Battle of Poltava
Part of Great Northern War
The Battle of Poltava by Denis Martens the Younger, painted 1726
Date June 28, 1709 (July 8, New Style) Location Poltava, eastern Ukraine Result Decisive Russian victory
Combatants
Swedish Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders
Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld #	Peter the Great
Strength
17,000 troops attacking, 7,000 besieging Poltava,	45,000 troops, 130 cannons (about 100 participated in the battle) 3,000 Kalmyks arrived at the end of battle
Casualties
6,900 killed, wounded or missing 2760 prisoners	1,345 killed 3,290 wounded

The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a battle between the armies of Peter I of Russia and Charles XII of Sweden on 28 June (according to the then-used Swedish calendar; 27 June in the old style and 8 July in the new style) 1709, the most famous of the battles of the Great Northern War. The decisive victory of the Russians is said to have started the end of Sweden's role as a Great Power and took their place as the leading nation of northern Europe. This also meant the rise of Imperial Russia. Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Ukrainian Cossacks Russia Denmark-Norway Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Saxony after 1718 Prussia Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Ivan Mazepa Peter the Great Frederick IV of Denmark Augustus II the Strong Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... Image File history File links Battle of Poltava as painted by Denis Martens the Younger in 1726 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style or O.S. is a designation indicating that a date conforms to the Julian calendar, formerly in use in many countries, rather than the Gregorian calendar, currently in use in most countries. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Poltava highlighted. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sweden between the years 1611 and 1718 is known as the Swedish Empire. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Count Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld (6 August 1651–29 January 1722), Swedish Field Marshal. ... Balian of Ibelin surrendering the city of Jerusalem to Saladin, from Les Passages faits Outremer par les Français contre les Turcs et autres Sarrasins et Maures outremarins, ca. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... Peter the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич Pyotr I Alekse`yevich, Пётр Великий Pyotr Veli`kiy) (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.][1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his... Location Map of Ukraine with Poltava highlighted. ... The Republic of Kalmykia (Russian: Респу́блика Калмы́кия; Kalmyk: Хальм Тангч) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Ukrainian Cossacks Russia Denmark-Norway Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Saxony after 1718 Prussia Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Ivan Mazepa Peter the Great Frederick IV of Denmark Augustus II the Strong Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Charles XII Charles Eugène de Croÿ Strength 10,640 about 37,000 Casualties 667 killed 15,000 killed or drowned 12,000 captured For other Battles of Narva, see Battle of Narva (disambiguation). ... Combatants Sweden Saxony/Russia Commanders Charles XII August II Adam Heinrich von Steinau Strength 7,000 in the first wave of attack Russians 10,000 Saxons 9,000 Casualties 100 wounded - 400 KIA 2,000 KIA The Crossing of the Daugava on July 9, 1701 was the Swedish push into... Combatants Sweden Poland,Saxony Commanders Charles XII August II the Strong Strength 20 000, 20 000, Casualties 1000 2000 {{{notes}}} Battle of Kliszów took place on July 19 1702 in MaÅ‚opolska during Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Saxony Commanders Charles XII Adam Heinrich von Steinau Strength 3000 3500 Casualties 18 dead 200 dead 800 captured The Battle of PuÅ‚tusk took place on April 21, 1703 in PuÅ‚tusk during Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt unknown Strength 6,000 15,000 Casualties 52 killed, 187 wounded unknown Battle of Jakobstadt was a battle in the Great Nordic War. ... Combatants Sweden Saxony Commanders Charles XII Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg Strength 3,000 men 4,000 men Casualties 300 killed, wounded or captured 500 killed, wounded or captured 1 gun The Battle of Punitz took place on October 28, 1704 in Punitz (present day Poland) during the Great Northern... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt Boris Sheremetyev Strength about 5,500-7 000 at least 10,000 Casualties 800 killed, 1000 wounded 2000-6000 killed The Battle of Gemäuerthof was a battle in the Great Nordic War. ... The battle of Fraustadt was fought on February 3, 1706 between Swedish and Russians. ... Combatants Sweden  Saxony  Russia Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Commanders Arvid Axel Mardefelt Augustus II the Strong Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov Strength 4,300 35,000 - 40,000 Casualties 700 killed 1,800 captured  ? The Battle of Kalisz took place on October 29, 1706 in Kalisz, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Great Northern... The Battle of Holowczyn was fought between the Russian army, led by Field Marshal Sheremetyev, and the Swedish army, led by Charles XII of Sweden. ... The Battle of Lesnaya was one of the decisive battles of the Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Denmark Commanders Magnus Stenbock Jørgen Rantzau Strength 14,000 14,000 Casualties 800 dead, 2,000 wounded 5,000 dead 2,500 captured In the Battle of Helsingborg (February 28, 1710) 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau was decisively defeated by an equally large Swedish... The Battle of Gadebusch was Swedens final great victory in the Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Carl Gustaf Armfeldt Mikhail Golitsyn Strength 4,500 9,000 Casualties 1,600 dead 900 wounded 1,800-2,000 dead or wounded The battle of Storkyro was fought on February 19, 1714 near the village Napue, Finland between a Swedish and a Russian army, as... The naval Battle of Gangut took place on July 27, 1714 during the Great Northern War, in the waters north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy. ... Combatants Denmark Prussia Sweden Commanders Frederick IV Frederick William III Charles XII Strength 36,000 soldiers Unknown Casualties Unknown Charles XII was wounded. ... The naval Battle of Dynekilen took place on 8 July 1716 during the Great Northern War, when a light Danish-Norwegian force under Tordenskjold trapped and defeated a similar Swedish force in Dynekilen fjord (just north of Strömstad), on the west coast of Sweden. ... This battle took place 4 June 1719, during the Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Frederick of Hessen-Kassel Carl Gustaf Dücker Rutger Fuchs Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin Strength about 1,200 3,000 Casualties 100 killed or wounded about 500 killed or wounded The Battle of Stäket was a minor battle during the Great Northern War. ... The Battle of Grengam of 1720 was a major battle in the Great Northern War that marked the end of Swedish supremacy in the Baltic waters. ... Peter the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич Pyotr I Alekse`yevich, Пётр Великий Pyotr Veli`kiy) (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.][1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his... Carl XII, Karl XII or Carolus Rex, (June 17, 1682 – November 30, 1718), the Alexander of the North, nicknamed in Turkish as DemirbaÅŸ Åžarl (Charles the Habitué), was King of Sweden from 1697 until his death in 1718. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Ukrainian Cossacks Russia Denmark-Norway Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Saxony after 1718 Prussia Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Ivan Mazepa Peter the Great Frederick IV of Denmark Augustus II the Strong Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... One of the hallmarks of contemporary great power status is permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

Prelude

Early Swedish victories at Copenhagen and at the Battle of Narva in 1700 knocked both Denmark and Russia temporarily out of the war. However, Charles was unable to bring the war to a conclusion, and it would take six years before he had dealt with the remaining combatant Charles Augustus of Saxony-Poland. During this time Peter rebuilt his army into modern form, basing it primarily on infantry trained to properly use linear tactics and modern firearms. He then achieved a stunning propaganda victory when he established the city of Saint Petersburg on Swedish territory, not Livonia. To end the war, Charles ordered a final attack on the Russian heartland with an assault on Moscow from his campaign base in Poland. Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Charles XII Charles Eugène de Croÿ Strength 10,640 about 37,000 Casualties 667 killed 15,000 killed or drowned 12,000 captured For other Battles of Narva, see Battle of Narva (disambiguation). ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

Charles marched along the main route between Poland and Moscow and waited as long as he could for General Lewenhaupt to arrive. At one point they were only 130 kilometres apart, but Charles gave up because that he needed supplies, and turned south into the Ukraine in search of grain and better weather. The Ukrainian forces, under the command of the Cossack hetman Mazepa, had been in discussions with Charles for some time, and at this point officially allied himself to the Swedes in order to gain independence from Russia. Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt (April 1659 - February 12, 1719) was a Swedish general. ... Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa (Іван Степанович Мазепа in Ukrainian; Иван Степанович Мазепа in Russian) (circa 1640 &#8212...

Lewenhaupt followed south and was attacked while crossing a river near a small village that gave name to the Battle of Lesnaya. His forces met the Russian attack, but they were amazed to find that the new Russian army gave them a serious fight. Lewenhaupt, seeing that he was about to lose, decided to rejoin Charles with all speed, so he abandoned the cannon, the cattle and most of the food, driving the soldiers to mutiny. Stealing all of the alcohol, the soldiers became drunk, and Lewenhaupt was forced to leave about 1,000 men drunk in the woods. By the time they finally reached Charles and the main force in the winter, no supplies and only 6,000 men remained. The Battle of Lesnaya was one of the decisive battles of the Great Northern War. ... Mutiny is the act of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) are legally obliged to obey. ...

Battle of Poltava: a fragment of the great mosaic by Mikhail Lomonosov.

In the spring Charles resumed his advance, but his army had been reduced by about one-third due to starvation, frostbite and other effects of the weather. The wet weather had also seriously depleted the army's supplies of gunpowder; the cannon were also essentially out of action, due to a lack of usable ammunition. Charles's first action was to lay siege to the fort of Poltava on the Vorskla River in the Ukraine. Peter had already organized a huge force to protect it, and he quickly arrived. On 27 June, Charles received information that large Kalmyk forces were going to join Peter and to cut off all supplies of Swedish Army. Poltava battle, fragment of mosaic, by Mikhail Lomonosov File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Poltava battle, fragment of mosaic, by Mikhail Lomonosov File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about a decorative art. ... Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (Михаи́л Васи́льевич Ломоно́сов) (November 19 (November 8, Old Style), 1711 – April 15 (April 4, Old Style), 1765) was a Russian writer and polymath who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Poltava highlighted. ... The Republic of Kalmykia ( Russian: Респу́блика Калмы́кия; Kalmyk: Хальм Тангч) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ...

Battle

When the battle opened, Charles had about 14,000 men, while Peter commanded about 45,000. To make matters worse for the Swedes, Charles was wounded during the siege on June 17, when he was hit in the foot when he took part in a small engagement during an inspection of the Swedish outposts on the banks of the Vorskla. He had to turn over command to Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld and General Adam Lewenhaupt. This was made all the more unfortunate by the divergent personalities of the two generals. Unfortunately, when they planned the battle, they forgot to tell their subordinate commanders. is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Vorskla River, located in northeastern Ukraine, is tributary to the Dnieper River. ... Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld was a Swedish field marshall under the command of Charles XII. He lived from 1651-1722. ...

The battle began before dawn at 3:45 a.m. on June 28, with the Swedes advancing boldly against the Russian fortified lines. At first, the battle started off in a traditional fashion, with the better trained Swedes pressing in on the Russians' redoubts, overrunning a few Russian defensive redoubts. The Swedish seemed to possess an advantage, but this was quickly nullified. By dawn, the weather was already very hot and humid with the rising sun obscured by smoke from cannon and musket fire. The Swedish infantry, commanded by General Lewenhaupt, attempted to attack the Russians. But the Swedish advance soon faltered, partly because the infantry had been ordered to withdraw and reorganise. To make matters worse, one Swedish detachment, commanded by General Roos, hadn't been told about the overall plan and became isolated in the Russian defensive redoubts when a column of about 4,000 Russian reinforcements reoccupied the fortified positions, trapping Roos and his 2,600-man force. With over 1,000 casualties and ammunition running low, Roos was forced to surrender his command. is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Swedes waited for Roos to return. As time went by, the Russians infantry moved out of its fortified camp. Around 9:00 am, the Swedish line started to move forward; 4,000 Swedish infantry against 20,000 Russian infantry. They advanced and the Russians saluted them with their guns creating a firestorm of shells. When the Swedes were 100 meters from the Russian line, the Russians aimed and fired their muskets. When they were 30 meters from the Russian line, the Swedes fired one volley and charged. They were on the verge of a breakthrough and needed the cavalry; unfortunately it was disorganised. The Russian line was longer than the Swedish line, and the Russian right soon flanked the Swedish infantry. Several regiments were surrounded in a classic Cannae-style battle. The cavalry tried to buy the infantry time to get away; several units attacked the Russians head on despite them forming into squares. Seeing the defeat of his army from a stretcher in the rear, Charles ordered the army to retreat at 11:00 a.m. By noon, the battle was over as Russian cavalry had mopped up the stragglers on the battlefield and returned to their own lines. Charles then gathered the remainder of his troops and baggage train, and retreated to the south later that same day, abandoning the siege of Poltava. Rehnskiöld was captured. Lewenhaupt led the surviving Swedish forces to the Dnieper River, but was doggedly pursued by the Russian regular cavalry and 3,000 Kalmyks and forced to surrender three days later at Perevolochna, on July 1. For the 11th century battle in the Byzantine conquest of the Mezzogiorno, see Battle of Cannae (1018). ... The Dnieper River (Russian: , Dnepr; Belarusian: , Dniapro; Ukrainian: , Dnipro) is a river which flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, ending its flow in the Black Sea. ... Perevolochna, Ukr. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Aftermath

Charles XII and Mazepa at the Dnieper River after Poltava by unknown artist.

Orth. Church on the battlefield

Several thousand prisoners were taken, many of whom were put to work building the new city of St. Petersburg. Charles managed to escape with about 1,500 men to Bendery, Moldavia, then controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and spent five years in exile there before he was able to return to Sweden. Image File history File links Charles_XII_and_Mazepa_at_the_Dnieper_River_after_Poltava. ... Image File history File links Charles_XII_and_Mazepa_at_the_Dnieper_River_after_Poltava. ... Carl XII, Karl XII or Carolus Rex, (June 17, 1682 – November 30, 1718), the Alexander of the North, nicknamed in Turkish as DemirbaÅŸ Åžarl (Charles the Habitué), was King of Sweden from 1697 until his death in 1718. ... Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa (Іван Степанович Мазепа in Ukrainian; Иван Степанович Мазепа in Russian) (circa 1640 &#8212... The Dnieper River (Russian: , Dnepr; Belarusian: , Dniapro; Ukrainian: , Dnipro) is a river which flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, ending its flow in the Black Sea. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ... Tighina, or Tigina, is a city in Moldova. ... It has been suggested that Moldavia (historical region) be merged into this article or section. ... Ottoman redirects here. ...

Bibliography

• G. Adlerfelt, The Military History of Charles XII, King of Sweden, Written by the Express Order of His Majesty. London, 3 vols, 1740.
• Peter Englund, The Battle That Shook Europe: Poltava and the Birth of the Russian Empire. London, 1992, 288 pages ISBN 1860648479
• Angus Konstam, Poltava 1709, Russia Comes of Age. Osprey Campaign #34. Osprey Publishing, 1994, 96 pages. ISBN 1855324164
• Robert K. Massie, Peter The Great: His Life and Times Ballantine Books; 1981. 932 Pages, ISBN-10: 0345298063 : ISBN-13: 978-0345298065

External links

• Battle of Poltava
• The Decline of the Great Power: The Battle of Poltava (also used as a reference)
• Sequel to Poltava

Coordinates: 49°34.47′N, 34°34.12′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...