The Great Northern War

   The Great Northern War took place over two decades and became a fundamental reckoning between Peter I of Russia and Karl VII of Sweden. Peter's goal was prestige and to gain a port to the north to allow money and knowledge to enter the country from the west as well as allowing Russia to become a naval power. Peter I loved the sea and wanted his country to take part in the commercialism of the day, along with his naval ambitions. Russia had many allies in the conflict including Poland-Saxony and Denmark, both of whom signed separate peace treaties with Sweden. In November of 1700, Peter's army laid siege to Narva and Ingria. In response, Karl, with a blizzard at his back, sent his eight thousand man army to attack Peter's army of twenty three thousand. Peter's forces were smashed and retreated to pull themselves together again. This great victory convinced Karl that Russia was merely a bear without teeth, and turned his attention to Poland. Four years later, Peter had invaded Swedish territory in the north at Dorpat and Narva in 1704 further irritating Karl. Karl invaded Russia in 1707 with himself leading one army and Count Lewenhaupt leading the other, attacking through Smolensk and Riga, respectively. Peter was defeated at Holowczyn but inflicted serious casualties upon the Swedes. While retreating, Peter used a scorched earth policy, leaving the advancing Swedish army without supplies to forage. Karl did not give chase, choosing instead to make his winter camp in Ukraine, unaware of the brutal winter on the way. In 1709 at the battle of Poltava, the Swedish army was crushed, leaving Karl stranded without a route to return to Sweden or even his other army, as Count Lewenhaupt had suffered a serious defeat at the battle of Lesnaya. Later, the war would move to Finland, where the Swedes would know little victory. The Swedish navy was routed at Hango and the last hope of victory for Sweden was lost at Tanning in Holstein. An alliance between Turkey and Sweden forced Russia into two front's, which would create a situation where Peter would be defeated by the Turks in the south at the Battle of Pruth during a failed invasion of Moldavia, losing influence around the black sea and even losing the city of Azov. Peter would make peace with the Turks, but not yet with the Swedes. Peace with Sweden would come in 1721, three years after the death of Karl, with the Treaty of Nystad, where Sweden Ceded Livonia, Estonia and Ingria to Russia and Peter returned Finland to Sweden. The Great Northern War proved to be a turning point in Eastern European history, with the positions of power being exchanged between one dying empire, and a Russia on the rise. Peter achieved the expansion he sought and at the same time eliminated his most potent and dangerous rival.



Sources

"The Great Northern War". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.


Rickard, J. "Great Northern War (1700-1721)." Historyofwar.org. 24 Dec. 2000. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.