The retreating Russian infantry pursued, and the cavalry returned to the camp. The armies have reorganized. Charles built the infantry in one line, and the cavalry on the flanks in two. Peter the 1st also places the cavalry on the flanks, but he builds the infantry in two lines. Artillery guns were placed along the entire front. Reserve troops remained in Peter's camp.

The rapprochement of the armies took place at 9 am, after hand-to-hand combat began. The right flank of the Swedes began to push back the first line of Russian infantry from the center, thereby forming a breach. The attack on the right flank was supported by the Swedish cavalry. But the Novgorod battalion brought personally by Peter into the battle stopped them. The cavalry outflanked Charles's army. The Swedes again retreated to the Budyshchansky forest, and then, after an unsuccessful attempt to gather troops, to the convoy located near the village of Pushkarevka. The units that had previously besieged Poltava also retreated.

It happens around 11 o'clock in the afternoon. And in the evening, Karl leads the defeated army to the crossing prepared in advance across the Dnieper.

On the morning of July 1, the Russians blocked the Swedes near the crossing, near the village of Perevolochna. Most of the Swedish troops were captured. Charles the 12th and Hetman Mazepa fled to Bendery, which belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The battle of Poltava in 1709 ended with the complete and unconditional victory of Russian weapons. According to historians, the losses in the Battle of Poltava amounted to 1345 killed and 3290 wounded by the Russians and 9234 killed and 19 thousand wounded by the Swedes.

It was a shame to lose the battle of Poltava: the exhausted, hungry and demoralized Swedes, led by a Scandinavian vagabond, did not pose a big threat.

Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich

The Battle of Poltava took place on June 27, 1709 and, in short, it became one of the most important battles of the Northern War, which we will briefly discuss in this article. Separately, we will dwell on the issues of the cause of the battle, as well as its course. To do this, on the basis of historical documents and maps, we will draw up a detailed battle plan and understand how significant the results of the victory were.

Reasons for the Battle of Poltava

The Northern War developed in such a way that Sweden, led by the young commander-king Charles 12, won one victory after another. As a result, by the middle of 1708, all the allies of Russia were actually withdrawn from the war: both the Commonwealth and Saxony. As a result, it became obvious that the outcome of the war would be determined in a face-to-face battle between Sweden and Russia. Charles 12, on the wave of success, was in a hurry to end the war and in the summer of 1708 crossed the border with Russia. Initially, the Swedes moved to Smolensk. Peter understood perfectly well that such a campaign was aimed at moving inland and defeating the Russian army. Considering the reasons for the Battle of Poltava, it is necessary to pay attention to two very important facts:

• On September 28, 1708, a battle took place near the village of Lesnoy, during which the Swedes were defeated. It would seem that this is an ordinary event for the war. In fact, as a result of this victory, the Swedish army was left virtually without provisions and supplies, because the convoy was destroyed and the roads blocked to send a new one.
• In October 1708, Hetman Mazepa addressed the Swedish king. He and the Zaporozhye Cossacks swore allegiance to the Swedish crown. This was beneficial for the Swedes, since the Cossacks could help them resolve issues with the interrupted provision of food and ammunition.

As a result, the main causes of the Battle of Poltava must be sought in the causes of the start of the Northern War, which at that time had already dragged on quite a bit and required decisive action.

The balance of forces and means before the start of the battle

The Swedes approached Poltava and began its siege at the end of March 1709. The garrison successfully held back the attacks of the enemy, realizing that the king with his army would soon arrive at the battlefield. At this time, Peter himself tried to strengthen his army with allied troops. To do this, he turned to the Crimean Khan and the Turkish Sultan. His arguments were not heard, and having gathered a single Russian army, which was joined by part of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, led by Skoropadsky, went to the besieged fortress.

It should be noted that the Poltava garrison was small, only 2200 people. However, for almost 3 months he resisted the constant assaults of the Swedes. Historians note that during this time about 20 attacks were repulsed and 6,000 Swedes were destroyed.

The Battle of Poltava in 1709, by the time it began, after the approach of the main Russian forces, brought together the following forces of the parties.

Swedish army before the battle:

• Number - 37,000 people (30,000 Swedes, 6,000 Cossacks, 1,000 Vlachs).
• Guns - 4 pieces
• Generals - Karl 12, Rehnschild Karl Gustav, Lewenhaupt Adam Ludwig, Roos Karl Gustav,

  Mazepa Ivan Stepanovich

Russian army before the battle:

• Number - 60,000 people (52,000 Russians, 8,000 Cossacks) - according to some sources - 80,000 people.
• Guns - 111 pieces
• Generals - Peter 1, Sheremetev Boris Petrovich, Repin Anikita Ivanovich, Allart Ludwig Nikolaevich, Menshikov Alexander Danilovich, Renne Karl Edward, Baur Radion Khristianovich, Skoropadsky Ivan Ilyich.

Progress of the Battle of Poltava (briefly)

At 23:00 on June 26 (on the eve of the battle), Charles 12 gave the order to wake up the army and build it into battle formation for the march. However, the disunity of the Swedes played into the hands of the Russians. They were able to bring the army into battle order only at 2 am on June 27. Karl's plans were thwarted, wasted 3 hours completely deprived his attack of the element of surprise. This is how the Battle of Poltava began for the Swedes, the course of which will be briefly discussed below.

Assault on redoubts - scheme of the Battle of Poltava

The Swedes left their camp and headed towards the battlefield. The first obstacle in their path was the Russian redoubts, which were built both horizontally and vertically relative to the position of the Russian army. The assault on the redoubts began in the early morning of June 27, and with it the Battle of Poltava! The first 2 redoubts were taken immediately. In fairness, it should be noted that they were unfinished. The rest of the redoubts were not given to the Swedes. The attacks were not successful. This is largely due to the fact that after the loss of the first two redoubts, the Russian cavalry under the command of Menshikov advanced to the position. Together with the defenders in the redoubts, they managed to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, not allowing him to take possession of all the fortifications. Below is a diagram of the Battle of Poltava for a more detailed visual representation of the course of the battle.

Despite the short-term successes of the Russian army, Tsar Peter at 4 o'clock in the morning orders the retreat of all regiments to the main positions. The redoubts fulfilled their mission - they exhausted the Swedes even before the start of the battle, while the main forces of the Russian army remained fresh. In addition, the Swedes lost about 3,000 people on the approaches to the main battlefield. Such losses are associated with tactical blunders of the generals. Karl 12 and his generals did not expect to storm the redoubts, expecting to pass them through the "dead" zones. In fact, this turned out to be impossible, and the army had to storm the redoubts without having any equipment for this.

Decisive battle

With great difficulty, the Swedes overcame the redoubt. After that, they took up a waiting position, waiting for the imminent arrival of their cavalry. However, General Roos by that time was already surrounded by Russian units and surrendered. Without waiting for the reinforcements of the cavalry, the Swedish infantry lined up and prepared for battle. Forming in a line was Karl's favorite tactic. It was believed that if the Swedes were allowed to build such a battle formation, then it would be impossible to defeat them. In fact, it turned out differently ...

The offensive of the Swedes began at 9 am. As a result of artillery shelling, as well as salvo firing of small arms, the Swedes suffered huge losses from the first minutes. The offensive formation was completely destroyed. At the same time, the Swedes still failed to create a line of attack that would be longer than the Russian line. If the limit values ​​​​of the formation of the Swedish army reached 1.5 kilometers, then the Russian detachments stretched up to 2 kilometers. Having a numerical superiority and smaller gaps between units. The advantage of the Russian army was simply huge. As a result, after the shelling, which created gaps in the Swedes of more than 100 meters, panic and flight began. It happened at 11 o'clock. In 2 hours, Peter's army won a complete victory.

Losses of the parties in the battle

The total losses of the Russian army amounted to 1345 people killed, 3290 people wounded. The losses of the Swedish army turned out to be simply nightmarish:

• All generals killed or captured
• 9,000 killed
• 3,000 taken prisoner
• 16,000 people were captured 3 days after the battle, when they managed to overtake the main forces of the retreating Swedes near the village of Perevolochny.

Pursuit of the enemy

The course of the Battle of Poltava after the retreat of the Swedes took on the character of persecution. On the evening of June 27, an order was given to pursue and capture the enemy army. The detachments of Baur, Galitsina and Menshikov took part in this. The advance of the Russian army was not carried out at the fastest pace. The Swedes themselves were to blame for this, who put General Meyerfeld with "authority" to negotiate.

As a result of all these actions, it was possible to reach the Swedes near the village of Perevolochny only after 3 days. Here they surrendered: 16,000 infantry, 3 generals, 51 command officers, 12,575 non-commissioned officers.

The value of the Poltava battle

From the school bench we are told about the great significance of the Battle of Poltava, and also about the fact that it eternal glory for Russian weapons. Undoubtedly, the battle of Poltava conveyed the superiority in the war to Russia, but is it possible to speak of historical significance as a brilliant and outstanding significance? But with this it is much more difficult ... It is no coincidence that we chose the words of the famous historian Klyuchevsky as an epigraph. You can blame him for anything, but he always describes the era of Peter in an extremely positive way. As a result, even Klyuchevsky admits that even brief study Battle of Poltava indicates that it would be a disgrace to lose in it!

The arguments of historians are significant:

This allows us to say that the victory in the Battle of Poltava was very significant, but its results should not be greatly extolled. It is necessary to make a footnote to the state of the enemy.

The results of the battle and its consequences

We briefly reviewed the Battle of Poltava. Its results are unequivocal - the unconditional victory of the Russian army. Moreover, the Swedish infantry ceased to exist (out of 30,000 army, 28,000 people were captured or killed), artillery also disappeared (Karl had 28 guns 12 initially, 4 reached Poltava, 0 remained after the battle). The victory is unconditional and magnificent, even if you make allowance for the condition of the enemy (in the end it is their problem).

Along with these rosy results, it should be noted that, despite such a glorious victory, the result of the war did not come. There are several reasons for this, most historians agree that this is due to Peter's reaction to the flight of the Swedish army. We said that the Battle of Poltava ended at 11 o’clock in the afternoon, however, the order to pursue followed only at night, after the victory was celebrated ... As a result, the enemy managed to retreat significantly, and Charles 12 himself abandoned his army and went to Turkey to persuade the Sultan to war Russia.

The results of the Poltava victory are ambiguous. Despite the excellent result, Russia did not receive any dividends from this. The delay in ordering the pursuit led to the possibility of the flight of Charles 12 and to the subsequent 12 years of war.