Battle of Poltava - “the battle that immortalized Russia”

July 8 (June 27 according to the old style) 1709, the Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army of King Charles XII in the Battle of Poltava. It not only turned the tide of the Northern War (1700-1721), but also changed the place and role of the Russian Empire in the European arena.

The Great Northern War is one of the most remarkable historical events that occurred at the beginning of the 18th century.

Peter the Great in the matter of progressive transformations has always attached great importance to the cultural and commercial ties with Europe. This is reflected in the publication "Field of the Battle of Poltava and its historical monuments" (1895) by the teacher of the Poltava Theological Seminary Vladimir Scheglov. Peter conceived his bold, almost unrealizable plan: he decided to cut open a window to the West for Russia and planned to take away from the Swedes the shores of the Baltic Sea that once belonged to our country.

Thus, he needed a large, well-armed and disciplined army was needed. Always keen on military affairs, “returning from his overseas trip in 1699, Peter, foreseeing the war with Sweden, decided to finally begin to organize a regular army. <...> Peter's energy, perseverance and genius overcame all failures and difficulties, and by 1708 the Russian troops were already acquiring an almost completely correct device, similar to the Western European armies”, - said the historian and teacher Ivan Pavlovsky in the book “The Battle of Poltava and its monuments” (1895).

Charles XII was disturbed by the fact that, having been defeated by the Swedes at Narva in 1700, the Russians achieved significant military successes in the northwest, in Ingermanland (her history of pre-Peter the Great is available in the book of Mitrofan Wojciechowicz “Ancient History of Russian Karelia and Ingermanland” (1910) on the Presidential Library’s portal) and Courland, and at the mouth of the Neva Peter I founded the fortified city of St. Petersburg. The Swedish king decides to take a campaign against Russia and seize Moscow, rejecting Peter's peace proposals.

An army stood on the way of Karl to Moscow through Smolensk under the command of one of the first Russian field marshals Boris Sheremetev. Very soon the Swedes began to feel a shortage of food - obstacles were erected on their way, the tactics of “scorched earth” were used.

In this situation, with the support of the traitor, the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa, Karl turned south to Ukrainian lands.

However, the winter of 1708–1709 was difficult for the Swedish troops. The famine and actions of the partisans, who fought local battles, exhausted the forces of the invaders.

In April 1709 “...Charles XII decided to besiege Poltava. Mazepa also insisted on this, mainly because by taking this city, the king could get “a lot of food, money, and cloth for the whole army, and that, after the capture of Poltava, the position of the Swedes should change for the better””, -  explains  the mentioned book of Ivan Pavlovsky.

The weakly fortified Poltava was defended by the small garrison of Colonel Alexei Kelin. The main forces of the Russian army under the command of Peter I at the end of May approached Poltava and stood in a fortified camp 5 kilometers north of the city. Peter ordered the cavalry troops to Alexander Menshikov, artillery to Jacob Bruce, and he personally commanded the first division. Information on this is available in “On this Day” section of the Presidential Library’s portal.

Going around the regiments on the eve of the battle, Peter addressed the soldiers and officers with a short fiery speech, which formed the basis of the famous order: “Warriors! The time has come that will decide the fate of the fatherland. You should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state handed to Peter, for your kind, for the fatherland, for our Orthodox faith and church. <...> In battle, have the truth before you and the God of your protector, and know about Peter that his life is not expensive; only Russia would live in glory and prosperity, for our well-being”, - Ivan Pavlovsky quotes the tsar’s words.

The Battle of Poltava began on June 27 (July 8, according to the new style) at 2 a.m. Four columns of the Swedish infantry marched on the Russian defensive redoubts, followed by six cavalry columns. It was not possible to capture all the redoubts, part of the Swedish troops went around and was defeated by Menshikov’s cavalry, and the main forces retreated from the Russian camp under artillery and gun fire.

The Russians were the first in the military practice of that time to use field earthen fortifications, as well as rapidly moving horse artillery.

At 9 a.m., the Swedish infantry attacked the Russian. The Swedes were met first by artillery fire, then by rifle fire, hand-to-hand fighting soon began, the retreat of the Swedes turned into a stampede. The retreating the next day overtook the detachment of Alexander Menshikov on the Dnieper. The remains of the Swedish army under the command of Adam Ludwig Levengaupt surrendered. Karl XII himself and the hetman Mazepa with a small detachment fled to the Ottoman Empire.

The significance of the victory won by the Russian troops near Poltava was revealed by Major General Sergey Mikheev in his study “History of the Russian Army. Vol. 1: The Age of Peter V" (1910): “The victory in the Battle of Poltava was not accidental. It was the result of Peter’s long and comprehensive preparation. <...> The victory of the war was decided by the Poltava victory. Having lost the army here, Sweden, although it continued the war for almost 12 more years, was forced to confine itself to the defense of its regions in the further struggle until the Russian troops approached the capital of Sweden, Stockholm and forced the Swedes to make peace in Nystadt, along which Russia acquired the coast Gulf of Finland [unique handwritten text of the peace treaty "Ratification of the Royal Majesty of Sweden into a treatise of the eternal peace..." (1721) is available on the Presidential Library’s portal].

The Poltava victory changed everything in favor of Russia and eliminated all doubt about its future greatness. <...>

Voltaire spoke out that the Poltava victory was the only battle in the whole history, the result of which was not destruction, but the happiness of mankind, for it provided Peter with the necessary space to go further along the path of transformation".