Poltava battle what century. Poltava battle

Before talking about the results of the Battle of Poltava, it is necessary to consider the battle itself, find out its causes, describe the short course of the battle, its participants, and only then take stock.
Poltava battle- a major battle between the forces of the Russian Empire on the one hand and the combined troops of Sweden and the Cossacks of I. Mazepa on the other. The battle took place on July 8, 1709 near the modern city of Poltava. The Russian Empire won.

The reasons

There was a war between the Russian Empire and Sweden, which in history is called the Northern War. The Swedish king Charles XII managed to assemble a powerful army, which he prepared for an invasion into the depths of Russia, and the emperor of the Russian Empire - Peter I understood this very well.
After a difficult winter, the Swedish army lost 1/3 of its entire strength due to the actions of the peasants who hid bread and horses, and the cold winter finished the job. Charles wished to take Poltava, as he saw in it a vulnerable city and a possible base for replenishing his forces, which he needed for a further attack on Moscow.
Karl made more than twenty attacks on Poltava, but the city's garrison did not give up (2 thousand people). Meanwhile, Peter hurried to the aid of Poltava with a large army.

Composition of forces

swedes
The total number of Swedes is 37 thousand people. The troops of the Cossacks-allies numbered 6 thousand people. Charles XII commanded the army of the Swedes. The Swedes also had a few artillery - a little more than 40 guns.
Russia
Approximately 80 thousand soldiers (72 thousand Russian soldiers and 8 thousand Cossacks). The Russian army also had artillery pieces - more than 100. Emperor Peter I commanded the army

The course of the battle

The first move in the Battle of Poltava was made by the Swedish army, attacking the Russian redoubts. Having taken the redoubts, the Swedish army lost its cavalry, and the infantry of the Ras concentrated their formations.
The general battle began at 9 o'clock in the morning, when the Swedish infantry attacked the Russian. Peter met the Swedes with artillery fire, then the armies exchanged volleys from guns, and then hand-to-hand combat ensued with bayonets.
At first, the attack for the Swedes was successful, they managed to push back the first line of the Russians and put the left flank to flight. This was facilitated by the presence among the army of the Swedes of their king. But at that moment, Peter entered the battle with the second line and was able to defuse the dangerous situation, stopping the attack of the Swedes.
On the right flank, the Russian army put the Swedes to flight. This was the mistake of the Swedish cavalry, which was unable to cover the infantry, which is why then she herself was forced to retreat.
Due to their numbers, the Russians continued their powerful onslaught, and by 11 o'clock the Swedes began to retreat in disorder. The battle was over, and Karl fled with the remnants of the cavalry and the Cossacks.

Results of the Poltava battle.
Sweden suffered a crushing defeat, which was the beginning of the collapse of the Swedish fighting machine, which had previously been the strongest in Europe. The Swedes lost a huge number of soldiers - 12 thousand, and many experienced officers were also killed. The Russian army lost less than 5 thousand people killed and wounded.
A radical change occurred in the Northern War, if earlier the advantage was in the Swedes, now Peter completely seized the initiative. The authority of Sweden was undermined, Denmark went to war against them, and Saxony made peace with Russia. The authority of Russia has increased many times over, as they managed to defeat the best army in Europe.
The traitor of Peter I, hetman Ivan Mazepa, was expelled, and the Cossacks were no longer at the mercy of the Russian sovereign.
It is said about the Battle of Poltava that Peter opened a window to Europe in it, as he received the long-awaited access to the Baltic Sea - an important trade artery that Russia so needed.

History of mankind. Russia Khoroshevsky Andrey Yurievich

Battle of Poltava (1709)

Russian troops under the command of Peter I and A. D. Menshikov defeated the famous Swedish army led by Charles XII. So the plans of the Swedes to capture Moscow were thwarted, the battle became a turning point in the course of the Northern War between Russia and Sweden.

As early as the beginning of the 17th century, taking advantage of the weakening of Russia, Sweden captured the Russian cities of Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye and Oreshek. So Russia refused to be cut off from the sea coast, stopped foreign trade through the Baltic ports. At the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. Peter I decided to "cut a window to Europe", to return the Russians access to the Baltic Sea. In this struggle, he ran into a talented commander, the grandson of Gustavus Adolphus, King Charles XII. In 1700, at the beginning of the so-called Northern War with Russia, the king was only 18 years old, Peter - 28.

The 140,000-strong Swedish army was considered at that time one of the best in Europe, and the Swedish fleet, which numbered 42 battleships and 12 frigates, also possessed great power. In Russia, however, only the first steps were taken to reorganize the army. The beginning of the war was unsuccessful for Russia, its troops in the fall of 1700 were defeated near Narva.

But the development of the military industry and active actions to strengthen the army continued. The production of guns with a bayonet began, great attention was paid to artillery. Only for 1700-1708. 1006 guns, mortars and howitzers were cast in Russia. Since 1703, recruitment of peasants and townspeople (mainly artisans) began to be regularly made, the officers were formed from the nobles, who necessarily served as soldiers in the guard. In 1708–1709 all branches of the military received a single form of military uniform.

After the victory at Narva, Charles XII directed the main blow against Poland, which in 1704 became an ally of Russia. Taking advantage of the absence of the main forces of Sweden in the Baltic states, the Russian regiments under the command of B.P. Sheremetev in 1701–1702. defeated the Swedes at Erestfer and near Hummelshof. As a result of the siege and assault, the Russians took the Noteburg (Oreshek) fortress. This victory opened the way to mastering the mouth of the Neva. On May 16, 1703, the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid, which laid the foundation for St. Petersburg.

In 1704, Russian troops captured Narva and Derpt (Tartu). Russia regained the coast of the Neva and firmly established itself in the Eastern Baltic.

The theater of operations was shifting to the south. Charles XII chose a different strategic direction. In Poland, the Swedes managed to take Warsaw and Krakow, to get the Sejm to deprive Augustus II of the Polish crown. A supporter of the Swedish king, Stanislav Leshchinsky, was placed on the throne. In connection with these events, Peter I gathered a military council in Zhovkva (Galicia), which discussed the possibility of a general battle with the Swedes not in Poland, but on the territory of Russia. To do this, it was necessary to exhaust the forces of the enemy. Already at the beginning of 1707, the Russian command became aware that the attack of the main enemy forces would be directed through Belarus and Smolensk to Moscow. Charles XII wanted to dismember the Russian state. Its northern territories were to go to Sweden, in Moscow the king was going to plant his protege. He promised Ukraine, Smolensk region and other western territories to Poland.

Peter I considered the untimely general battle as “very dangerous business” and was ready to give it only after careful preparation. Gaining time, the Russian troops delivered separate blows to the enemy, detaining him at the water lines.

Entering Mogilev on July 8, 1708, Charles XII expected the approach of the sixteen thousandth corps of Leven-haupt, which, with a large convoy, followed from Riga to join the main forces. Without waiting for reinforcements and in dire need of food and fodder, the Swedes crossed to the left bank of the Dnieper and moved to Smolensk. In the battle near the village of Good, their vanguard of over five thousand people was defeated. Charles XII refused to march through Smolensk and turned to Ukraine, taking advantage of the invitation of Hetman Mazepa.

68-year-old Mazepa was an experienced and dexterous diplomat and politician. He performed a special kind of assignment under the Polish king, hetmans Doroshenko and Samoylovich, entered the confidence of the temporary worker Vasily Golitsyn, and in 1687 received the hetman's mace. Peter I, who cruelly dealt with Golitsyn's henchmen, did not touch the Ukrainian hetman. Moreover, Mazepa managed to win over the formidable king. During the Northern War, Peter continued to fully trust the hetman and allowed him to occupy the Right-Bank Ukraine when the Swedes invaded Poland. Thus, both banks of the Dnieper were under the rule of Mazepa.

Even in the first years of the Northern War, Ivan Stepanovich conducted secret negotiations with Karl, and then with Stanislav Leshchinsky. During the invasion of the Swedes, he promised to provide them with winter apartments, food and a fifty-thousandth Cossack army. Most likely, Mazepa wanted to strengthen his own power, unite significant territories under his mace and a certain independence in governance from the Swedes and Poles. However, the negotiations were conducted with extreme caution: Mazepa was waiting to see which side would have the advantage. But when the Swedish king turned south, he had to openly go over to the side of Russia's opponents. On October 24, 1708, with a total of five thousand (according to other sources, two thousand) detachment and part of the faithful foreman, Mazepa crossed the Desna and went to connect with Karl, hoping for the support of all the Cossacks and motivating his transition with an uprising against Moscow oppression.

When Karl invaded Ukraine in September, the main forces of the Russian army under the command of B.P. Sheremetev also turned south, and Peter I and A.D. Menshikov, having formed a light mobile detachment of twelve thousand, moved towards Lewenhaupt's corps. On September 28, Russian troops forced Levengaupt to take the fight in a difficult wooded and swampy area near the village of Lesnoy. The Swedes lost 8700 people killed, 45 officers and more than 700 soldiers were captured. The entire convoy with a large amount of ammunition and food, 17 guns, 44 banners went to the Russians. Peter I called the victory at Lesnaya "the mother of the Poltava battle."

Menshikov, who was near the Ukrainian borders, quickly reacted to Mazepa's transfer to the side of the enemy. He blocked the crossing over the Desna and issued a manifesto to the Ukrainian people on October 28, in which he branded the hetman as a traitor to the motherland and faith, who wanted to give the Orthodox faith to the Uniates. On November 2, Menshikov entered Baturyn and staged a pogrom there, destroying a significant part of the population, and four days later in Glukhov, I. Skoropadsky was elected hetman to replace the deposed Mazepa. However, even without the repressive measures of the Russian command, the Ukrainian population was in no hurry to go over to the Swedish side.

In the spring, Peter I sent a detachment of Yakovlev to suppress a possible uprising of the Sich. The tsarist troops broke into the Sich and, after a short battle, forced the Cossacks to capitulate. 300 people surrendered. Yakovlev ordered that noble captives be sent to the tsar, and the rest were executed on the spot as traitors. By royal order, the Zaporozhian Sich was destroyed and burned.

The capture of Baturin by the Russians was the second serious blow for the Swedes after Lesnaya. Charles XII hoped to replenish the stocks of food, gunpowder, cannonballs in the hetman's residence, to take the artillery located there.

The advance of the Swedish army in Ukraine was not without problems. Romny, Gadyach, Chernukhi, Piryatin, Zenkov and other cities put up stubborn resistance to Karl. The Swedes were also alarmed by numerous small detachments of Cossacks and local residents operating in the rear of the advancing army.

Swedish troops began an invasion of Sloboda. And here they were not welcomed with open arms. Kotelva, Krasnokutsk, Kolomak defended stubbornly. Small Russian detachments and the Cossack regiment of Galagan successfully operated against the Swedes. The Swedish troops were forced to retreat to the interfluve of the Vorskla and Psla. At this time, Russian troops and Cossacks carried out a strategic encirclement of the enemy in the Left-Bank Ukraine. Cossack regiments controlled the crossings across the Dnieper. Peter I repeatedly suggested that Charles XII make peace, but he declared that he would end the war by entering Moscow.

To improve the supply of his troops, the Swedish monarch decided to take Poltava. This would also help him get convenient routes for communication with Turkey and the Crimean Khanate, use the crossing across the Dnieper at Perevolochnaya to replenish the army with a detachment of General Crassow and the Polish gentry. Poltava was on the right, high bank of the Vorskla. Its fortifications, as it seemed to the Swedish generals, could not be a serious obstacle. The army of Charles XII had experience of sieges and more powerful fortresses in the Baltic States, Poland, and Saxony.

Given the important strategic position of the city, the Russian command sent six infantry battalions to Poltava under the command of Colonel A. S. Kelin. The garrison of Poltava consisted of 4181 soldiers and officers, 91 gunners and 2600 armed local residents, there were 28 guns in the city.

On April 3, 1709, a 1,500-strong Swedish detachment appeared in front of the fortifications and began to storm them. The attack was repulsed. In the following days there were sorties from both sides. On April 5, the Swedes lost 427 people killed, the Poltava garrison - 62. The attacks of the city's defenders did not give the Swedes the opportunity to build trenches near the ramparts. In response to the tunnels where mines were laid, Kelin ordered trenches to be dug out of the city. Poltava residents got the opportunity to seize the pawned gunpowder. The assaults choked on April 29 and 30.

On May 14, Menshikov brought his troops to the left bank of the Vorskla opposite the city. At dawn on May 15, about 1,200 soldiers dressed in Swedish uniforms under the command of Alexei Golovin crossed the Vorskla. At the very fortress, they broke into the enemy trenches and killed 200 soldiers, then the detachment managed to break into the city.

Charles XII understood that large Russian forces were concentrated near Poltava, but categorically refused to leave, expecting support from Leshchinsky and Crassow. Mastering Poltava became a matter of prestige for him. On May 23, having laid mines under the ramparts, three thousand Swedes rushed to the attack. The besieged managed to defuse the mines, and the attack of Charles' detachment was repulsed.

On the evening of June 1, Poltava was firebombed. While the fire was extinguished in the city, the Swedes broke into the ramparts, but were again overturned and driven back.

On June 2, Field Marshal Rehnschild presented Commandant Kelin with an ultimatum to surrender on honorable terms. Otherwise, he threatened the complete extermination of the garrison and the inhabitants of the city. Kaelin, without hesitation, rejected the demands, stating that he already had seven such letters.

On June 4, near Poltava, in the village of Krutoy Bereg, Peter I arrived. This was reported to the defenders of the city in a letter enclosed in a discharged cannonball. On June 16, the Russian military council concluded that the only way to prevent the fall of Poltava was a general battle. Preparation for it included the transition of the main forces of the Russian army to the right bank of the Vorskla. At the same time, the Cossacks were ordered to take all the withdrawal routes of the Swedish troops through Psel and further to Poland.

The Swedish army was at an impasse. There were not enough forces for the offensive, but the withdrawal was also associated with great risk. During reconnaissance on June 17, Charles XII was wounded in the leg, and rumors spread throughout his army that the king was deliberately seeking death. "Northern Alexander the Great" understood that the Russian army was preparing for a general battle and saw the capture of Poltava as the only way to protect itself from the rear. The assaults followed one after another. The city experienced hard days on June 21 and 22, when the Swedes were especially persistent and lost over two thousand people. The defenders of Poltava during the defense lost 1186 soldiers killed, 1200 people were wounded, Karl was left without more than six thousand soldiers - that is, a fifth of the army that came to Ukraine. His hopes to receive support did not come true: the corps of Lieutenant General Goltz provided the appearance in Ukraine of the troops of the Polish gentry and the Swedish corps of Krassow.

On June 19, the main forces of the Russian army crossed Vorskla with three fords (the rest of the units crossed on the night of June 20) and settled on a wide open plain near the village of Semenovka. A camp was built here. However, such terrain was convenient for linear formation and would have given great advantages to the strong Swedish cavalry. On June 25, after inspecting the camp, Peter ordered the army to be moved closer to Poltava and stationed near the village of Yakovtsy. Hollows, ravines and small forests excluded the possibility of a wide cavalry maneuver. Here infantry was needed, which constituted the main force of the Russian army.

In one night, a camp was built, protected on one side by the steep bank of the Vorskla, on the other - by the Yakovetsky forest, on the third - by a small hollow. The fortifications consisted of earthen ramparts and redans in the form of an outwardly protruding corner. Significant gaps remained between the ramparts and the redans, so that the army could not only defend itself, but also quickly go on the offensive. In front of the camp stretched a small flat field, about one and a half wide and up to three kilometers long. From the east, it adjoined the Yakovetsky, from the west - to the Malobudyshchansky forest. From the side of Poltava lay the only possible path of advance for the Swedish army. On this part of the field, by order of Peter I, a forward position was created: six transverse (in relation to the direction of the Swedish offensive) and four longitudinal redoubts were built. (By the way, such fortifications on the battlefields in Europe did not appear soon.) Rifle and artillery fire from redoubts was supposed to dismember the linear order of enemy regiments.

The Russian command took into account that Charles XII usually sought to strike the first blow with maximum forces. Infantry and artillery, concentrated in redoubts, ensured that the first onslaught was repelled, forcing the Swedes to split up their forces.

On June 26, all Russian regiments took up the positions provided for by the battle plan. The redoubts housed the infantry of the Belgorod regiment with artillery. Behind the redoubts was the cavalry under the command of Menshikov and Bour, consisting of 17 dragoon regiments.

Poltava victory. Hood. A. Kotzebue

On the night of June 26-27, a non-commissioned officer of the Semenovsky regiment ran from the Russian camp to the Swedes, who reported on the preparation of the Russians for the battle and the disposition of the troops. He apparently also told that the Swedes could be successful in attacking Apraksin's regiment, which consisted of recruits dressed in gray uniforms. Peter, having learned about the defector, ordered to make changes in the location of the regiments, and Apraksin's soldiers to exchange uniforms with the experienced Novgorod infantry regiment. The main forces of the Cossack cavalry concentrated near the village of Zhuki in order to close the direct path for the retreat of the enemy. On the eve of the battle, Peter I traveled around the troops and delivered brief patriotic appeals in which he called for fighting not for Peter, but "for Russia and Russian piety." Carried on a stretcher in front of the Swedish regiments and Charles XII, who promised that tomorrow his soldiers would dine in the Russian convoy.

The number of Russian troops near Poltava was 42 thousand, Swedish - about 30 thousand. Karl left part of his forces to protect the trenches and the siege camp under the city, the convoy and the road along the Vorskla to the Dnieper.

On June 27, before dawn, the Swedish infantry and cavalry moved to the location of the Russian troops. Menshikov led the cavalry to the advanced redoubts and started a head-on battle.

Unexpectedly, the Swedish command ran into the Russian advanced position on the redoubts. The artillery opened fire at the maximum distance, which already deprived the enemy of an important advantage - the surprise of the strike. The Swedes at first managed to somewhat push back the Russian cavalry and occupy the nearest two unfinished redoubts. However, they failed to pass the transverse redoubts. Crossfire of Russian infantry and artillery from redoubts and cavalry attacks beat off the onslaught of the enemy. The Russian cavalry pressed the Swedish cavalry towards the Yakovets forest.

Having received a report that part of the troops of Schlippenbach and Ross, who were leaving for the Yakovets Forest, had been cut off, Peter sent Menshikov five battalions of infantry and five dragoon regiments. At the same time, the Russian cavalry, led by Bour, was ordered to withdraw from the redoubts. Bour's departure was perceived by the Swedes as forced. Carried away by the pursuit, the Swedish cavalry and infantry found themselves in a clearing a hundred paces from the Russian camp. Russian artillery, commanded by J. Bruce, opened fire. Struck by buckshot and cannonballs, the enemy rushed to the left, to the edge of the Malobudyshchansky forest. The generals and officers of Charles XII began to put in order the thinned regiments. Only now it became known about the absence of the columns of Ross and Schlippenbach, who made up the fourth part of the Swedish army. They were utterly defeated by the Russians at the Yakovets forest. The first stage of the battle was over by six o'clock in the morning. There was a three-hour inactivity of the Swedish troops. The respite meant that the Swedes had lost the initiative.

After some time, Russian intelligence reported that the Swedes were building in battle formation near the Malobudyshchansky forest. Now the main role was to be played by the Russian infantry. Peter I ordered the withdrawal of regiments. Six infantry regiments remained in the camp so that the Swedes would not see the numerical superiority of the Russians and retreat without a fight. Russian regiments lined up in front of the camp. The infantry lined up in two lines: in front of the first battalions of each regiment, behind them the second. This provided mutual support, the necessary depth of battle order, as well as a certain independence in the actions of the regiments. There were 10 thousand people in the first line. Artillery was dispersed along the entire infantry front. On the left flank there were six selected dragoon regiments under the command of Menshikov, on the right - eleven led by Bour. Three infantry battalions were sent to communicate with the Poltava garrison, and six dragoon regiments were sent to the village of Zhuki to help the Cossacks in pursuing the enemy.

Sheremetev was appointed commander of all troops, Peter himself took over the leadership of the division of the center. Before the start of the battle, the king addressed the soldiers with the famous call: “Warriors! Here comes the hour that will decide the fate of the fatherland. So, you should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter, for your family, for the fatherland ... "

The battle order of the Swedish troops in form corresponded to the construction of the Russian regiments. But the infantry was put in one line in order to stretch the front and hide the heavy losses suffered in the first stage of the battle. There were only three infantry battalions in the second line. The cavalry was placed in two lines and evenly distributed on the flanks, four guns were placed along the front. In such a battle order, the Swedes went to rapprochement with the Russians.

When approaching a rifle shot, both sides fired a strong volley from all types of weapons. The fire of Russian artillery upset the enemy ranks, then came the moment of fierce hand-to-hand combat. Two Swedish battalions, having closed the front, rushed to the first battalion of the Novgorod regiment, which stood out with its sermyags. To their surprise, the "recruits" did not lose their heads. But with a bayonet attack, the Swedes still managed to crush and push the first battalion. Peter himself led the second battalion to attack. Novgorodians rushed with attached bayonets and restored the line. The powerful figure of Peter attracted enemy shooters: one bullet pierced his hat, the second - the saddle.

The excellent Russian artillery played a huge role. The second stage of the battle lasted from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. In the first half hour, gun and rifle fire caused enormous damage to the Swedes. Chosen regiments of Karl lost more than half of the composition and almost all of the officers. During the battle, the ball hit the royal stretcher, among the soldiers there was a rumor that Charles had died. The panic was reinforced by Field Marshal Rehnschild, shouting: “Your Majesty, our infantry is dead!”

The onslaught of the Swedes weakened. Attacking the right flank of the enemy, Menshikov pushed back the enemy cavalry, exposed the infantry and put it at risk of destruction. The right flank of the Swedes wavered and began to retreat. Menshikov's local success soon developed into a Russian offensive along the entire front. The Swedes took to flight. The remnants of the once invincible army poured through the Malobudyshchansky forest. Later they ran into Skoropadsky's Cossacks and turned towards Kobelyaki in order to reach the Dnieper at Perevolochnaya.

In the battle of Poltava, Charles XII lost 9324 soldiers; 2874 soldiers and officers, led by Rehnschild, surrendered. The Russian army had 1345 killed and 3290 wounded. On June 28, a solemn entry of the winners into Poltava took place. Ten dragoon, Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky guards regiments under the general command of Menshikov pursued the Swedish army. The Cossacks of Colonel Paliy took part in the pursuit of the enemy. The pursuit continued to the Dnieper. At Perevolnaya, the Swedes did not find the means of crossing - they were destroyed in advance by Yakovlev's detachment. Only Charles with a guard detachment of a thousand people and Mazepa with several hundred Cossacks managed to cross the Dnieper. Menshikov's detachment arrived in time, inferior in size to the Swedish army left in Perevolochnaya. Menshikov ordered the dragoons to dismount and link up with the infantry, and the horsemen arranged the horses so that the enemy would mistake them for combat cavalry. A demonstrative offensive was launched from several sides. Seeing no other way out, 11 infantry and 11 dragoon regiments (16,264 people) under the command of Lewenhaupt capitulated on June 30. 174 banners, 28 guns, a lot of small arms, a convoy, the treasury of the Swedes fell into the hands of the Russians.

The Battle of Poltava became a turning point in the course of the Northern War and, in the words of Peter I, "laid the foundation stone of St. Petersburg", that is, the foundation of the mighty Russian Empire.

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Poltava battle

P.D. Martin. Battle of Poltava. 1720
State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo"

The historical attempt of the Russian state to regain the original Russian lands on the shores of the Gulf of Finland and at the mouth of the Neva (Novgorod Pyatina) and thereby gain access to the Baltic Sea resulted in a long Northern War of 1700-1721. The turning point of this war was the general battle between the Russian and Swedish armies on June 27 (July 8, new style) 1709 near Poltava.

In the summer of 1708, the Swedish army of King Charles XII set out on a campaign against Russia, moving in the direction of Moscow. When the Swedes approached the line of its state border, they saw that the pp. Whirlwinds and Gorodny is worth the Russian army. Charles XII abandoned the idea of giving her a general battle and turned south, to Ukraine, where he was invited by the traitor hetman Ivan Mazepa.

After the defeat of the Swedish corps of General Levengaupt near the village of Lesnaya (Peter I called this battle "the mother of the Poltava battle"), the king found himself in a difficult situation: the Russian army pursued the enemy, and Mazepa, who promised to bring all Ukrainian Cossacks to Charles XII, brought only about 2 thousand a man of the Cossack foreman and the personal regiment of "Serdyukov". Those at night fled from the hetman (about 700 people remained), to whom the king gave 20 Swedes for personal protection. In addition, General Alexander Menshikov, by royal decree, defeated the Mazepin headquarters of Baturin, in which significant supplies were collected for the Swedes, primarily food.

Charles XII brought the army of Sweden to Ukraine, which was distinguished by high professional training, discipline and won many convincing victories in the lands of Denmark, Saxony and Poland. On her account there was a victory over the young regular army of Peter the Great in 1700 near the fortress of Narva.

The Swedes had a hard time in Ukraine. The partisans met them back in Belarus. The "flying" detachments of the Russian dragoon cavalry and irregular cavalry, primarily the Cossack, haunted the royal army. The earth burned under the feet of the invaders. The attempt of the king and the hetman to use the separatist sentiments of a small part of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, led by ataman Gordiyenko, did not change the course of events. The Ukrainian Cossacks turned their backs on the hetman - "Polyakh", who was awarded in absentia by Tsar Peter I the cast-iron "Order of Judas". World history knows nothing of the kind.

During the winter of 1708 - 1709. Russian troops, avoiding a general battle, continued to wear down the forces of the Swedish army in local battles. In the spring of 1709, Charles XII decided to resume the attack on Moscow through Kharkov and Belgorod. To secure his rear, he decided to take the fortress city of Poltava. The Swedish army approached it with a force of 35 thousand people with 32 guns, not counting the Mazepins and Cossacks.

Poltava stood on the high bank of the Vorskli River. Its fortifications consisted of a shaft with a palisade on top with loopholes for firing guns. The garrison, commanded by Colonel Alexei Kelin, consisted of 4,187 soldiers, 2,500 Poltava Cossacks and armed townspeople, and 91 gunners. The fortress had 28 guns.

From the first days of the siege, the Swedes began to storm Poltava over and over again. Its defenders repelled 12 enemy attacks in the month of April alone, often making daring and successful sorties themselves. The siege work did not stop. On June 21 and 22, the most violent assaults were repulsed: the attackers, who even managed to hoist a banner on the ramparts, were thrown off it with a counterattack. For 2 days, the Poltava garrison lost 1,258 people killed and wounded, the Swedes - 2,300 people.

Tsar Peter I was able to help the besieged garrison with people and gunpowder, the stocks of which in Poltava were running out. Gunpowder was "sent" to the city in hollow bombs that did not explode when they hit the ground.

Meanwhile, the army of Peter I was drawn to Poltava. It numbered 42 thousand people with 72 guns. It consisted of 58 battalions of infantry (infantry) and 72 squadrons of cavalry (dragoons). The Ukrainian Cossack regiments were commanded by the new elected hetman Skoropadsky, who guarded the Poltava field from the side of Malye Budishchi, blocking the possible retreat route of the Swedes to Poland.

The heroic defense of Poltava gave the Russians a gain in time. On June 16, a military council, at which the tsar and his associates decided to give the enemy a general battle: "to cross the Vorskla near the village of Petrovka and, with the help of God, seek happiness over the enemy."

V. P. Psarev. Peter the Great and his Companions

The fact that the enemy was going to cross the Vorskla became known in the Swedish camp. Charles XII decided to conduct a reconnaissance, but near the river they were fired upon by Russian sentinel posts. Then the retinue of the monarch ran into a Cossack picket, and the king was wounded by a bullet in the leg. He had to watch the Battle of Poltava from a stretcher.

The battle of Poltava became a test of maturity for the young Russian regular army. And she passed this test with honor. Russian military art surpassed the Swedish, which was admired by all of Europe. The enemy army was completely defeated, ceasing to exist as such.

The Russian command prepared thoroughly for the battle. Peter I ordered to move the army camp closer to the fortress, about 5 km in a straight line from the Swedish camp. It was fortified with trenches (trenches) with bastions at the corners. A kilometer from the camp, on the battlefield, a system of field fortifications was created, which military practice did not yet know. The tsar ordered to build a line of 6 frontal redoubts in front of the camp, and 4 more (the two front ones did not have time to complete) - perpendicular to them.

Plan of Poltava Victoria from the book "The Life and Glorious Deeds of Peter the Great ..." St. Petersburg. 1774 RGADA

Earthen redoubts had a quadrangular shape and were located at a distance of a direct gun shot from each other. This ensured tactical interaction between the redoubt garrisons. They housed two battalions of infantry and grenadiers, regimental guns (1 - 2 per redoubt). The system of redoubts became the advanced position of the Russian army, against which the first enemy attack was to be broken. This was a new word in the military art of European armies at the beginning of the 18th century.

Another tactical innovation was the deployment of 17 dragoon regiments just behind the redoubts. The regiments were commanded by the famous cavalry commander of the Northern War, the future Generalissimo A.D. Menshikov. The dragoon cavalry was to attack the Swedes on the line of redoubts and between them in the initial phase of the general battle.

Peter I planned to wear down the enemy at the forefront (line of redoubts) and then defeat him in an open field battle. He perfectly understood the strength and weakness of the linear battle formation. The redoubts were intended to break the linear battle order of the Swedish army, break its adhesion and bring the troops of Charles XII under flank fire from a fortified camp. After that, it was necessary to break the scattered royal army in parts.

At the military council on June 25, the Swedes decided to be the first to attack the enemy. Charles XII did not wait for help from Poland and from the Crimean Khan. He decided at night to suddenly attack the camp of the tsar's army from all sides before the Russians left it and lined up for battle. It was planned to throw them off a cliff into the river. For the speed of movement, it was decided not to take artillery, but to take only 4 guns with them. For the blockade of the Poltava fortress, 2 infantry battalions (1,300 soldiers) and about 8,000 Cossacks and Mazepins were left. The king did not trust the allies. In total, about 22 thousand people were allocated for the night attack: 24 infantry battalions and 22 cavalry regiments.

June 27 at two o'clock in the morning the Swedish army under the command of Field Marshal K.G. Renschild (the king with a drawn sword was carried by his bodyguards - drabants on a stretcher) with four columns of infantry and six columns of cavalry secretly moved towards the enemy position. Charles XII urged the soldiers to bravely fight the Russians and invited them after the victory to a feast in the tents of the Moscow Tsar.

The Swedish army moved towards the redoubts and stopped at night 600 meters from the front fortifications. From there, the sound of axes was heard: it was 2 advanced redoubts being hastily completed. The Swedes deployed in advance in 2 battle lines: the 1st consisted of infantry, the 2nd - of cavalry. Suddenly, a pistol shot rang out - a Russian horse patrol detected the approach of the enemy. Warning fire was fired from the redoubts.

Field Marshal Rehnschild at five o'clock in the morning ordered an attack on the redoubts. But the Swedes were able to take two of them, which they did not have time to complete. The garrisons of the other two - perpendicular ones fought off with the help of soldiers who had left the fortifications captured by the Swedes. Those received an unpleasant surprise: they only knew about a line of six transverse redoubts. They did not have to be stormed: the Russian dragoon regiments of Generals Menshikov and K.-E. Renne. The Swedish cavalry went ahead of the infantry, a battle ensued.

The dragoons pushed back the royal squadrons and, on the orders of Peter I, retreated behind the line of longitudinal redoubts. When the Swedes resumed their attack, they were met with heavy rifle and cannon fire from the field fortifications. The right flank of the royal army, caught in the crossfire and having suffered heavy losses, retreated in disarray to the forest near the village of Malye Budishchi.

The calculation of Peter I on the dismemberment of the enemy army at the beginning of the battle fully justified itself. The right-flank columns of Generals K.G. Ross and V.A. Schlippenbach was destroyed by the dragoons of General Menshikov.

The main forces of the parties clashed at dawn. At about 6 o'clock, Peter I built the Russian army in front of the camp in 2 battle lines. The peculiarity of the construction was that each regiment had its own, and not someone else's, battalion in the second line. This created the depth of the battle formation and reliably provided support for the first battle line. The second line of infantry received a tactical assignment, which was a major step forward in the development of linear tactics. The center was commanded by the general prince. The tsar assigned the general command of the troops to Field Marshal B.P., experienced in the war. Sheremetev.

The Swedish army, which had broken through the line of redoubts to lengthen its line of battle, formed up in one line of battle with a weak reserve behind. The cavalry stood on the flanks in two lines. The Swedes were very determined.
At 9 o'clock in the morning the first line of Russians moved forward. The Swedish army also moved closer. After a short mutual salvo rifle fire (from a distance of a little more than 50 meters), the Swedes, ignoring the cannon fire, rushed into a bayonet attack. They sought to get close to the enemy as soon as possible and avoid destructive artillery fire.

The right wing of the royal troops, under which Charles XII was, pressed the battalion of the Novgorod infantry regiment, which was attacked by 2 Swedish. There was a threat of a breakthrough of the Russian position almost at its very center. Peter I, who galloped here, personally led the second battalion of Novgorodians, who was standing in the second line, in a counterattack, which overturned the Swedes who had broken through with a swift blow, and closed the gap formed in the first line.

The Swedish frontal attack bogged down, and the Russians began to push the enemy. A fierce battle was going on along the entire line of contact between the parties. The line of Russian infantry began to cover the flanks of the royal infantry battalions. The Swedes panicked, many soldiers began to hastily leave the battlefield, fearing the environment. The Swedish cavalry sped off without resistance into the Budishchi forest; the foot soldiers followed her there. And only in the center, General Lewenhaupt, next to whom was the king (his stretcher was broken by a cannonball), tried to cover the retreat to the carts.

The Russian infantry pursued the retreating Swedes to the Budishchensky forest and at 11 o'clock lined up in front of the last forest that hid the fleeing enemy. The royal army was defeated and fled in disorder, led by the king and hetman Mazepa, from Poltava to the crossings across the Dnieper.

In the battle near Poltava, the winners lost 1,345 people killed and 3,290 wounded. The losses of the Swedes on the battlefield were estimated at 9 thousand 333 killed and 2 thousand 874 prisoners. Among the prisoners were Field Marshal Rehnschild, Chancellor K. Pieper and part of the generals. Russian trophies were 4 cannons and 137 banners, the enemy's convoy and his siege camp.

The remnants of the fleeing Swedish army covered about 100 km in two days and reached Perevolochna on June 29. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the exhausted Swedes began to search in vain for funds to cross the full-flowing river. Then they dismantled the wooden church and built a raft, but it was carried away by the river current. Closer to the night, several ferry boats were found, to which wheels from carriages and wagons were added: improvised rafts were obtained.

But only King Charles XII and the deposed Hetman Mazepa with about a thousand close associates and bodyguards managed to cross to the western bank of the Dnieper. Pursuers approached Perevolochna: a guards brigade led by General Prince Mikhail Golitsyn, 6 dragoon regiments of General R.Kh. Bour and, finally, 3 cavalry and 3 foot regiments led by Menshikov. He accepted at 2 pm on June 30 the surrender of the Swedish army abandoned by the king, who did not think about resistance. 142 banners and standards lay at the feet of the winners. In total, 18,746 Swedes were taken prisoner, almost the entire generals, all their artillery, the entire army convoy. King Charles XII and the hetman-traitor Ivan Mazepa fled to the Turkish borders, having managed to deceive the chase sent after them in the steppe.

Kivshenko A.D. Poltava battle
The Swedes bow their banners before Peter I. 1709

Triumphant entry of Russian troops into Moscow
December 21, 1709 after the victories at Lesnaya and near Poltava.
Engraving by etching and cutter by A. Zubov. 1711

Prominent generals of Europe highly appreciated the art of the Russian army in the battle of Poltava. The largest Austrian commander Moritz of Saxony wrote: “This is how, thanks to skillful measures, you can make happiness bend in your direction.” The French military theorist of the first half of the 18th century, Rokoncourt, advised learning from the military art of Peter I. About the Battle of Poltava, he wrote the following: “Such a decisive victory over the best disciplined European troops was not a well-known omen of what the Russians would do over time ... Indeed, this battle should be noted a new tactical and fortification combination that would be real progress for both. By this very method, until then not used, although equally convenient for attack and defense, the entire army of the adventurer Charles XII was to be destroyed.
High marks for the actions of the Russian army in the general battle of the Northern War were also given by domestic researchers. So, A. Puzyrevsky noted: "Poltava is the only example in the military history of an offensive fortified position."

Monument of Glory in Poltava. 1805-1811 Installed in honor of the victory of the Russian army over the Swedish troops in the Battle of Poltava.
Architect J. Thomas de Thomon, sculptor F.F. Shchedrin

The Poltava victory meant a radical turning point in the ongoing war. Now the strategic initiative is completely in the hands of Russia. Victoria near Poltava significantly raised the authority of the Russian state, put Tsar Peter I in the ranks of the most skillful commanders not only of his era. Russian military art was recognized as advanced, innovative.

Alexey Shishov,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher
Research Institute of Military History
Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

During the entire Northern War, there was no more important battle than the Battle of Poltava. In short, it completely changed the course of that campaign. Sweden found itself in a disadvantageous position, and it had to make concessions to a strengthened Russia.

Events the day before

Started a war against Sweden in order to gain a foothold on the Baltic coast. In his dreams, Russia was a great maritime power. It was the Baltic States that became the main theater of military operations. In 1700, the Russian army, which was just beginning to undergo reforms, lost. King Charles XII took advantage of his success to take on his other opponent - the Polish monarch Augustus II, who supported Peter at the beginning of the conflict.

While the main ones were far to the west, the Russian Tsar transferred the economy of his country to a military footing. He managed to create a new army in a short time. This modern, European-trained army conducted several successful operations in the Baltic states, including Courland and on the banks of the Neva. At the mouth of this river, Peter founded the port and the future capital of the empire, St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, Charles XII finally defeated the Polish king and took him out of the war. In his absence, the Russian army occupied a considerable piece of Swedish territory, but so far it has not had to fight with the main army of the enemy. Karl, wishing to inflict a mortal blow on the enemy, decided to go straight to Russia in order to gain a decisive victory in a long conflict there. That is why it happened. In short, the place of this battle was far from the previous position of the front. Karl moved south - to the Ukrainian steppes.

Mazepa's betrayal

On the eve of the general battle, Peter became aware that the hetman of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, Ivan Mazepa, had gone over to the side of Charles XII. He promised the Swedish king assistance in the amount of several thousand well-trained cavalrymen. The betrayal infuriated the Russian tsar. Detachments of his army began to besiege and capture Cossack towns in Ukraine. Despite the betrayal of Mazepa, part of the Cossacks remained loyal to Russia. These Cossacks chose Ivan Skoropadsky as the new hetman.

Mazepa's help was urgently needed by Charles XII. The monarch with his northern army had gone too far from his own territory. The troops had to continue the campaign in unusual conditions. Local Cossacks helped not only with weapons, but also with navigation, as well as provisions. The shaky mood of the local population forced Peter to refuse to use the remnants of the loyal Cossacks. Meanwhile, the Battle of Poltava was approaching. Briefly assessing his position, Charles XII decided to lay siege to the important Ukrainian city. He counted on the fact that Poltava would quickly capitulate to his significant army, but this did not happen.

Siege of Poltava

Throughout the spring and early summer of 1709, the Swedes stood near Poltava, unsuccessfully trying to take it by storm. Historians have counted 20 such attempts, during which about 7 thousand soldiers died. The small Russian garrison held out, hoping for royal help. The besieged undertook bold sorties, for which the Swedes did not prepare, due to the fact that no one thought about such fierce resistance.

The main Russian army under the command of Peter approached the city on June 4th. At first, the king did not want a "general battle" with the army of Charles. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to drag out the campaign every month. Only a decisive victory could help Russia secure all its important acquisitions in the Baltics. Finally, after several military councils with his close associates, Peter decided to fight, which was the Battle of Poltava. Briefly and quickly preparing for it was too imprudent. Therefore, the Russian army gathered reinforcements for several more days. The Cossacks of Skoropadsky finally joined. The tsar also hoped for the Kalmyk detachment, but he did not have time to approach Poltava.

Between the Russian and Swedish army was Because of the unstable weather, Peter gave the order to cross the waterway south of Poltava. This maneuver turned out to be a good decision - the Swedes were not ready for such a turn of events, expecting the Russians in a completely different area of operations.

Charles could still turn back and not give a general battle, which was the Battle of Poltava. A brief description of the Russian army, which he received from a defector, also did not give the Swedish generals optimism. In addition, the king did not wait for help from the Turkish sultan, who promised to bring him an auxiliary detachment. But against the background of all these circumstances, the bright character of Charles XII affected. The brave and still young monarch decided to fight.

State of the troops

On June 27, 1709, according to the new style), the Battle of Poltava took place. In short, the most important thing was the strategy of the commanders-in-chief and the size of their troops. Charles had 26,000 soldiers, while Peter had some numerical advantage (37,000). The king achieved this thanks to the exertion of all the forces of the state. In a few years, the Russian economy has come a long way from an agricultural economy to modern industrial production (at that time). Cannons were cast, foreign firearms were purchased, soldiers began to receive a military education according to the European model.

Surprising was the fact that both monarchs themselves commanded their armies directly on the battlefield. In the modern era, this function passed to the generals, but Peter and Karl were exceptions.

Battle progress

The battle began with the Swedish vanguard organizing the first attack on the Russian redoubts. This maneuver turned out to be a strategic mistake. The regiments that broke away from their convoy were defeated by the cavalry, commanded by Alexander Menshikov.

After this fiasco, the main armies entered the battle. In the mutual confrontation of the infantry for several hours, the winner could not be determined. The confident attack of the Russian cavalry on the flanks became decisive. She crushed the enemy and helped the infantry put the squeeze on the Swedish regiments in the center.

Results

The great significance of the Battle of Poltava (it is rather difficult to describe it briefly) was that after its defeat, Sweden finally lost its strategic initiative in the Northern War. The entire subsequent campaign (the conflict continued for another 12 years) was marked by the superiority of the Russian army.

The moral results of the Battle of Poltava were also important, which we will now try to briefly describe. The news of the defeat of the hitherto invincible Swedish army shocked not only Sweden, but the whole of Europe, where they finally began to look at Russia as a serious military force.

"Battle of Poltava" (1726) / Picture: i.ytimg.com

The Battle of Poltava is the largest general battle of the Northern War between the Russian troops under the command of Peter I and the Swedish army of Charles XII. The battle took place on the morning of June 27 (July 8), 1709 (June 28 according to the Swedish calendar), 6 miles from the city of Poltava (Hetmanate). The defeat of the Swedish army led to a turning point in the Northern War in favor of Russia and to the end of Sweden's dominance in Europe.

July 10 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the victory of the Russian army under the command of Peter the Great over the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava.

background

After the defeat of the Russian army at Narva in 1700, Charles XII resumed hostilities against the Saxon Elector and Polish King Augustus II, inflicting one defeat after another.

The return of the Russian lands in Ingermanland, the foundation by the Russian Tsar Peter I at the mouth of the Neva of the new fortress city of St. Petersburg (1703) and the successes of the Russians in Courland (1705) prompted Charles XII to decide after the defeat of Augustus II to return to actions against Russia and capture Moscow. In 1706, August II suffered a heavy defeat and lost the crown of the Commonwealth. In June 1708, Charles XII launched a campaign against Russia.

Peter I understood the inevitability of the offensive of the Swedes deep into Russia. After the Russian army escaped defeat near Grodno in 1706, shortly after the arrival of the tsar on December 28, 1706, a military council was held in the Polish town of Zholkiev. To the question, “... should we fight with the enemy in Poland, or at our borders” - it was decided not to give (if such a misfortune happens, it is difficult to make a retreat), “and for this it is supposed to fight at our borders, when there is a necessary need; and in Poland at the crossings, and in parties, also by stripping provisions and fodder, to torment the enemy, to which many Polish senators agreed to this.

The year 1708 passed in clashes between the Swedish and Russian armies on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (battles at Golovchin, at Good, Raevka and Lesnaya). The Swedes fully felt the “nudity” in food and fodder, in which the peasantry of White Rus' contributed a lot, which hid bread, horse feed, and killed foragers.

In the autumn of 1708, hetman I. S. Mazepa betrayed Peter and took the side of Charles, assuring him of the allied feelings of the population of Little Russia for the Swedish crown. Due to illness and poor provision of food and ammunition, the Swedish army needed rest, so the Swedes from near Smolensk turned to the lands of Little Russia in order to rest there and continue the attack on Moscow from the south.

However, the winter for the Swedish army turned out to be difficult, despite the fact that the Russian army on the lands of Little Russia stopped the "scorched earth" tactics. The peasants of Little Russia, like the Belarusians, met foreigners with hatred. They fled to the forests, hid bread and fodder for horses, and killed foragers. The Swedish army was starving. () By the time Charles's army approached Poltava, it had lost up to a third of its composition and numbered 35 thousand people. In an effort to create favorable conditions for the offensive, Charles decides to take possession of Poltava, which, from a fortification point of view, seemed like “easy prey”.

Day of military glory of Russia - Victory day of the Russian army under the command of Peter the Great over the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava (1709) celebrated on July 10 in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ "On the days of military glory (victorious days) of Russia."

The Battle of Poltava itself - the decisive episode of the Great Northern War - took place (June 27) on July 8, 1709. The Russian army of Peter I and the Swedish army of Charles XII took part in it.

After Peter I conquered Livonia from Charles XII and founded the new fortress city of St. Petersburg, Charles decided to attack central Russia with the capture of Moscow. Unfavorable climatic conditions prevented Karl from doing this, who led his army to Moscow from the south, through Ukraine. By the time Charles's army approached Poltava, Charles was wounded, lost a third of the army, his rear was attacked by the Cossacks and Kalmyks.

(April 30) On May 11, 1709, the Swedish troops that invaded the territory of Russia began the siege of Poltava. Its garrison of 4200 soldiers and 2600 armed citizens under the leadership of Colonel A.S. Kelin successfully repulsed a number of assaults. At the end of May, the main forces of the Russian army, led by Peter, approached Poltava. They were located on the opposite left bank of the Vorskla River from Poltava. After (June 27) on July 8 at the military council Peter I decided on a general battle, on the same day the Russian advance detachment crossed Vorskla north of Poltava, near the village of Petrovka, ensuring the possibility of crossing the entire army.

Rotunda honoring the memory of the fallen participants of the Battle of Poltava in the Poltava Battle Field Nature Reserve / Photo: FotoYakov, Shutterstock

As a result of the Battle of Poltava, the army of King Charles XII ceased to exist. The king himself with Mazepa fled to the territory of the Ottoman Empire. The decisive Russian victory led to a turning point in the Northern War in favor of Russia and ended Sweden's dominance as the main military force in Europe.

In 1710, in St. Petersburg, in honor of the victory in this battle, the Sampson Church was built by decree of Peter (since the battle took place on the day of St. Sampson the Hospitable - his memory is honored on June 27, according to the old style). By the 25th anniversary of the battle in Peterhof, the sculptural group “Samson Tearing the Lion’s Mouth”, known today, was installed, where the lion symbolized Sweden, whose coat of arms contains this heraldic beast. On the very field of the Poltava battle in 1852, the Sampson Church was laid.

Fragments of the diorama of the Battle of Poltava / Photo:pro100-mica.livejournal.com

The first major celebration of the victory in the Battle of Poltava was organized for its 200th anniversary in 1909: the medal "In memory of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava" was established, the Museum-Reserve "The Field of the Battle of Poltava" was founded on the site of the battle (now the National Museum-Reserve), several monuments have been erected. In Soviet times, the event was practically forgotten, only in 1981, in preparation for the 275th anniversary of the battle, the Poltava field was declared a state historical and cultural reserve. And since 1995, this date has been celebrated as the Day of Russian Military Glory.

7 interesting facts about the battle of Poltava

1. 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.

2. 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 near Poltava was one of the most important events in his 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 by 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.

3. 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, then they will not give battle and leave: for this, it is necessary to make a reduction from the other regiments in order to draw the enemy into battle through their derogation. 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 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.

4. Surrounding the enemy and surrendering

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 in Europe capitulated.

5. 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.

6. 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 our small blood troops.”

7. 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.

On the occasion of 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.

When writing the material, data from open Internet sources were used: