Swedish invasion of Russia

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Swedish invasion of Russia
Part of the Great Northern War

The Battle of Poltava by Louis Caravaque
Date1 January 1708 — 8 July 1709
Location
Tsardom of Russia
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia Tsardom of Russia
Cossack Hetmanate
Kalmyk Khanate
Sandomierz Confederation		 Sweden Swedish Empire
Cossack supporters of Mazepa
(from October 1708)
Warsaw Confederation
Commanders and leaders
Aleksandr Menshikov
Russia Boris Sheremetev
Ivan Mazepa
(until October 1708)
Ayuka Khan
Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld Surrendered
Sweden Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt Surrendered
Ivan Mazepa

(from October 1708)
Strength
192,000[a] 97,000[b]
Casualties and losses
21,675–26,248 combat casualties
Thousands froze to death		 15,088–19,085 combat casualties
14,800–14,977 captured
13,759 froze to death

The invasion of Russia by Charles XII of Sweden was a campaign undertaken during the Great Northern War between Sweden and the allied states of Russia, Poland, and Denmark. The invasion began with Charles's crossing of the Vistula on 1 January 1708, and effectively ended with the Swedish defeat in the Battle of Poltava on 8 July 1709, though Charles continued to pose a military threat to Russia for several years while under the protection of the Ottoman Turks.

Historical context

In the years preceding the invasion of Russia, Charles had inflicted significant defeats on the Danish and Polish forces, and

Hrodna, now in Belarus
, a mere two hours after Russian forces had abandoned it.

Charles was a skilled military leader, and probably considered the invasion to be a risky enterprise; he had resisted the advice of his generals to invade during the Russian winter following the first

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
had destroyed Mazepa's capital and chased him to Charles with just thirteen hundred men.

Outcome

The invasion was further complicated by the

the Russian winter. By the end of the winter of 1708–1709, the "Great Frost of 1709" had devastated the Swedish army and shrunk it to 24,000 men. In May 1709, the Swedish forces caught up to the Russians, and the two armies clashed in the Battle of Poltava
. The Swedish were defeated, and the greater part of Charles's army, some 19,000 men, were forced to surrender.

Charles fled with his surviving 543 men to the protection of the Ottoman Turks to the south, who were traditionally hostile to Russia. Here, Charles was eventually able to persuade the Sultan

Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711)
. Before Charles could give battle, though, Peter was able to bribe the Turkish vizier to peace; with this, Charles's ambitions to invade Russia were ended.

Consequences

The consequences of the failed invasion were far-reaching. The Swedish Empire never added new territory after the Battle of Poltava, and shortly thereafter lost more possessions. George I of Great Britain led Great Britain and Prussia into war against Sweden, and Denmark reentered the war. Russia maintained its conquered possessions in Ingria and the Baltic, was able to consolidate its hold over Ukraine and Poland, develop the new city of Saint Petersburg, and gain vital trade links in the Baltic trade.

Battles

Battles during the invasion of Russia by Charles XII
Battle Swedish numbers Russian numbers Swedish casualties Russian casualties Result
Grodno 800[5] 9,000[5] 54[6] 200[6] Swedish victory
Holowczyn 12,500[7][8] 28,000[8] 1,293 1,655–2,000[9][10][11][12][13][14] Swedish victory
Neva 2,000[15] 4,000–8,000[16] 380[17] 900[16] Swedish victory
Malatitze 4,000[18] 13,000[18] 1,050[19] 1,566–2,700[20] Swedish victory
Rajovka 2,400[21] 10,000[22] 100[22] 375[23] Inconclusive
Koporye 1,800 2,000–3,000 70 600 Swedish victory
Lesnaya 12,500[24] 26,500–29,000[25][26] 3,000–3,873[24] 7,000[24] Russian victory
Kolkanpää 600–800 3,000–3,500 600–800 270 Russian victory
Desna 2,000[27] 4,000[27] 200[28] 1,700[29][28] Swedish victory
Veprik 3,000 1,500 1,000–1,600 1,500 Swedish victory
Oposhnya 2,000[30] 6,000[30] 19[30] 450[30] Swedish victory
Krasnokutsk-Gorodnoye 2,500[31] 5,000–10,000[31] 132[32] 774–1,200[33][34] Swedish victory
Sokolki 6,000 7,000 290 50–1,400 Inconclusive
Stari Sanzhary Unknown Six dragoon regiments Unknown Unknown Russian victory
Poltava 17,000[35] 42,000[35] 6,900–9,224 killed/wounded
2,800–2,977 captured[36][37] 		4,635–5,953[38][39] Decisive Russian victory
Perevolochna 12,000 9,000 12,000 captured Swedish surrender

Notes

  1. Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn[1] and 11,000 at Moscow.[2] Another 12,000 men were used to beat the Bulavin Rebellion, however these were only able to assist in the fight against the Swedes at the end of the campaign.[3] 35,000–40,000 Cossacks by Ivan Mazepa and Konstantyn Hordijenkas and 10,000 Kalmyk troops by Ayuka Khan.[2] 23,500 Poles under Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski in Poland.[1]
  2. ^ 77,000 Swedes of which 33,000 directly under Karl XII at Grodno, 22,000 in Livonia, Ingria and Courland under Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt, 14,000 in Finland under Georg Lybecker and 8,000 in Poland under Ernst Detlof von Krassow[4] with about 20,000 Poles under Stanisław I.[1]
  1. ^ a b c Dorrell, Nicholas. The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Partizan Press (2009). pp. 52–62
  2. ^ a b Konovaltjuk & Lyth, Pavel & Einar (2009). Vägen till Poltava. Slaget vid Lesnaja 1708 (in Swedish). Svenskt Militärhistorisk Biblioteks Förlag. p. 39
  3. ^ Gordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. pp. 266
  4. ^ Peter From. Katastrofen vid Poltava. Lund, 2007. p. 50
  5. ^ a b Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 77.
  6. ^ a b Nordberg, Jöran (1740). Konung Carl den XII:tes historia, volume 1 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Pet. Momma. pp. 844–845.
  7. ^ Liljegren, B "Karl XII: En Biografi", 2000, p. 156
  8. ^ a b Nationalencyklopedin
  9. ISBN 91-46-21087-3
    .
  10. ISBN 978-951-50-1823-6
    .
  11. ISBN 978-91-518-5107-5
    .
  12. ISBN 91-7486-834-9
    .
  13. ISBN 0-241-01574-X
    .
  14. ^ "Charles XII and the Collapse of the Swedish Empire, 1682–1719 – R. Nisbet Bain". Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  15. ^ Dorrell, Nicholas. The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Partizan Press (2009). pp 121
  16. ^ a b Ett kort dock tydeligit utdrag utur then öfwer konung Carl den Tolftes lefwerne och konglida dater, Jöran Andersson Nordberg (1745). pp 585
  17. ^ Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 174.
  18. ^ a b Clodfelter, Micheal (2002). Warfare and Armed Conflict. McFarland. pp. 94, 97.
  19. ^ Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 196.
  20. ^ Swedish Wikipedia
  21. ISBN 91-85377-14-7
  22. ^ a b Dorrell, Nicholas. The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Partizan Press (2009). pp 98
  23. ^ Тарле Евгений Викторович Северная война и шведское нашествие на Россию. – Сочинения. – Москва: Издательство Академии Наук СССР, 1959. – Т. 10. – С. 363–800. – 841 с.
  24. ^ a b c Massie (2001)
  25. ^ Nicholas Dorrell (2009)
  26. ISBN 978-91-85789-75-7
    .
  27. ^ a b Ett kort dock tydeligit utdrag utur then öfwer konung Carl den Tolftes lefwerne och konglida dater, Jöran Andersson Nordberg (1745). pp 593
  28. ^ a b Peter From, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007), Lund, Historiska media. pp. 240.
  29. ^ Karl XII:s ryska fälttåg: källstudier, Hans Villius (1951). pp 60
  30. ^ a b c d Dorrell, Nicholas. The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava & the Russian Campaigns of 1708–1709, Partizan Press (2009). pp 155
  31. ^ a b Lanciai Christian, Segern och nederlaget (1974) p. 107
  32. ^ "Nordisk Familjebok". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  33. ^ Anders Fryxell: Berättelser ur svenska historien, Volym 15. p. 166, 1861
  34. ^ Peter Frost, Katastrofen vid Poltava (2007) p. 259
  35. ^
    ISBN 978-91-85789-75-7
    .
  36. ISBN 91-7486-834-9
    .
  37. ISBN 978-951-50-1823-6
    .
  38. ^ "Encyclopedia of Ukraine". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  39. ^ (in Russian) Istorīia Petra Velikago, p. 355
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