Russian Account of Poltava

Peter the Great at Poltava, Artist Unknown

The following is an account the Battle of Poltava, which an English nobleman received from Russian colleagues present at the battle. I have standardized the spelling to be internally consistent, but not otherwise modified the text.

Mons 13/24 July 1709

Right Honble:

                On this day & night I had the honour to give you an account of the great victory obtained by his Tsarish Majesty on the 27th past near Pultawa. Counts Golopkin  and Scharproff have sent the following relation, which differs in some particulars from what I then mentioned.

                On the 20th June all the Muscovite Army past the River Worskla, and encamped a small German mile from the Swedes: On the 24th they advanced further within a quarter of a mile and intrenched themselves to prevent all surprises, posting their horse on the Right under cover of some thick Bushes and two or three redoubts which were well furnish'd with men and Cannon, designing in this posture to prepare all things for a Battle.  But they were prevented by the King of Sweden who on the 27th in the morning very early posted the defiles with his whole army and attacked the horse with such fury that he obliged them to retire from their redoubts towards the trenches, after brave resistance, where drawing up again they returned to the charge and routed the Swedes right wing, taking Major General Schlippenbach prisoner.

In the meantime, Prince Menschikoff and General Renkel had been sent with a Detachment of horse and foot towards Pultawa , to intercept any new succor, and to attack such of the enemy as might be lelft in the Trenches:  On the way they met with reserve of about three thousand men, most whereof, after a short fight were either killed or taken Prisoners;  on which the Prince returned to the Main Army, but General Renkel continuing his march obliged Maj. General Roos who was left in the Trenches with three Regiments to surrender on discretion after a small resistance. While this past, the Enemy's horse had retreated to their foot, and ranged themselves in order of Battle about a quarter of a mile from the Muscovite Camp, on which his Tsarish Majesty drew out two lines of his foot, leaving the third to guard the trenches, and posted his horse on both wings. General Rönke having been wounded in the first action, General Bauer commanded the Right, Prince Menschikoff the left (where the chief action was expected) and his Tsarish Majesty the Main Body. About nine the fight began on both sides and in half an hour the Swedes both horse and foot were entirely routed; nor could the foot ever come to rally again, the muscovites driving them with sword in hand to a wood, where first Major general Shulenberg and soon after General Hamilton, Field Marshall Rheinschild, the Prince of Wirtemberg, several colonels and their other officers, and some thousand common soldiers were taken prisoners. Three miles round Pultawa was all covered with dead Bodys, so that they reckon to have killed eight or ten thousand Swedes with very little loss on their side. His Tsarish Majesty gave all possible proofs of a brave general and wise prince, his hat was shot through with a musket ball and prince Menshikoff had three horses wounded under him.

                The first line of muscovite host (or foot), about ten thousand strong won the Victory the second never coming to charges; the King of Sweden 's litter was found shot to pieces, and general Gallirin and Bauer were sent after the Enemy with the Guards and two other Regiments of foot and ten of dragoons; On the 28th they were followed by Prince Menshickoff with more foot and they had news that their troops were almost got up with the enemy who continued his flight with all possible diligence  and had already abandoned about three thousand of his Baggage wagons.  Count Piper, Mons. Cederholm, and Secretary Daben finding as means of escaping went into Pultawa of their own accord. 

Thanks for Reading,

Alex Burns 

Sweden in the Kabinettskriege Era

Bringing home the body of Karl XII-Gustaf Cederström

Dear Reader,

In the modern mind, Sweden is viewed as a sort of Scandinavian socialist paradise. The Swedes have given us great writers, like Henning Mankell (Wallander), and great actors, such as Max von Seydow. However, during the Kabinettskriege era, Sweden was known for something else: its empire. During this start period, the Swedes founded an overseas colony, New Sweden, in modern day Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. While the colony was taken over by the Dutch in 1655, small traces of Swedish culture still remain in the area. In addition, the Swedes possessed overseas colonies in Africa between 1650 and 1663. Interested in a timeline of the Kabinettskriege era? Click here. 

However, the Swedes never really possessed a large overseas empire, most of their imperial holdings were in Europe. At the height of Swedish power, the empire included  much of the North German Baltic sea coast, as well as portions of the current Baltic states, such as Latvia and Estonia, the whole of Finland, and a significant part of Norway.

The Swedish Empire (Sweden is Tan, Swedish conquests are in Orange)

While the Swedes were on the rise in the early Kabinettskriege era, by 1721, they had lost most of their overseas possessions in the Stora Nordiska Kriget: The Great Northern War.  Despite an excellent military, the Swedes had been defeated by an alliance of Russia, Denmark, Poland, and Prussia. What is surprising is not that they were defeated, but that they managed to hold out for twenty one years.

They were able to survive for so long as a result of one of the most controversial figures in Swedish history, Karl XII of Sweden, and his Karoliner. The Karoliner were some of the most effective soldiers of the Kabinettskriege era. The Swedish Karoliner used incredibly effective Gå-På (or "Head-On") tactics. These tactics meant that the soldiers would hold their fire until point-blank range, which caused massive causalities to the enemy. After a devastating point-blank volley, the Karoliner would charge fearlessly into close combat, and their panicked enemies would usually flee.

In modern times, many Swedes are atheists, but in the Kabinettskriege era, the Swedish army was held together by a strong belief in the Christian God. The Swedish in this period were Lutheran, and a mix of faith, and Gå-På tactics kept this small, but highly effective, army fighting against impossible odds.

However, this divine protection did not, contrary to Swedish belief, stop musket balls. At the battle of Poltava in 1709, the Swedes were defeated and Karl XII fled to the Ottoman Empire. Refusing to make peace, Karl XII continued the war beyond any hope of Swedish victory. He was eventually killed in Norway, while attempting to besiege a fortress. His death, and the tremendous losses absorbed by Sweden during this war, crushed the Swedish Empire. In addition, this defeat paved the way for the Russians to move into central Europe, with consequences leading up to the present day.

With that knowledge, let us return to the original painting which began this post.

This painting, by Swedish artist Gustaf Cederström, shows the Karoliner bringing home the body of Karl XII, during the so-called, "Karolinian death-march." A Swedish hunter, his son, and their dog, make way for these soldiers. On the hunters back, an enormous bird of prey hangs dead. This death of this majestic bird is intended to mirror the death of the great Swedish king. This epic painting shows the despair of Swedes at the end of the Great Northern War. 

After the death of Karl XII, Sweden's empire never fully recovered. The Swedish empire passed to his sister, Ulrika Eleonora, and her husband, Friedrich I of Hesse-Kassel. While the Swedes were able to defeat the Russians in the war of 1788, and take Norway in 1814, the Sweden's glory days were over. However, now, the Swedish have created a state which is the envy of other Europeans, and an economy which shows signs of strength. 

If we have any Swedish readers, what do you think of Karl XII? Was he responible for the loss of the Swedish Empire? What do you think about Sweden's history in the Kabinettskriege era?

Thanks for Reading,

Alex Burns 

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.