Spotlight on: Great Northern War (Stora Nordiska Kriget/Северная война)

Battle of Poltava (Slaget vid Poltava/Полтавская битва)

Dear Reader,

Most of my English readers will not have heard of the Great Northern War, or will have some kind of hazy idea of what occurred. This Kabinettskriege dominated the first 20 years of the eighteenth century, and opened a Russian window into Europe. In Russian history, the Great Northern War opens a period of history which will not be concluded until 1945 or 1989. In Swedish history, the Great Northern War marks the end of the stormaktstiden period, the years 1630 to 1722, when Sweden was one of the most powerful nations in Europe.  This post should serve as a brief introduction to the war. I will cover the various armies, cultures, and battles in more specific posts later on. For specific information on the battle of Fraustadt, a major battle during the Great Northern War, click here. For a timeline of the entire Kabinettskriege period, click here. 

First Phase: 1700-1709

The war opened in 1700, as Peter I of Russia (Пётр I), Augustus II of Saxony, and Frederick IV of Denmark planned to break the Swedish control of the Baltic. It seemed like the right time to strike, as Charles XI of Sweden had died, leaving his eighteen year old son, Charles XII, to rule the kingdom. 

Unfortunately for the anti-Swedish coalition, Charles XI had left his son a large, modern military, referred to today as the Karoliner. These soldiers, with blue coats and yellow turnbacks, would fight on, despite incredible odds, for the next 22 years. The Karoliner had incredibly high morale, which came from a strongly rooted religious identity and a sense of national unity. 

As a result of this high morale mixed with highly aggressive tactics (Swedish: Gå-På English: "Go-On"; I 

believe a better colloquial translation might be "Head-On") the Swedish army won many victories in the 

1700-1709 period. The battles of Fraustadt, Narva, Saladen, and Holowczyn, give an impression of what 

the Karoliner's capabilities. The Swedes won all of these victories while outnumbered, and often without artillery support. In the summer of 1709, Sweden was winning the war, having forced Denmark and Saxony to sign peace treaties. 

However, Charles XII was unwilling to accept a negotiated settlement with Tsar Peter I, and pushed the war on into the Ukraine, after long campaigns in Poland and Saxony. At Poltava, in the Ukraine, on June 27 1709,  the Karoliner were crushed by a modernized Russian army, using heavy artillery and field fortifications. The best book currently available on the Great Northern War, Peter Englund's, The Battle That Shook Europe, covers this pivotal turning point in the war. 

The Second Phase: 1709-1718

With the defeat of Sweden's main field army, the Swedish cause disintegrated  and Saxony and Denmark re-entered the war. Charles XII fled into exile in the Ottoman Empire, where he would attempt to bring the Ottomans into the war on Sweden's side. Despite the massive losses inflicted by the defeat at Poltava, Sweden was able to scrape together enough men to win impressive victories such as Helsingborg  in 1710 and Gadebusch in 1712. In 1714, Charles returned home, after outstaying his welcome in the Ottoman empire. His return brought disaster for Sweden. Still unable to agree to a negotiated peace, Charles invaded Norway twice, dying in the second invasion, on the 30th of November, 1718. His death meant the end of the Karoliner, and the majority of the soldiers in his army never returned to Sweden. 

The Third Phase: 1718-1722

The final phase of the Great Northern War dealt with a succession crisis for Sweden, followed by a series of Russian amphibious raids on the Swedish coast. The Swedes were spent by this time, and mostly unable to resist.  The war ended by confirming Russia as the new Baltic power, and encouraging the rise of several smaller states, such as Brandenburg-Prussia. The Swedes fell into a decline which would last most of the 18th century, but they would briefly take revenge on the Russians in the war of 1788 to 1790. 

Conclusion: 

As we are still going through the 300th anniversary of the war, there is a great deal of interest in how it was fought, and what effects it had on Europe. If anyone has any opinions on the Great Northern War, or would like to have an article regard specific aspects of the Great Northern War, please let me know in the comments. 

Spotlight on: Battle of Fraustadt, 1706

Prayer after the battle of Fraustadt: Gustav Cederströrm

Dear Reader,

On February 13th 1706, in the middle of the Great Northern War, general Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld of the Swedish army faced a difficult situation. The Saxon army under general Johann von Schulenburg outnumbered Rehnskiölds' force by slightly over two to one (9,500 to 20,000). The Saxons and Russians under Schulenburg had been following Rehnskiöld, with the hopes of destroying his much smaller army.  Rehnskiölds' situation was only worsened by the fact that King Augustus the Strong of Poland (another member of the anti-Swedish coalition) was approaching with an additional 8,000 horsemen. If Schulenburg and Augustus completed a junction, the force against Rehnskiold would increase to three to one.

North of the town of Fraustadt, (present day Wschowa) the Saxo-Russian force established a defensive position of roughly two miles in length, between the villages of Röhrsdorf  (present Osowa Sein) and Geyersdorf (present Debowa Leka). The defensive positions were littered with cannons and Chevaux de frise, spikes designed to impale horses.

Chevaux de frise

Schulenburg deployed his army in a traditional Kabinettskriege pattern: the infantry in the center, with the cavalry on the wings, and Rehnskiöld followed suit. Schulenburg placed his Russian allies on the left flank of his infantry line, and supposedly ordered them to turn their uniforms inside out to disguise the fact that they were Russian. (The inside of the Russian coat was red, like the outside of the Saxon coat.) Schulenburg was dubious about the value of his Russian allies, based on their poor performance at the debacle of Narva in 1700.

At the outset of the battle, the Saxons and Russians had most of the traditional military advantages. They had a larger army, much more artillery (the Swedes didn't have any cannons at this battle) , the flanks of their infantry line were protected by cavalry, villages, and a marsh, and they had strong fortifications in the front of their army.

Despite all of these disadvantages, Rehnskiöld ordered the Swedes to attack. The Swedes possessed one advantage that the other forces of the Great Northern War did not: superior morale. The Swedes would attack against incredible odds again and again during the Great Northern War. Rehnskiöld also knew that he had great superiority in cavalry, and as we has seen before, if cavalry could break into enemy lines, they would cause panic and massive casualties.

Before we continue, here is a map of the battle of Fraustadt, drawn by yours truly. Do not copy this map for anything except personal use.

Map by author 2/13/2013

My map is based on contemporary maps and shows the course of the battle.  Oskar Sjöstrom provides a more accurate map of the deployment, in his book, Fraustadt 1706 - ett fält färgat rött ("Fraustadt 1706- a field colored red".) Here is his map.

Map by Oskar Sjöstrom (2008)

Rehnskiöld knew that to frontally attack Chevaux de frise meant suicide for his horsemen, so he sent them around the enemies' flank. On the right flank, the cavalry under Krassow and Rehnskiöld would sweep around the left flank of the Saxon and Russian army. On the Swedish left flank, the cavalry under Hummerhielm would by pass by the Chevaux de frise by moving through a frozen swamp in front of the Saxon right flank. The result of this flanking movement can be seen on my map, above.

The Swedish cavalry moved to envelope the Saxon flanks, while the Swedish infantry moved against the centre of the of the Saxon and Russian forces, preventing them from assisting the cavalry. The Saxon cavalry did not attempt to countercharge the Swedes during the flanking movement, and the result was disasterous for the Saxons.

Both Saxon cavalry wings broke under the onslaught, and the Swedish cavalry, showing considerable restraint, moved to attack the rear of the Saxon and Russian infantry.  This can be seen on my map. Once the Swedish horsemen were in among the enemy infantry, the battle was over, and the Saxon and Russian army ceased to exist. The Swedes lost around 1,500 men killed and wounded, while the Saxons and Russian lost around 15,000 killed, wounded and captured.

This double envelopment has often been compared to Hannibal's miraculous victory at Cannae, and the Swedish army was grateful for its incredible victory.  The regimental chaplains led the men in prayer, to thank God for the victory.  This scene was immortalized by the great Swedish painter, Gustaf Cederström, in the painting at the beginning of this post. 

For further information, check out Oskar Sjöstrom's book Fraustadt 1706 - ett fält färgat rött. Even for non-Swedish readers, the book has many helpful maps and diagrams.

Thanks for reading,

Alex