The war began when Denmark–Norway, Saxony and Russia, sensing an opportunity as Sweden was ruled by the young Charles XII, formed a coalition against Sweden. Denmark invaded Sweden's ally Holstein-Gottorp, while Saxony and Russia declared war on the Swedish Empire and attackedSwedish Livonia andSwedish Ingria, respectively. Sweden parried the Danes atTravendal (August 1700) and the Russians atNarva (November 1700), and in a counter-offensive pushed Augustus II's forces through thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to Saxony, dethroning Augustus on the way (September 1706) and forcing him to acknowledge defeat in theTreaty of Altranstädt (October 1706). The treaty also secured the extradition and execution ofJohann Reinhold Patkul, architect of the alliance seven years earlier. Meanwhile, the forces of Peter I had recovered from defeat atNarva and gained ground in Sweden's Baltic provinces, where they cemented Russian access to theBaltic Sea by foundingSaint Petersburg in 1703. Charles XII moved from Saxonyinto Russia to confront Peter, but the campaign ended in 1709 with the destruction of the main Swedish army at the decisiveBattle of Poltava (in present-dayUkraine) and Charles' exile in the Ottoman town ofBender. The Ottoman Empire defeated the Russian–Moldavian army in thePruth River Campaign, but that peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russia's position.
After Poltava, the anti-Swedish coalition revived and subsequently Hanover and Prussia joined it. The remaining Swedish forces inplague-stricken areas south and east of the Baltic Sea were evicted, with the last city,Tallinn, falling in the autumn of 1710. The coalition members partitioned most of theSwedish dominions among themselves, destroying the Swedishdominium maris baltici. Sweden proper was invaded from the west by Denmark–Norway and from the east by Russia, which hadoccupied Finland by 1714. Sweden defeated the Danish invaders at theBattle of Helsingborg. Charles XIIopened up a Norwegian front but was killed in theSiege of Fredriksten in 1718.
The war ended with the defeat of Sweden, leaving Russia as the new dominant power in the Baltic region and as a new major force in European politics. The Western powers,Great Britain andFrance, became caught up in the separateWar of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), which broke out over the BourbonPhilip of Anjou's succession to theSpanish throne and a possible joining of France and Spain. The formal conclusion of the Great Northern War came with the Swedish-Hanoverian and Swedish-PrussianTreaties of Stockholm (1719), the Dano-SwedishTreaty of Frederiksborg (1720), and the Russo-SwedishTreaty of Nystad (1721). By these treaties Sweden ceded its exemption from theSound Dues[44] and lost the Baltic provinces and the southern part ofSwedish Pomerania. The peace treaties also ended its alliance with Holstein-Gottorp. Hanover gainedBremen-Verden, Brandenburg-Prussia incorporated theOder estuary (Stettin Lagoons), Russia secured theBaltic Provinces, and Denmark strengthened its position inSchleswig-Holstein. In Sweden, theabsolute monarchy had come to an end with the death of Charles XII, and Sweden'sAge of Liberty began.[45]
Between 1560 and 1658,Sweden created aBaltic empire centred on theGulf of Finland and comprising the provinces ofKarelia,Ingria,Estonia, andLivonia. During theThirty Years' War Sweden gained tracts in Germany as well, including WesternPomerania,Wismar, theDuchy of Bremen, andVerden. During the same period, Sweden conquered Danish and Norwegian provinces north ofthe Sound (1645; 1658). These victories may be ascribed to a well-trained army, which despite its comparatively small size, was far more professional than most continental armies, and also to a modernization of administration (both civilian and military) in the course of the 17th century, which enabled the monarchy to harness the resources of the country and its empire effectively. Fighting in the field, the Swedish Army (which during the Thirty Years' War contained more German and Scottishmercenaries than ethnic Swedes, but was administered by the Swedish Crown[46]) was able, in particular, to make quick, sustained marches across large tracts of land and to maintain a high rate ofsmall arms fire due to proficientmilitary drill.
However, the Swedish state ultimately proved unable to support and maintain its army in a prolonged war. Campaigns on the continent had been proposed on the basis that the army would be financially self-supporting through plunder and taxation of newly gained land, a concept shared by most major powers of the period. The cost of the warfare proved to be much higher than the occupied countries could fund, and Sweden's coffers and resources in manpower were eventually drained in the course of long conflicts.
The foreign interventions in Russia during theTime of Troubles resulted in Swedish gains in theTreaty of Stolbovo (1617). The treaty deprived Russia of direct access to theBaltic Sea. Russian fortunes began to reverse in the final years of the 17th century, notably with the rise to power ofPeter the Great, who looked to address the earlier losses and re-establish a Baltic presence. In the late 1690s, the adventurerJohann Patkul managed to ally Russia with Denmark andSaxony by the secretTreaty of Preobrazhenskoye, and in 1700 the three powers attacked.
Charles XII of Sweden[nb 1] succeededCharles XI of Sweden in 1697, aged 14. From his predecessor, he took over the Swedish Empire as an absolute monarch. Charles XI had tried to keep the empire out of wars, and concentrated on inner reforms such asreduction andallotment, which had strengthened the monarch's status and the empire's military abilities. Charles XII refrained from all kinds of luxury and alcohol and usage of the French language, since he considered these things decadent and superfluous. He preferred the life of an ordinary soldier on horseback, not that of contemporary baroque courts. He determinedly pursued his goal of dethroning his adversaries, whom he considered unworthy of their thrones due to broken promises, thereby refusing to take several chances to make peace. During the war, the most important Swedish commanders besides Charles XII were his close friendCarl Gustav Rehnskiöld, alsoMagnus Stenbock andAdam Ludwig Lewenhaupt.
Sweden's army peaked in 1707–1708 with an effective strength of about 100,000 men,[10][11] and a nominal size of between 110,000[47][48] and 115,000 men. It fielded about 65,000 men at the outbreak of the war, and 40,000 in 1716. Charles XII mustered 60,000 men for theNorwegian campaign of 1718, which was reduced to 45,000 towards the end of the war.[49][50] In early 1700, theSwedish Navy consisted of 39battleships (ships of the line) of 48,000 tonnes, eight major and six minorcruising warships and onebomb vessel (4,500 tonnes).[51] The battleship-fleet peaked in 1705–1709, with 43 ships (56,000 tonnes); as peace was concluded in 1721, only 23 battleships (32,000 tonnes) remained, several of which were unrepairable or nearing the end of theirservice life.[52]
By 1707, at the eve of theRussian campaign, thepro-Leszczyński followers in Poland had swollen to 20,000 men from a core of 6,000. In addition, there were 4,000 to 5,000 troops ofSapieha's army and 12,040 of the Lithuanian Crown Army, now loyal toStanisław I.[14]
Modern estimates puts the army Mazepa brought with him to Charles XII in 1708 at 2,000 to 4,000 Cossacks, in addition to some 5,000 left behind atBaturyn who were subsequently all killed or captured in theSack of Baturyn. It peaked at 6,000 to 12,000 men the following year when 4,000 to 8,000Zaporozhian Cossacks joined the Swedes andUkrainian Cossacks on 10 May – at least 11,000 had thus switched sides in total.[15][16]
Peter the Great became Tsar in 1682 upon the death of his elder brotherFeodor but did not become the actual ruler until 1689. He commenced reforming the country, turning theRussian tsardom into amodernized empire relying on trade and on a strong, professional army and navy. He greatly expanded the size of Russia during his reign while providing access to the Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas. Beside Peter, the principal Russian commanders wereAleksandr Danilovich Menshikov andBoris Sheremetev.
Augustus II the Strong,elector of Saxony and another cousin of Charles XII,[nb 1] gained the Polish crown after the death of KingJohn III Sobieski in 1696. His ambitions to transform thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into an absolute monarchy were not realized due to the zealous nature of the Polish nobility and the previously initiated laws that decreased the power of the monarch. His meeting with Peter the Great inRawa Ruska in September 1698, where the plans to attack Sweden were made, became legendary for its decadence.
Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway, another cousin of Charles XII,[nb 1] succeededChristian V in 1699 and continued his anti-Swedish policies. After the setbacks of 1700, he focused on transforming his state, an absolute monarchy, in a manner similar to Charles XI of Sweden. He did not achieve his main goal: to regain the former eastern Danish provinces lost to Sweden in the course of the 17th century. He was not able to keep northern Swedish Pomerania, Danish from 1712 to 1715. He did put an end to the Swedish threat south of Denmark. He ended Sweden's exemption from theSound Dues (transit taxes/tariffs on cargo moved between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea).
George I of theHouse of Hanover, elector ofHanover and, since 1714, king of Great Britain and of Ireland, took the opportunity to connect his landlocked German electorate to theNorth Sea.
Russia's army had 120,000 men in the late 1600s, not including Cossacks andKalmucks.[54][55] It quickly grew to between 168,000[47] and 200,000 effective troops in the early years of 1702 to 1705.[19] Russia had 200,000 men under arms in 1707,[17] and the army remained at between 164,000 (1711) and 200,000 (1719) for the rest of the war.[56][18][57] Other sources mention 220,000 troops by 1710, without specifying if the number includes Cossacks and Kalmucks.[48] By the time of Peter I's death in 1725, there were 210,000regular troops in the army.[58] Between 1710 and 1712, theRussian Navy launched their first five battleships on the Baltic Sea fromSaint Petersburg, with 17 more being launched by 1721. In addition, seven more were built inArkhangelsk, while 16 were purchased and three built by other nations.[59] By 1721, theBaltic Fleet had grown to 37 battleships, ninefrigates and two bomb vessels, totalling 55,000 tonnes, not counting an estimated 50 majorgalleys and 120 small oared craft.[60]
Estimates has the number of Cossacks fighting for Russia at between 30,000[21] and 50,000,[22] and the Kalmucks at 15,000.[21] Other sources puts the Cossacks and Kalmucks at 40,000 to 45,000,[61] up to 100,000,[56][58] and even 150,000 to 200,000 men.[62]
For the most part, theSaxon Army had a nominal strength of 30,000 regular troops.[63][37] However, only a limited effective strength could be achieved due to severe losses; the army had 18,000 men in 1700 and, including the losses sustained at theBattle of Kliszów, 25,000 in August 1702. By 1717, it had reached an effective strength of 29,900 men.[9] There were also an unknown number of militia to provide or reinforce garrisons; in 1706, at the time ofSwedish invasion of Saxony, they reportedly counted 5,000 men.[64] After the introduction of a new system in 1709, there were eight militia regiments.[65]
Uniforms of two Danish guard regiments in 1703
According to the military regulations of 1699, the Danish and Norwegian armies counted 23,021 and 12,848 men, respectively,[66] while a subsequent muster recalled 13,660 for the latter.[67] TheDanish Army had about 38,900 mercenaries, provincial and militia troops as hostilities were renewed in 1709, excluding the contingents leased to the maritime powers in the War of the Spanish Succession,[68] while theNorwegian Army had 17,500 men.[69] As the contingents returned ahead of the Pomeranian campaign of 1715, the Danish Army was reorganised into a near-effective force of about 35,000.[23] The Norwegians had 24,379 men at New Year's Eve 1715–1716, including three regiments temporarily transferred to the Danish Army.[24] In early 1700, theDanish Navy consisted of 32 battleships and 26 cruising warships of 42,000 and 7,000 tonnes, respectively, as well as six bomb vessels, sixblockships and seven galleys.[51] Denmark's battleship-fleet peaked ahead of its second intervention of 1709, with 41 ships (58,000 tonnes). In 1721, 25 battleships (38,000 tonnes) remained.[70]
In 1702, as theSwedes invaded Poland with 21,000 men, thePolish and Lithuanian Crown armies had 13,000 to 18,140 men, and 4,000 to 7,400 men, respectively.[71][72] In 1703, the PolishSejm agreed to raise the Polish and Lithuanian armies to 36,000 and 12,000 men, respectively.[73] In total, 90,000 Poles and Lithuanians fought at the height of thePolish civil war which started in 1704; 70,000 of which would oppose the Swedes and their Polish puppet-king, Stanisław I,[25] or about three quarters of a total of 100,000 combatants.[74]
In 1715, the year Prussia entered the war against Sweden, the standingPrussian Army counted 45,688 men. It had increased to 56,575 men in 1720, the year Prussia left the war.[26] TheHanoverian Army had about 20,000 men at its entry into the Great Northern War in 1715.[27]
Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway directed his first attack againstHolstein-Gottorp, a Swedishclient state and long-time rival of Denmark; Sweden, along with the Maritime Powers ofEngland and theDutch Republic, were guarantors of its sovereignty by the Convention of Altona in 1689, which ended a previous conflict between the two. Hanover (Lüneburg), another ally of Holstein-Gottorp, would also assemble a relief-force. In March 1700, a Danish army laidsiege to Tönning. Simultaneously,Augustus II's forces advanced throughSwedish Livonia, capturedDünamünde and laid siege toRiga.[90][91]
Charles XII of Sweden first focused on Denmark. The Swedish navy was able to outmaneuver the DanishSound blockade and, in conjunction with an Anglo-Dutch fleet, carried out a bombardment of Copenhagen from 20 to 26 July. This allowed Charles XII toland an army atHumlebæk near the Danish capital,Copenhagen, while a Swedish-Hanoverian forcebroke through the Danish defenses atReinbek to relieve Tönning. The surprise move and pressure by the Maritime Powers forced Denmark–Norway to withdraw from the war in August 1700 according to the terms of thePeace of Travendal.[91][92]
Charles XII was now able to speedily deploy his army to the eastern coast of theBaltic Sea and face his remaining enemies: besides the army of Augustus II in Livonia, an army of Russian tsarPeter I was already on its way to invade SwedishIngria,[92] where it laid siege toNarva in October. In November, the Russian and Swedish armies met at theFirst Battle of Narva where the Russians suffered a crushing defeat.[93]
After the dissolution of the first coalition through thepeace of Travendal and with the victory at Narva, the Swedish chancellor,Benedict Oxenstjerna, attempted to use the bidding for the favour of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers (then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession)[94] to end the war and make Charles an arbiter of Europe.
Charles XII then turned south to meetAugustus II,Elector of Saxony,King of Poland andGrand Duke of Lithuania. ThePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formally neutral at this point, as Augustus started the war as Elector of Saxony. Charles XII, however, defeated the Saxons and Russians at theCrossing of the Düna in 1701 and subsequently occupied theDuchy of Courland and Semigallia, a Polish vassal state. Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament, Charles XII then invaded Poland and Lithuania, decisively defeating the Saxon-Polish forces in the Battle of Kliszów in 1702 and in theBattle of Pultusk in 1703. This successful invasion enabled Charles XII to dethrone Augustus II and coerce the Polishsejm to replace him withStanisław Leszczyński in 1704,[95] with help of the newly formed Swedish-ledWarsaw Confederation. In response, an anti-SwedishSandomierz Confederation in support of Augustus II was created the same year.[96] In 1705, Leszczyński was crowned Stanisław I of Poland and Lithuania, following which aSwedish–Polish treaty was signed; in practice, it subordinated the Commonwealth to Sweden both economically and militarily.[97]
August II resisted, still possessing control of his native Saxony, but was decisively defeated at theBattle of Fraustadt in 1706, a battle sometimes compared to the AncientBattle of Cannae due to the Swedish forces' use ofdouble envelopment, with a deadly result for the Saxon Army. In 1706, after a Swedish invasion of Saxony, August II was forced to sign theTreaty of Altranstädt in which he made peace with the Swedish Empire,[98] renounced his claims to the Polish crown, accepted Stanislaus Leszczyński as king, and ended his alliance with Russia. Patkul was also extradited and executed bybreaking on the wheel in 1707, an incident which, given his diplomatic immunity, infuriated opinion against the Swedish king, who was then expected to win the war against the only hostile power remaining, Tsar Peter's Russia.[99]
TheBattle of Narva dealt a severe setback toPeter the Great, but the shift of Charles XII's army to the Polish-Saxon threat soon afterward provided him with an opportunity to regroup and regain territory in the Baltic provinces. Russian victories atErastfer andNöteborg (Shlisselburg) provided access toIngria in 1703, where Peter captured the Swedish fortress ofNyen, guarding the mouth of theRiver Neva.[100] Thanks to GeneralAdam Ludwig Lewenhaupt, whose outnumbered forces fended the Russians off in the battles ofGemäuerthof andJakobstadt, Sweden was able to maintain control of most of its Baltic provinces. Before going to war, Peter had made preparations for a navy and a modern-style army, based primarily on infantry drilled in the use of firearms.
The Nyen fortress was soon abandoned and demolished by Peter, who built nearby asuperior fortress as a beginning to the city of Saint Petersburg. By 1704, other fortresses were situated on the island ofKotlin and the sand flats to its south. These became known asKronstadt and Kronslot.[100] The Swedes attempted a raid on the Neva fort on 13 July 1704 with ships and landing armies, but the Russian fortifications held. In 1705, repeated Swedish attacks were made against Russian fortifications in the area, to little effect. A major attack on 15 July 1705 ended in the deaths of more than 500 Swedish men, or a third of its forces.[101]
In view of continued failure to check Russian consolidation, and with declining manpower, Sweden opted to blockade Saint Petersburg in 1705. In the summer of 1706, Swedish GeneralGeorg Johan Maidel crossed the Neva with 4,000 troops and defeated an opposing Russian force, but made no move on Saint Petersburg. Later in the autumnPeter I led an army of 20,000 men in an attempt to take the Swedish town and fortress ofViborg. However, bad roads proved impassable to his heavy siege guns. The troops, who arrived on 12 October, therefore had to abandon the siege after only a few days. On 12 May 1708, a Russian galley fleet made a lightning raid onBorgå and managed to return to Kronslot just one day before the Swedish battle fleet returned to the blockade, after being delayed by unfavourable winds.
In August 1708, a Swedish army of 12,000 men under GeneralGeorg Henrik Lybecker attackedIngria, crossing the Neva from the north. They met stubborn resistance, ran out of supplies and, after reaching the Gulf of Finland west of Kronstadt, had to be evacuated by sea between 10 and 17 October. Over 11,000 men were evacuated but more than 5000 horses were slaughtered, which crippled the mobility and offensive capability of the Swedish army in Finland for several years.Peter I took advantage of this by redeploying a large number of men from Ingria toUkraine.[102]
Charles spent the years 1702–06 in a prolonged struggle withAugustus II the Strong; he had already inflicted defeat on him atRiga in June 1701 and took Warsaw the following year, but trying to force a decisive defeat proved elusive. Russia left Poland in the spring of 1706, abandoning artillery but escaping from the pursuing Swedes, who stopped atPinsk.[103] Charles wanted not just to defeat the Commonwealth army but to depose Augustus, whom he regarded as especially treasonous, and have him replaced with someone who would be a Swedish ally, though this proved hard to achieve. After years of marches and fighting around Poland he finally had to invade Augustus' hereditarySaxony to take him out of the war.[98] In thetreaty of Altranstädt (1706), Augustus was finally forced to step down from the Polish throne, but Charles had already lost the valuable advantage of time over his main enemy in the east, Peter I, who then had the time to recover and build up an army that was both new and better.
At this point, in 1707, Peter offered to return everything he had so far occupied (essentially Ingria) except Saint Petersburg and the line of the Neva,[44] to avoid a full-scale war, but Charles XII refused.[104] Instead he initiated a march from Saxonyto invade Russia. Though his primary goal was Moscow, the strength of his forces was sapped by the cold weather (thewinter of 1708/09 being one of the most severe in modern European history)[105] and Peter's use ofscorched earth tactics.[106] When the main army turned south to recover inUkraine,[107] the second army with supplies and reinforcements was intercepted and routed atLesnaya—and so were the supplies and reinforcements of Swedish allyIvan Mazepa inBaturyn. Charles was crushingly defeated by a larger Russian force under Peter in theBattle of Poltava and fled to theOttoman Empire while the remains of his armysurrendered at Perevolochna.[108]
This shattering defeat in 1709 did not end the war, although it decided it. Denmark and Saxony joined the war again and Augustus the Strong, through the politics ofBoris Kurakin, regained the Polish throne.[109] Peter continued his campaigns in the Baltics, and eventually he built up a powerful navy. In 1710 the Russian forcescaptured Riga,[110] at the time the most populated city in the Swedish realm, andTallinn, evicting the Swedes from the Baltic provinces, now integrated in the Russian Tsardom by thecapitulation of Estonia and Livonia.
When his army surrendered, Charles XII of Sweden and a few soldiers escaped toOttoman territory, founding a colony in front ofBender, Moldova. Peter I demanded Charles's eviction, and when the sultan refused, Peter decided to force it by invading theOttoman Empire. The ensuingPruth River Campaign resulted in a disaster for the Russians as Peter's army was trapped by an Ottoman army at thePruth river. However, Peter managed to negotiate a retreat, making a few territorial concessions and promising to withdraw his forces from theHoly Roman Empire as well as allowing Charles's return to Sweden. These terms were laid out in theTreaty of Adrianople (1713). Charles showed no interest in returning, established a provisional court in his colony, and sought to persuade the sultan to engage in an Ottoman-Swedish assault on Russia. The sultan put an end to the generous hospitality granted andhad the king arrested in what became known as the "kalabalik" in 1713. Charles was then confined atTimurtash andDemotika; later he abandoned his hopes for an Ottoman front and returned to Sweden in a 14-day ride.[111]
The war between Russia and Sweden continued after the disaster ofPoltava in 1709, though the shattered Swedish continental army could provide very little help. Russiacaptured Viborg in 1710 and successfully held it against Swedish attempts to retake the town in 1711.[113] In 1712 the first Russian campaign to capture Finland began under the command of General AdmiralFyodor Apraksin. Apraksin gathered an army of 15,000 men atViborg and started the operation in late August. Swedish GeneralGeorg Henrik Lybecker chose not to face the Russians with his 7,500 men in the prepared positions close to Viborg and instead withdrew west ofKymijoki river using scorched earth tactics. Apraksin's forces reached the river but chose not to cross it and instead withdrew back to Viborg, likely due to problems in supply.[114] Swedish efforts to maintain their defences were greatly hampered by the drain of manpower by the continental army and various garrisons around the Baltic Sea as well as by theplague outbreak that struck Finland and Sweden between 1710 and 1713, which devastated the land killing, amongst others, over half of the population of Helsingfors (Helsinki).[115]
The final days of the siege ofViborg, by Alexei Rostovtsev
After the failure of 1712, Peter the Great ordered that further campaigns in war-ravaged regions of Finland with poor transportation networks were to be performed along the coastline and the seaways near the coast. Alarmed by the Russian preparations Lybecker requested naval units to be brought in as soon as possible in the spring of 1713. However, like so often, Swedish naval units arrived only after the initial Russian spring campaign had ended.[116] Nominally under the command of Apraksin, but accompanied by Peter the Great, a fleet of coastal ships together with 12,000 men—infantry and artillery—began the campaign by sailing fromKronstadt on 2 May 1713; a further 4,000 cavalry were later sent overland to join with the army. The fleet had already arrived at Helsinki on 8 May and were met by 1,800 Swedish infantry under GeneralCarl Gustaf Armfeldt, which started theBattle of Helsinki.[117] Together with rowers from the ships the Russians had 20,000 men at their disposal even without the cavalry. The defenders, however, managed to fend off landing attempts by the attackers until the Russians landed at their flank atSandviken, which forced Armfelt to retire towardsPorvoo (Borgå) after setting afire both the town and all the supplies stored there as well as bridges leading north from the town. It was only on 12 May that a Swedish squadron under Admiral Erik Johan Lillie made it to Helsinki but there was nothing it could do.[118]
The bulk of the Russian forces moved along the coast towards Borgå and the forces of Lybecker, whom Armfelt had joined. On 21–22 May 1713 a Russian force of 10,000 men landed atPernå (Pernaja) and constructed fortifications there. Large stores of supplies and munitions were transported from Viborg andSaint Petersburg to the new base of operations. Russian cavalry managed to link up with the rest of the army there as well. Lybecker's army of 7000 infantry and 3000 cavalry avoided contact with the Russians and instead kept withdrawing further inland without even contesting the control of Borgå region or the important coastal road between Helsinki (Helsingfors) andTurku (Åbo). This also severed the contact between Swedish fleet and ground forces and prevented Swedish naval units from supplying it. Soldiers in the Swedish army fighting in Finland resented being repeatedly ordered to withdraw without even seeing the enemy. Lybecker was soon recalled toStockholm for a hearing and Armfelt was ordered to the command of the army. Under his command the army in Finland stopped to engage the advancing Russians atPälkäne in October 1713, where a Russian flanking manoeuvre forced him to withdraw to avoid getting encircled. The armies met again later atNapue in February 1714, where the Russians won a decisive victory.[119]
In 1714, far greater Swedish naval assets were diverted towards Finland, which managed to cut the coastal sea route pastHangö cape already in early May 1714. This caused severe trouble for Russian supply route to Turku and beyond as supplies had to be carried overland. The Russian galley fleet arrived to the area on 29 June but stayed idle until 26–27 July when, under the leadership of Peter, Russian galleys managed to run the blockade making use of calm weather, which immobilized the Swedish battlefleet while losing only one galley of roughly 100. A small, hastily assembled Swedish coastal squadron met the Russian galley fleet west of Hangö cape in theBattle of Gangut and was overpowered by the Russians who had nearly ten-fold superiority. The Russian breach of the blockade at Hangö forced the Swedish fleet to withdraw to prevent the Russian fleet from reaching Sweden itself. The Russian Army occupied Finland mostly in 1713–1714, capturing Åland from where the population had already fled to Sweden on 13 August 1714. Since the Russian galley fleet was not able to raid the Swedish coast, with the exception ofUmeå, which was plundered on 18 September, the fleet instead supported the advance of the Russian Army, which led to hastily withdrawal by the Swedish Army fromRaahe (Brahestad) toTornio (Torneå). The brutal occupation period of Finland in 1714–1721 is known as theGreat Wrath.[120]
Danish town ofAltona burned down byMagnus Stenbock in 1713. Russian forces retaliated by burning down the Swedish town ofWolgast in the same year.
In 1710, the Swedish army in Poland retreated toSwedish Pomerania, pursued by the coalition. In 1711,siege was laid to Stralsund. Yet the town could not be taken due to the arrival of a Swedish relief army, led by general Magnus Stenbock, which secured the Pomeranian pocket before turning west to defeat an allied army in theBattle of Gadebusch. Pursued by coalition forces, Stenbock and his army was trapped and surrendered during theSiege of Tönning.[121]
In 1714, Charles XII returned from the Ottoman Empire, arriving inStralsund in November. In nearbyGreifswald, already lost to Sweden, Russian tsarPeter the Great and British kingGeorge I, in his position asElector of Hanover, had just signed an alliance on 17(OS)/28(NS) October.[122] Previously a formally neutral party in the Pomeranian campaigns,Brandenburg-Prussia openly joined the coalition by declaring war on Sweden in the summer of 1715.[123] Charles was then at war with much of Northern Europe, and Stralsund was doomed. Charles remained there until December 1715,escaping only days before Stralsund fell. WhenWismar surrendered in 1716, all of Sweden's Baltic and German possessions were lost.[124]
As Sweden prohibited all merchants from trading with Swedish ports under Russian occupation, 107 merchant ships of varying nationalities were seized by Swedish privateers between 1710 and June 1714. The resulting damage to international trade led theDutch andBritish navies to send a squadron each into the Baltic Sea in 1715 to protect their merchant fleets; George I's pro-war lobby also hoped this would draw Britain into an open conflict with Sweden in the defence of Hanoverian interests. Charles XII ordered Swedish privateers to avoid engaging the Dutch and British squadrons, allowing their merchantmen as well as three ships of the line purchased by Russia safe passage.[125][126] The British and Dutch squadrons returned to safe ports for winter, except for eight British warships that were left to operate in concert with the Danes until the fall of Stralsund.[127] Their squadrons returned in 1716 with instructions to defend DanishZealand from Swedish attacks and protect the planned allied invasion ofScania. The British squadron, in conjunction with Russian and Danish ships, initiated a loose blockade of the SwedishKarlskrona Naval Base, while the Dutch escorted friendly merchantmen. However, the invasion was cancelled due to rising distrust among the allies, and because Peter I considered it to be too late in the year and the Swedish defences as too formidable.[128][129][130]
The continued Swedish threat, including Sweden's support for theJacobite cause, prompted an even more aggressive stance from Britain in 1717,[g] which proclaimed a prohibition on Swedish trade.[133] A British fleet of 36 warships (25 of which were ships of the line) underAdmiralGeorge Byng was sent in April with instructions to capture or destroy any Swedish ships they encountered and to enforce a blockade of Swedish-controlled ports; the Dutch avoided becoming involved in these operations as to not risk their trade. The Swedish navy was driven into and blockaded at the ports ofGothenburg and Karlskrona, whose formidable defenses deterred the allies from a direct attack. Numerous Swedish privateers were captured, as was a large Swedish frigate by two British ships. The allies also made unsuccessful attempts to prevent trade between Sweden andDanzig,Lübeck and other neutral German ports. Charles XII, who did not wish to become involved in an open war with Britain, left Byng's fleet out on a limb by not responding to the attacks and blockades; with mounting operational costs, it was quickly reduced in size and eventually returned home by November.[134][135] The following year, a British squadron of 10 warships was sent underJohn Norris into the Baltic, which once again blockaded Swedish ports.[136]
When Charles XII was killed in Norway in November 1718, bringing an abrupt end to any peace talks with Russia, his successorUlrika Eleonora started negotiations with Britain in a search for allies. By now, the view of Russia as an aggressive and expansive naval power had grown stronger in theBritish Parliament. Sweden revoked the decree that allowed Swedish privateers to attack merchantmen, while Britain ceased its blockade of Swedish ports. With theTreaties of Stockholm, the two nations returned to the terms of the friendship pact of 1700.[137][138][139] Over the next years, British squadrons once again sailed into the Baltic, now with instructions to work alongside the Swedish navy to defend its coast and encourage Russia to negotiate; in 1719, the BritishBaltic Squadron included 17 ships of the line and several smaller vessels. Russia and Britain came close to open war, but their commerce continued until peace between Russia and Sweden was finallysigned in 1721.[129][140][141]
After Charles XII had returned from the Ottoman Empire and resumed personal control of the war effort, he initiated twoNorwegian Campaigns, starting in February 1716, to force Denmark–Norway into a separate peace treaty. Furthermore, he attempted to bar Great Britain access to the Baltic Sea. In search for allies, Charles XII also negotiated with British Jacobites. The Norwegian campaigns were halted and thearmy withdrawn when Charles XII was shot dead while besieging NorwegianFredriksten on 30 November 1718 (OS). He was succeeded by his sister, Ulrika Eleonora.[142]
The Battle of Grengam. A 1721 etching byAlexey Zubov.
After the death of Charles XII, Sweden still refused to make peace with Russia on Peter's terms. Despite a continued Swedish naval presence and strong patrols to protect the coast, small Russian raids took place in 1716 atÖregrund, while in July 1717 a Russian squadron landed troops atGotland who raided for supplies. To place pressure on Sweden, Russia sent a large fleet to the Swedish east coast in July 1719. There, under protection of the Russian battlefleet, the Russian galley fleet was split into three groups. One group headed for the coast ofUppland, the second to the vicinity ofStockholm, and the last to coast ofSödermanland. Together they carried a landing force of nearly 30,000 men. Raiding continued for a month and devastated amongst others the towns ofNorrtälje,Södertälje,Nyköping, andNorrköping, and almost all the buildings in the archipelago of Stockholm were burned. A smaller Russian force advanced on the Swedish capital but was stopped at theBattle of Stäket on 13 August. Swedish and British fleets, now allied with Sweden, sailed from the west coast of Sweden but failed to catch the raiders.[143]
In 1719, Frederick IV assembled 35,000 men for an invasion ofBohuslän. The Swedish army stationed there, under Field Marshal Rehnskiöld, consisted of some 10,000 men. The Dano-Norwegian land advance stalled, but Admiral Tordenskjold capturedMarstrand and the fortress of Carlsten, while his later attack onNew Älvsborg failed. Soon, an armistice was signed with Sweden, and peace was concluded the following year atFrederiksborg.[144]
After theTreaty of Frederiksborg in early 1720, Sweden was no longer at war with Denmark, which allowed more forces to be placed against the Russians. This did not prevent Russian galleys from raiding the town ofUmeå once again. Later, in July 1720, a squadron from the Swedish battlefleet engaged the Russian galley fleet in theBattle of Grengam. While the result of the battle is contested, it ended Russian galley raids in 1720. As negotiations for peace did not progress, the Russian galleys were once again sent to raid the Swedish coast in 1721, targeting primarily the Swedish coast betweenGävle andPiteå.[145]
Campaigns and territorial changes 1700–1709 (left) and 1709–1721 (right)
By the time of Charles XII's death, the anti-Swedish allies became increasingly divided on how to fill the power gap left behind by the defeated and retreating Swedish armies. George I and Frederik IV both coveted hegemony in northern Germany, while Augustus the Strong was concerned about the ambitions of Frederick William I on the southeastern Baltic coast. Peter the Great, whose forces were spread all around the Baltic Sea, envisioned hegemony in East Central Europe and sought to establish naval bases as far west asMecklenburg. In January 1719, George I, Augustus and emperorCharles VI concluded atreaty in Vienna [no] aimed at reducing Russia's frontiers to the pre-war limits.[142]
Hanover-Great Britain and Brandenburg-Prussia thereupon negotiated separate peace treaties with Sweden, the treaties of Stockholm in 1719 and early 1720, which partitioned Sweden's northern German dominions among the parties. The negotiations were mediated by French diplomats, who sought to prevent a complete collapse of Sweden's position on the southern Baltic coast and assured that Sweden was to retainWismar and northernSwedish Pomerania. Hanover gained SwedishBremen-Verden, while Brandenburg-Prussiaincorporated southern Swedish Pomerania.[138] In addition to the rivalries in the anti-Swedish coalition, there was an inner-Swedish rivalry betweenCharles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, andFrederick I of Hesse-Cassel for the Swedish throne. The Gottorp party succumbed and Ulrike Eleonora, wife of Frederick I, transferred power to her husband in May 1720. When peace was concluded with Denmark, the anti-Swedish coalition had already fallen apart, and Denmark was not in a military position to negotiate a return of its former eastern provinces across thesound. Frederick I was, however, willing to cede Swedish support for his rival in Holstein-Gottorp, which came under Danish control with its northern part annexed, and furthermore cede the Swedish privilege of exemption from theSound Dues. A respective treaty wasconcluded in Frederiksborg in June 1720.[138]
When Sweden finally was at peace with Hanover, Great Britain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark–Norway, it hoped that the anti-Russian sentiments of the Vienna parties and France would culminate in an alliance that would restore its Russian-occupied eastern provinces. Yet, primarily due to internal conflicts in Great Britain and France, that did not happen. Therefore, the war was finally concluded by theTreaty of Nystad between Russia and Sweden inUusikaupunki (Nystad) on 30 August 1721 (OS). Finland was returned to Sweden, while the majority of Russia's conquests (SwedishEstonia,Livonia,Ingria,Kexholm and a portion ofKarelia) were ceded to the tsardom.[146] Sweden's dissatisfaction with the result led to fruitless attempts at recovering the lost territories in the course of the following century, such as theRusso-Swedish War of 1741–1743, and theRusso-Swedish War of 1788–1790.[138]
Saxe-Poland-Lithuania and Sweden did not conclude a formal peace treaty; instead, they renewed thePeace of Oliva that had ended theSecond Northern War in 1660.[147]
Sweden had lost almost all of its "overseas" holdings gained in the 17th century and ceased to be a major power. Russia gained its Baltic territories and became one of the great powers of Europe.
^abThe Commonwealth was initially not at war with Sweden. In 1701, however, Charles XII occupied the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a Commonwealth vassal state. In 1702, he invaded the Commonwealth, resulting in the creation of a confederacy against the Swedes. In 1704, the Swedish-led Warsaw Confederation was formed, which declared Stanisław Leszczyński king. A Polish civil war began as supporters of Augustus II responded with the Sandomierz Confederation that same year, declaring war on Sweden. When Leszczyński was crowned king in 1705, he allied Poland with Sweden by the treaty of Warsaw. Augustus II admitted defeat in 1706 by the treaty of Altranstädt, renouncing the Polish-Lithuanian Crown; anti-Leszczyński elements in the Commonwealth fought on until his return following the decisive Swedish defeat at Poltava in 1709.[1][2] A formal Swedish-Polish peace treaty was not concluded until 1732, resulting instatus quo ante bellum.[3]
^abThe Cossack Hetmanate, often collectively referring to the Cossacks on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper and the largely autonomous Zaporozhian Cossacks, was a Russian protectorate under Hetman Ivan Mazepa.[4] In October 1708, as the Swedish Army advanced into the Hetmanate, Mazepa defected to Charles XII with several thousand followers.[5] A civil war ensued when the Russians and their loyal Cossacks elected a new hetman, Ivan Skoropadsky, whose puppet rule saw reduced Cossack autonomy.[6] When Mazepa died in the Ottoman Empire after the defeat at Poltava, Pylyp Orlyk was chosen in 1710 as the new hetman in exile. He launched several campaigns against the Russians and their Cossack allies but was ultimately defeated and went into permanent exile in 1714.[7]
^While Saxony's active participation in the Great Northern War ended in 1717,[9] a formal Swedish-Saxon peace treaty was not concluded until 1729, resulting instatus quo ante bellum.[3]
^Sweden suffered at least 200,000 deaths, of which 120,000 were allotted soldiers, and 80,000 mercenaries, artillerists and navy-personnel from Sweden proper as well as its overseas territories.[28] Other estimates include at least 50,000 men dead from the overseas territories, and 200,000 from Sweden proper,[29] including 40,000[30] to 50,000 Finns; of these, 170,000 were from the army and 20,000 navy-personnel, while 15,000 were officers and NCOs.[31] Losses for Sweden's allies are unknown.
^The Russian Army lostc. 300,000 military personnel in the war,[32][33][34] 30,000 to 40,000 of which died as a result of combat (out of some 120,000 killed, wounded and shell-shocked).[35][36] Saxony lost up to 40,000 men prior to 1707,[37] while its losses after 1709 are unknown. Denmark–Norway lost up to 60,000 men from 1709 to 1719,[38] while its losses in 1700 are unknown. Losses for their remaining allies are unknown.
^It is probable that more than a million people died in the Great Northern War,[39] with Sweden alone suffering 350,000 deaths on a population of 2,500,000, including overseas territories.[40] The population of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was reduced to 6,500,000 by 1720, from 8,000,000 before the war.[41] An estimated 400,000 soldiers and civilians on both sides died in the war from direct war-related violence.[42]
^According to Frost, Britain officially declared war on Sweden in 1717.[131] Grainger, on the other hand, states that Britain merely engaged in anundeclared war with Sweden.[132]
^Kernosovsky, Anton (1992) [1933].История русской армии [History of the Russian army] (in Russian). Vol. 1: from Narva to Paris. Moscow: Golos.ISBN5-7055-0864-6. p. 63
^abLadewig-Petersen, E. (1999). "Nyt om trediveårskrigen."Historisk Tidsskrift., p. 101.
^Petersen, Nikolaj Pilgård (2002).Hærstørrelse og fortifikationsudvikling i Danmark-Norge 1500–1720. Aarhus universitet: Universitetsspeciale i historie, pp. 11, 43–44.
^abcdParker, Geoffrey (1976). "The 'Military Revolution', 1560–1660 – a myth?".Journal of modern history, vol. 48, p. 206.
^Ágoston, Gabor (2010), "Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry and military transformation." In: Tallet, Frank & Trim, D.B.J. (eds.).European Warfare, 1350–1750. Cambridge University Press, p. 128.
^Rambaud, Arthur (1890).Recueil des instructions données aux ambassadeurs et ministres de France depuis les traités de Westphalie jusqu'à la Révolution française. Paris: Ancienne Librairie Germer Baillière et Cie. p. 232.
Bengtsson, Frans Gunnar (1960).The sword does not jest. The heroic life of King Charles XII of Sweden. St. Martin's Press.
Donnert, Erich (1997).Europa in der Frühen Neuzeit: Festschrift für Günter Mühlpfordt. Aufbruch zur Moderne (in German). Vol. 3. Böhlau.ISBN3-412-00697-1.
Frost, Robert I (2000).The Northern Wars. War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe 1558–1721. Harlow: Longman.ISBN0-582-06430-9.
Mattila, Tapani (1983).Meri maamme turvana [Sea safeguarding our country] (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: K. J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö.ISBN951-99487-0-8.
Meier, Martin (2008).Vorpommern nördlich der Peene unter dänischer Verwaltung 1715 bis 1721. Aufbau einer Verwaltung und Herrschaftssicherung in einem eroberten Gebiet. Beiträge zur Militär- und Kriegsgeschichte (in German). Vol. 65. Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag.ISBN978-3-486-58285-7.
North, Michael (2008).Geschichte Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns. Beck Wissen (in German). Vol. 2608. CH Beck.ISBN978-3-406-57767-3.
Pintner, Walter (1978).Russia as a Great Power, 1709–1856 : Reflections on the problem of relative backwardness, with special reference to the Russian Army and Russian society.Washington, D.C.:Kennan Institute.OCLC10983022.
Гришинский, Алексей Самойлович; Никольский, Владимир Павлович; Кладо, Николай Лаврентьевич (1911).История русской армии и флота [The History of the Russian Army and Navy] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Моск. Кн-изд.OCLC1302471181.
Урланис, Борис Цезаревич (1960).Войны и народонаселение Европы: людские потери вооруженных сил европейских стран в войнах XVII-XX вв [Wars and population of Europe: Human Losses of the European Armed Forces in the 17th to 20th centuries.] (in Russian). Moscow: Изд-во социально-экон. лит-ры.OCLC12895780.
Höglund, Lars-Eric; Sallnäs, Åke (2000).The Great Northern War 1700-1721 : Colours and uniforms. Vol. 1. Translated by Schorr, Daniel.Karlstad: Acedia Press.ISBN91-972341-7-6.
Höglund, Lars-Eric; Sallnäs, Åke; Bespalov, Alexander (2006).The Great Northern War 1700-1721 : Sweden's allies and enemies. Colours and uniforms. Vol. 2. Translated by Schorr, Daniel; Årnfelt, Thomas.Karlstad: Acedia Press.ISBN91-974049-6-9.
Bain, R. Nisbet.Charles XII and the Collapse of the Swedish Empire, 1682–1719 (1899)online
Englund, Peter.Battle That Shook Europe: Poltava & the Birth of the Russian Empire (2003)
Hatton, Ragnhild M. "Charles XII and the Great Northern War." in J.S. Bromley, ed.,New Cambridge Modern History VI: The Rise of Great Britain and Russia 1688–1725 (1970) pp 648–80.
Hatton, Ragnhild M.Charles XII of Sweden (1968).
Moulton, James R.Peter the Great and the Russian Military Campaigns During the Final Years of the Great Northern War, 1719-1721 (2005).
Lisk, Jill.The struggle for supremacy in the Baltic, 1600–1725 (1968).
Lunde, Henrik O.A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Decline of Sweden as a Military Superpower (Casemate, 2014).
McKay, Derek, and H. M. Scott.The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815 (1983) pp 77–93.
Moulton, James R.Peter the Great and the Russian Military Campaigns During the Final Years of the Great Northern War, 1719–1721 (University Press of America, 2005).
Oakley, Stewart P.War and Peace in the Baltic, 1560–1790 (Routledge, 2005).
Sumner, B. H. (1951).Peter the Great and the Emergence of Russia. The English Universities Press Ltd.
Stiles, Andrina.Sweden and the Baltic 1523–1721 (Hodder & Stoughton, 1992).
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