On July 8 (June 27, old style), 1709, the general battle of the Northern War of 1700-1721 took place - the Battle of Poltava. The Russian army under the command of Peter I defeated the Swedish army of Charles XII. The Battle of Poltava led to a turning point in the Northern War in favor of Russia.
In honor of this victory, the Day of Military Glory of Russia was established, which is celebrated on July 10. The federal law “On days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia” was adopted in 1995. It states that July 10 is the Victory Day of the Russian army under the command of Peter the Great over the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava (1709).

After the defeat of the Russian army, Peter I in 1700-1702 carried out a grandiose military reform - in fact, he re-created the army and the Baltic Fleet. In the spring of 1703, at the mouth of the Neva, Peter I founded the city and fortress of St. Petersburg, and later the maritime citadel of Kronstadt. In the summer of 1704, the Russians captured Dorpat (Tartu) and Narva and thus gained a foothold on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. At that time, Peter I was ready to conclude a peace treaty with Sweden. But Charles XII decided to continue the war until complete victory, in order to completely cut off Russia from sea trade routes.

In the spring of 1709, after an unsuccessful winter campaign in Ukraine, the army of the Swedish king Charles XII besieged Poltava, where it was planned to replenish supplies and then continue in the direction of Kharkov, Belgorod and further to Moscow. In April-June 1709, the garrison of Poltava, consisting of 4.2 thousand soldiers and 2.6 thousand armed citizens, led by commandant Colonel Alexei Kelin, supported by the cavalry of General Alexander Menshikov and Ukrainian Cossacks who came to the rescue, successfully repulsed several enemy assaults. Heroic Defense Poltava fettered the forces of Charles XII. Thanks to her, the Russian army was able to concentrate in the area of ​​the fortress at the end of May 1709 and prepare for battle with the enemy.

At the end of May, the main forces of the Russian army under the command of Peter I arrived in the Poltava region. At the military council on June 27 (June 16, old style), it was decided to give a general battle. By July 6 (June 25, old style), the Russian army, numbering 42 thousand people and having 72 guns, was located in a fortified camp it had created 5 kilometers north of Poltava.

The field in front of the camp, about 2.5 kilometers wide, covered on the flanks by dense forest and thickets, was fortified by a system of field engineering structures of six frontal and four quadrangular redoubts perpendicular to them. The redoubts were located at a distance of a rifle shot from each other, which ensured tactical interaction between them. Two battalions of soldiers and grenadiers were stationed in the redoubts, and behind the redoubts were 17 cavalry regiments under the command of Alexander Menshikov. Peter I's plan was to wear down the enemy at the front line (the line of redoubts), and then defeat him in an open field battle.

On the night of July 8 (June 27, old style), the Swedish army under the command of Field Marshal Carl Rehnskild (Carl XII was wounded on reconnaissance) numbering about 20 thousand soldiers and with four guns - four columns of infantry and six columns of cavalry - moved to Russian positions. The remaining troops - up to 10 thousand soldiers - were in reserve and guarding Swedish communications.

A powerful patriotic mood was aroused in the Russian soldiers by Peter’s words addressed to them before the start of the battle: “Warriors! The hour has come that must decide the fate of the Fatherland. You should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter, for your family, for Fatherland, for our Orthodox Faith and the Church... Have in front of you the Truth and God, your protector. And about Peter, know that life is not dear to him. Only Russia would live in glory and prosperity for your well-being."

At 3 a.m. on July 8 (June 27, old style), the Russian and Swedish cavalry began a stubborn battle at the redoubts. By 5 o'clock in the morning, the Swedish cavalry was overthrown, but the infantry that followed it captured the first two Russian redoubts. At six o'clock in the morning, the Swedes, advancing behind the retreating Russian cavalry, came under cross rifle and cannon fire with their right flank from the Russian fortified camp, suffered heavy losses and retreated to the forest in panic. At the same time, the right-flank Swedish columns, cut off from their main forces during the battles for the redoubts, retreated into the forest north of Poltava, where they were defeated by Menshikov’s cavalry following them and surrendered.

At about 6 o'clock, Peter I led the army out of the camp and built it in two lines, where he placed the infantry in the center and the cavalry of Menshikov and Bour on the flanks. A reserve (nine battalions) was left in the camp. The main forces of the Swedes lined up opposite the Russian troops. At 9 o'clock in the morning hand-to-hand combat began. At this time, the cavalry of the Russian army began to cover the enemy's flanks. The Swedes began a retreat, which by 11 o'clock turned into a disorderly flight. The Russian cavalry pursued them to the river bank, where the remnants of the Swedish army surrendered.

The Battle of Poltava ended in a convincing victory for the Russian army. The enemy lost over 9 thousand killed and 19 thousand captured. Russian losses were 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded. Karl himself was wounded and fled to Turkey with a small detachment. The military power of the Swedes was undermined, the glory of the invincibility of Charles XII was dispelled.

The Poltava victory determined the outcome of the Northern War. The Russian army showed excellent combat training and heroism, and Peter I and his military leaders showed outstanding military leadership abilities. Russians are the first to military science That era used field earthen fortifications, as well as rapidly moving horse artillery. In 1721, the Northern War ended with the complete victory of Peter I. The ancient Russian lands went to Russia, and it firmly established itself on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

In the spring of 1708, Charles XII invaded Russia. With him were 24 thousand infantry and 20 thousand cavalry. These were selected warriors who knew their job very well. In Europe there were legends about them as invincible soldiers. The Swedish king initially intended to go to Moscow through Smolensk, but this direction was covered by a strong army led by Boris Sheremetev. Charles XII turned south and went to Ukraine. He was in secret correspondence with the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa. Many among the Cossack elders were dissatisfied with the position of Ukraine within Russia. They believed that the liberties of the elders and Little Russian gentry were curtailed. The hardships of the Northern War also took their toll. 20 thousand Cossacks fought in the “Livonian region”. Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa dreamed of Ukraine, a vassal of Sweden. Mazepa promised Charles XII apartments for the army, food, fodder (horse feed), and military support for the 30,000-strong Zaporozhye army.

FROM A REPORT ABOUT THE BATTLE OF POLTAVA

“And so, by the grace of the Almighty, the perfect Victoria, the like of which has been little heard or seen, with easy difficulty against a proud enemy through His Royal Majesty, a glorious weapon and a personal brave and wise victory was won. For His Majesty truly showed his courage, wise generosity and military skill, without fearing any fear to his royal person, to the highest degree, and, moreover, his hat was pierced by a bullet. Under his lordship Prince Menshikov, who also showed his courage, three horses were wounded. At the same time, it should be known that of our infantry only one line, in which there were ten thousand, was in battle with the enemy, and the other did not reach that; for the enemies, having been refuted from our first line, fled and were thus beaten<…>News was received from those sent to bury the dead from the battle that they had counted and buried the Swedish dead bodies of 8,519 people at the battle site and around it, except for those who were beaten in the chase through the forests in different places.”

“I ASK YOU TO COME TO MY TENT”

On the eve of the Battle of Poltava, King Charles XII, promising his officers and soldiers a quick victory, invited the Russian Tsar to a luxurious dinner in the tent. “He prepared many dishes; go where glory leads you.” Peter I actually organized a feast for the victors, where he invited captured Swedish generals. At the same time, not without irony, the Russian monarch said: “Yesterday my brother King Charles invited you to dine in my tent, but today he did not come and did not keep his word, although I really expected him. But when His Majesty did not deign to appear, then I ask you to come to my tent.”

ORDER FOR THE TRAITOR

After Poltava, Peter I sent the following order to Moscow: “Upon receiving this, immediately make a silver coin weighing ten pounds, and on it have Judas cut out, hanging himself on an aspen tree, and below are thirty pieces of silver lying with a bag with them, and on the back is this inscription: “ Cursed is the pernicious son Judas, who is choking for his love of money.” And for that coin, make a chain of two pounds, send it to us by express mail immediately.” This was the Order of Judas, made specifically for the traitor Hetman Mazepa.

Tests on the history of the Fatherland

VICTORY PARADE

The event turned out wonderful. The order of the parade can be judged from the engravings of P. Picard and A. Zubov.

The victorious sounds of twenty-four trumpeters and six timpani players who led the column flew from the Serpukhov Gate. The procession was opened by the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment on horseback, led by Prince M.M. Golitsyn. The Semyonovites rode with unfurled banners and drawn broadswords.

Next were the trophies taken at Lesnaya, followed by Russian soldiers again, now through the snow, dragging 295 banners and standards captured at Lesnaya, Poltava and Perevolochnaya. (by the way, at the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, 200 fascist banners and standards were thrown at the foot of the V.I. Lenin mausoleum). Such dragging of enemy trophy banners across land and water (if it was in a port) became a kind of traditional part of victorious events in the Peter the Great era. Next came the Swedish prisoners. On December 21, a huge number of prisoners of war were paraded through the Russian capital - 22,085 Swedes, Finns, Germans and others taken during 9 years of war.

At first, the captured non-commissioned officers of the “Courland Corps” were taken on foot. After the victories at Lesnaya and Poltava, the Swedes were not considered a formidable enemy and, as a mockery, 19 sleighs of the “Samoyed King” of the half-crazy Frenchman Udder with the Nenets dressed in reindeer skins, drawn by reindeer and horses, were allowed behind them. Behind them were carried on horseback the stretchers of the Swedish king captured near Poltava. They were kept in the Armory for some time, until a fire in 1737 destroyed them...

After the Swedes came the grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, again Swedish officers and trophies taken near Poltava. Then Levengaupta walked on foot along with Rehnskiöld and Chancellor K. Pieper.

Following the generals, Colonel Peter the Great himself of the Preobrazhensky Regiment rode on horseback in a uniform torn by fragments of Swedish cannonballs, in a saddle shot through by a Swedish bullet, and in a cocked hat pierced by it. He rode the same horse on which, in difficult moments of the Battle of Poltava, he led the second battalion of Novgorodians into the attack. Now Field Marshal General Alexander Menshikov was following the Tsar. The Preobrazhensky soldiers followed them and a huge convoy began.

Swedish regimental music was carried on 54 open carts, accompanied by 120 Swedish musicians. Among the trophies were silver kettledrums from the Swedish Life Regiment. By the “oral” command of Tsar Peter Alekseevich, as a sign of distinction in the Battle of Poltava and with the obvious traditional meaning of the commander’s kleynod of the leader, they were granted the field marshal general, His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov to the General or Life Squadron - the ancestor of the Horse Guards, becoming a precedent when the trophy turned into a military award. The prisoners were led through the city streets through all 8 triumphal gates, erected “to the shame and disgrace of the Swedes.”

Bells were ringing in all the churches, people were yelling, shouting curses, and in general, there was “such a roar and noise that people could hardly hear each other on the streets,” wrote Corporal Erik Larsson Smepust. However, all participants in the procession were treated to beer and vodka. The Swedish generals, as after the Battle of Poltava, were invited to a feast at Menshikov’s house. The Moscow Victory Parade, organized by Peter the Great, was one of the most magnificent during his reign. And it was held not only for the edification of one’s own and foreign contemporaries, but also for descendants. A tradition was born that must be preserved.

Warriors! The hour has come that must decide the fate of the Fatherland. You should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter, for your family, for the Fatherland, for our Orthodox Faith and Church. You should also not be embarrassed by the glory of the enemy, supposedly invincible, which you yourself have repeatedly proven false by your victories over him. Keep righteousness and God fighting against you before your eyes in the battle. And about Peter, know that His life is not precious to Him, as long as Russia lives in bliss and glory for your well-being. (From Peter I’s address to the troops on the eve of the Battle of Poltava)

After the failure of the assault on Poltava, the situation was extremely unfortunate for the Swedish army. Ottoman Empire After the demonstration of the forces of the Russian fleet, she was not going to help the Swedes; in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Karl’s protege, Stanislav Leszczynski, was tied hand and foot in the fight against the Russian detachment of Goltz and hostile Polish detachments under the command of Hetman Sinyavsky. An attempt to involve the population of Ukraine in the war with the Russian Tsar failed; people were hostile to the interventionists. The Swedish army began to feel a shortage of food supplies, and there was not enough ammunition. The people were tired, their morale was greatly undermined by the unsuccessful siege of Poltava. It was impossible to wait any longer; it was necessary to go beyond the Dnieper to Poland, or give a decisive battle. The Swedish monarch believed that only victory in a general battle over the Russians would be the right way out of the difficult situation. The Swedish king decided to attack Russian positions at dawn on June 27.

On June 25, the Russian army took a position near the village of Yakovtsy, and on the 26th they began to build a fortified position here. They planned to attack the Swedes on June 29, but on the 25th a defector arrived in the Russian camp and informed the Tsar that on the 27th the Swedish army would go on the offensive. “God is for the beginner,” Peter said calmly upon learning this news, and the Russian command began to make final preparations for the battle.

The fortified camp of the Russian army near the village of Yakovtsy was adjacent to the steep bank of the river with its rear. Vorskla. To the right of the camp there was a ravine, and on the left side there was a forest that extended to the Poltava Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross. In front of the front there was a clearing up to two miles wide, bordered on the northwestern side by another forest. Between this forest and the monastery forest there was an open gap up to a mile wide. Only this free gap could be used by the Swedish army to move from Poltava to the Russian camp. Peter decided to take the battle in the most favorable conditions and ordered the construction of six separate fortifications (redoubts) in the passage between the forests, which were located at a distance of a rifle shot from each other. These were quadrangular earthen fortifications with ditches and parapets. The forward position was to be strengthened by four additional redoubts, which were built perpendicular to the line of the first six. As a result, the advancing Swedish army had to stumble upon redoubts, and then either storm them - wasting strength, money and time, or break through them, suffering heavy losses due to flanking fire. After breaking through the redoubts, the Swedes came across the main forces of the Russian army, which were located in a fortified camp. The idea to create redoubts on the battlefield belonged to Peter; it was a novelty in the military art of Europe.

By the day of the decisive battle, the Russian army consisted of 61 infantry battalions, 23 dragoon regiments, several thousand Cossacks and 72 guns, a total of about 50 thousand people. It was a formidable force that had undergone a harsh 9-year battle school. Many regiments took part in sieges and assaults of Baltic fortresses, in various battles, including the Battle of Lesnaya. During the war years, Russian commanders and comrades-in-arms of the Tsar also gained enormous combat experience: the judicious and cautious Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev; decisive and proactive, excellent cavalry general Alexander Menshikov; Guard commander Mikhail Golitsyn; participant in all the main battles of the Great Northern War, defeated at Golovchin, demoted to the ranks of soldiers, distinguished himself in the Battle of Lesnaya and restored to the rank of general Anikita Repnin; excellent engineer and artilleryman Yakov Bruce.

The forward redoubts were garrisoned by two battalions of the Belgorod regiment under the command of Brigadier Aigustov. The entire cavalry, led by Menshikov, was located behind the fortifications. The main forces under the command of Sheremetev were in a fortified camp. Most of the artillery was deployed at the front of the camp. Skoropadsky's Cossacks were located near the villages of Malye Budishcha and Reshetilovka, blocking the path from Yakovtsy to right-bank Ukraine and Poland.

Simultaneously with the engineering preparation of the future battlefield and the alignment of forces, Peter did not forget to raise the morale of the Russian army. Before the battle, the Russian Tsar and the army prayed to the Almighty for victory. Peter toured the ranks of the young regiments and reminded the soldiers and officers of the exceptional importance of the upcoming battle for Russia. Peter told the soldiers about the disastrous plans of the Swedish monarch for the Fatherland, who dreams of destroying Russia and dividing it into parts. The guardsmen were reminded of the Swedes’ mockery of the Russian land, the arrogance of the enemy, who was already preparing to spend the winter in Moscow.

The forces of the Swedish army were significantly inferior to the Russian troops. By the day of the battle, the attacking army included 23-24 infantry battalions, 41 cavalry squadrons and 4 guns, a total of approximately 25 thousand people. In addition, about 6 thousand more Swedish soldiers and Cossacks were left to guard the fortifications near Poltava and to cover the convoy and artillery. Another part of the soldiers carried out guard duty between Poltava and Perevolochnaya. Most of the artillery was not taken with them due to lack of ammunition.

The Swedes also prepared intensively for the battle. Karl, wounded during a recent reconnaissance, overcoming severe pain, gave the last orders. The infantry was divided into 4 columns, followed by cavalry (6 columns). The king himself could not command the army, so Karl Renschild became commander-in-chief, and Adam Levenhaupt led the infantry. Charles XII traveled around his troops in a carriage and tried to encourage them with speeches. He reminded the soldiers of the glory of the Swedish army, of the brilliant victories already won, and spoke of future success.



Battle

Battle at the redoubts.On June 27 (July 8), 1709, at two o'clock in the morning, the Swedish army began to move. Charles appeared before his army and said, “Begin with God.” Russian patrols almost immediately discovered the enemy's movement and reported his advance to Menshikov, who passed the report on to Peter. Prince Alexander Menshikov formed his dragoon regiments into battle formation and decisively advanced them towards the Swedish army, intending to meet them and gain time to prepare for the battle of the main forces. The Swedish command, having discovered Russian dragoons in front of them, threw their cavalry into battle, which rode in the gaps between the columns of their infantry. At three o'clock in the morning there was a fierce battle in front of the redoubts. At first, Swedish cuirassiers and a small detachment of Cossacks pushed back the Russian cavalry, but, quickly recovering from the first onslaught, our cavalry pushed back the enemy with several blows. Thus, the Nizhny Novgorod dragoons drove back the Swedish cuirassiers, and the captain of the regiment, Avram Antonov, captured the enemy standard. Then the Swedes lost several more banners and retreated behind their infantry, restoring the disordered ranks.

The cavalry battle lasted for about an hour. During this time, the Russian main forces prepared for battle. Menshikov was supposed to retreat to the main forces, but got carried away, and when Peter ordered the troops to be withdrawn to the right flank of the camp, he resisted. Menshikov considered that it was possible to defeat the Swedes at the redoubts and asked for infantry reinforcements. He also reported that the retreat of the cavalry would demoralize it.

The Swedish command decided to throw infantry into battle. The main part of the army was to bypass the fortifications towards the main camp of the Russian army without a fight, and the detachment of Major General Karl Roos was to take the four longitudinal redoubts so that they could not fire at the Swedish troops from the flank. At five o'clock in the morning the Swedes launched a new attack. The most difficult situation was for the few defenders of the two advanced - unfinished fortifications. They met the enemy with friendly volleys, but the Swedes broke into the redoubts and killed their defenders. The next two redoubts, with the support of cavalry, repulsed the enemy onslaught.

The Swedes decide to bypass the redoubts from the north. When the army moved north of the longitudinal redoubts, the Swedish troops were divided into two parts - the battle formation was not located in the narrow clearing between the Russian fortifications and the Budishchensky forest. A detachment consisting of six battalions and several squadrons under the command of generals Ross and Schlippenbach was cut off from the main forces by redoubts (it also suffered significant losses during the assault on the redoubts) and, fearing defeat, took refuge in the forest located south of the redoubts. By six o'clock in the morning, Peter found out about this and ordered Menshikov to go at the head of a special detachment (5 infantry battalions and 5 dragoon regiments) to defeat the Swedes. The remaining cavalry was to be led by Bour and taken behind the line of redoubts to the right flank of the Russian army.

Menshikov invited Roos' Swedes to capitulate, but they refused. Ross's column could not withstand the onslaught of Menshikov's division and was defeated in a short but fierce battle. Almost all of the infantry was destroyed, and the cavalry suffered heavy losses. The remnants of the detachment ran to the Swedish camp near Poltava. Menshikov instructed General Samuil Renzel with infantry to pursue the Swedes, and he himself returned to the clearing. Renzel forced the Swedes who remained in the camp to lay down their arms. Some of the Swedes and Mazepa with the Cossacks, seeing the Russian infantry, fled to Perevolochna.

At this time, the Swedes, seeing that the Russian cavalry and the few garrisons of the redoubts were retreating, moved forward. But as soon as the Swedish infantry passed through the line of fortifications into the clearing, Russian artillery opened fire from the camp, to which the right flank of the Swedish formation approached 100 steps. Buckshot mowed down the ranks of the Swedish infantry. Unable to withstand the murderous fire, the Swedes fled in disarray to the left, towards the Budishchensky forest. There the Swedes rearranged their order to become a front to the Russian camp. Following the infantry, the Swedish cavalry also made their way into the clearing.

Decisive battle.Initially, Peter led part of the infantry to the flanks of the camp, expecting that the Swedish army, having regrouped its forces, would attack the camp. But the Swedes did not appear from the forest. Peter decided that they had a strong “embarrassment” and withdrew the entire army, building it in two lines, approximately 8 thousand in each. The right wing of the infantry order consisted of 13 battalions from the division of Prince Golitsyn. In the center of the battle formation, 14 battalions of the Repnin division stood in two lines, and on the left wing there were 15 battalions of the Allart division. The commander of all infantry was Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev. Cavalry was placed on the flanks: on the right wing - 18 Bour dragoon regiments, on the left - 6 regiments under the command of Menshikov. The artillery was placed in front of the battle formation along its entire length. 9 general reserve battalions were left in the camp. Six more dragoon regiments under the command of Prince Volkonsky were sent to Hetman Skoropadsky to reinforce his forces if the Swedes did not accept the battle and retreated.

And with them the royal squads

They came together in the smoke among the plain -

And the battle broke out, the Battle of Poltava!..

Swede, Russian - stabs, chops, cuts;

Drumming, clicks, grinding,

The thunder of guns, the stomping, the neighing groan -

And death and hell on all sides.

A. S. Pushkin.

Poltava. June 27 (July 8) 1709 six miles from the city of Poltava in Little Russia (Left Bank Ukraine) the largest battle took place Northern War between Russian and Swedish troops, which ended with the defeat of Charles's Swedish army

XII. In April 1709 Swedish troops besieged the city of Poltava, which was defended by a small garrison under the command of Colonel A. WITH.

Kelina. The Swedes launched daily attacks on the fortress. If the city was captured, a threat was created to Voronezh, a key base for supplying and forming the Russian army. At the end of May 1709 the main forces of the Russian army under the command of Peter I. The Russian army, numbering 42 thousand people and 72 guns, was located in a fortified camp that she created 5 km north of Poltava. Considering experience , the Russian army chose a small rugged space surrounded by forest to make it difficult for the enemy to maneuver. Peter took command of the first division, and distributed the other divisions among the generals. The cavalry was assigned A. D. Menshikov , command of the artillery was entrusted to Bruce.

About 20 thousand people and 4 guns (28 guns were left in the convoy without ammunition). The rest of the troops (up to 10 thousand people), including the Cossacks and Ukrainian Cossacks who fought on the side of Sweden, led by Hetman I.S.Mazepa, were in reserve. By the Swedish army, due to the wounding of Karl XII , commanded by Field Marshal Renschild. The infantry and cavalry were commanded by generals Levenhaupt and Kreutz.

At two o'clock in the morning 27 June (8 July) Swedish infantry moved in four columns towards the Russian redoubts, followed by six cavalry columns. After a stubborn two-hour battle, the Swedes managed to capture only two advanced redoubts. Renschild, trying to bypass the Russian redoubts on the left, regrouped his troops. At the same time, six right-flank battalions and several squadrons of generals Schlippenbach and Ross broke away from the main forces of the Swedes, retreated to the forest north of Poltava, where they were defeated by Menshikov’s cavalry.

Having broken through the redoubts, the main part of the Swedes came under heavy artillery and rifle fire from the Russian camp, and retreated in disarray to the Budishchensky forest.

At nine o'clock hand-to-hand combat began. Under pressure from superior forces, the Swedes began a retreat, which soon turned into a disorderly flight. A detachment of A.D. was sent in pursuit of the retreating people.Menshikov, who the next day overtook the enemy at Perevolochna on the Dnieper and forced the remnants of the Swedish army (16 thousand) under the command of A.D.Levenhaupt to capitulate. The Swedish king Charles XII and the Ukrainian hetman Mazepa with a small detachment fled to the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

During the Battle of Poltava, the Swedes lost over 9 thousand killed and over 18 thousand prisoners, while Russian losses were significantly less - 1 thousand 345people killed and 3 thousand 290 wounded.

The Russians were the first in the military science of the era to use field earthen fortifications, as well as fast-moving horse artillery. The decisive victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Poltava led to a turning point in the Northern War in Russia's favor and ended Sweden's dominance as the main military power in Europe. The ancient Russian lands went to Russia, and it firmly established itself on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Lit.: Assanovich P. L. Emperor Peter the Great: Poltava. St. Petersburg, 1909; Bogdanovich P. N. Poltava Victoria. Buenos Aires, 1959; Borisov V. E., Baltiysky A. A., Noskov A. A., Battle of Poltava. 1709 - 27 June 1909. Sat. Art. St. Petersburg, 1909; Dyadichenko V. A. Battle of Poltava. Kiev, 1962; Zlain A.I. Battle of Poltava. M., 1988; Poltava. To the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. Sat. Art. M., 1959;Telpukhovsky B. S. Northern War 1700-1721. M., 1946;State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Field of the Poltava Battle": website. B.d. URL:

On July 8, 1709, the largest general battle of the Northern War took place between Russian troops under the command of Peter I and the Swedish army of Charles XII. The battle took place 6 versts from the city of Poltava (Hetmanate). The defeat of the Swedish army led to a turning point in the Northern War in favor of Russia and to the end of Sweden's dominance in Europe.

Having victoriously ended the war with Poland and Saxony, the Swedish king Charles XII was able to direct his main forces against the Russians. At the end of 1707, his army crossed the Vistula and moved towards the borders of Russia. The goal of the Swedish king was to deliver by force of arms Russian state into colonial dependence on Sweden. He decided to defeat the Russian army with one blow, to take the shortest route, through Smolensk, to break through to Moscow and take it.

The threat of an invasion of Russia by the Swedish army forced Peter I to turn all his efforts to the defense of the country's western borders. Active defense was supposed to weaken the enemy and gain additional time to prepare the Russian army for the decisive battle, which it was decided to fight on Russian territory under the most favorable conditions for the Russian army. After the defeat of the main enemy forces in a general battle, it was planned to launch a broad offensive against the Swedes in the Baltic states.

At the end of August 1708, the Swedish army approached the Russian border in the Mogilev region. However, the Swedes' attempt to break through to Moscow through Smolensk was thwarted by stubborn resistance from Russian troops and difficulties with supplying the army. These circumstances forced Charles XII to abandon the attack on Moscow by the shortest route and turn to Ukraine. Here he hoped to reinforce his army with the forces of the traitor Hetman Mazepa, cause the Crimean Tatars and Turkey to rebel against Russia, and then attack Moscow through Kharkov and Belgorod.

However, these calculations did not come true. The Ukrainian people did not follow Mazepa. Moreover, Levengaupt’s 16,000-strong corps with a large convoy, which was going to join the main army, was intercepted by the Russian army and defeated at Lesnaya in the fall of 1708. So, instead of the intended holiday in Ukraine, the Swedes were forced to spend the entire winter of 1708/09 on meager rations and in constant local skirmishes with flying Russian troops.

With the onset of spring 1709, Charles XII launched an attack on Moscow through Kharkov and Belgorod. On this route, one of the Russian strongholds was the Poltava fortress. In April, the Swedes besieged Poltava, but the four thousand-strong garrison of the fortress, with the assistance of the population, courageously repelled more than twenty enemy assaults for three months, inflicted great damage on the Swedes and defended Poltava. The long and stubborn defense of Poltava made it possible to prepare Russian troops for a general battle with the Swedes.

The main forces of the Russian army were concentrated near Poltava, consisting of 42 thousand people with 72 guns. The Swedish army had about 30 thousand people and of all the artillery, due to the lack of gunpowder, could only use four guns. By carefully preparing for battle, Peter I further increased the advantage of his forces over the Swedes. Two days before the battle, the Russian army settled in a fortified camp 5 km northeast of Poltava.

At dawn on July 8, 1709, the Swedes began an attack on the Russian forward position. For three hours, the garrison of the forward redoubts, with the support of Menshikov's cavalry, repelled enemy attacks. The Swedes suffered heavy losses, but were unable to take the Russian forward position. They were forced to abandon the capture of the redoubts and break through between them under heavy crossfire. Advancing behind the retreating Russian cavalry, the right flank of the Swedish army, in a cloud of smoke and dust, unexpectedly came close to the main Russian fortifications and came under concentrated fire from all Russian artillery. In panic and with heavy losses, the Swedes retreated.

At 9 o'clock Charles XII resumed the offensive. With the support of artillery, Russian troops rushed into a counterattack. The battle took on a counter character. Following the rifle fire, a fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued. In one area, the Swedes managed to break through the first line of the Russian battle formation. Then Peter I personally led the second line battalion into a counterattack and quickly eliminated the breakthrough. The Swedes could not resist the powerful bayonet strike of the Russian infantry. The cavalry began to cover the flanks of the Swedish army. Fearing encirclement, the frustrated and thinned Swedish troops began to retreat in disorder. The Russian cavalry pursued the enemy.

The remnants of the Swedish army capitulated to Menshikov's cavalry at the crossing of the Dnieper at Perevolochna. Only Charles XII and Mazepa with a small detachment of troops managed to cross the Dnieper and flee to Turkey. On the battlefield, the Swedes lost more than 9 thousand people killed. More than 18 thousand Swedes were captured near Poltava and Perevolochna. The losses of the Russian army amounted to 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded.

As a result of the Battle of Poltava, the army of King Charles XII was so drained of blood that it could no longer conduct active offensive operations. The military power of Sweden was undermined, and in the Northern War there was a turning point in favor of Russia. At a meeting with the Saxon Elector Augustus II in Toruń, a military alliance between Saxony and Russia was again concluded. The Danish king also resumed the war with Sweden, and now, thanks to the acquired authority, it did not cost Russia either monetary subsidies or sending a military contingent.