Battle of Poltava

The battles of Poltava (or Pultawa ) took place the July 8th 1709 between the army of Pierre Ier of Russia and the troops of Charles XII of Sweden with the support of the cossacks of Ukraine of the Hetman Ivan Mazeppa within the framework of the Guerre of north.

The decisive Russian victory made lose with the Sweden its statute of military power.

After deposithaving finally deposited the king of Poland in 1707, Charles is forced to attack Russia, therefore of going to Moscow, the following year. According to their usual method the Russians practice the Politique burned ground . The cold and wet summer being the supply has difficulty in follow. A column ordered by Lewenhaupt, with 11 000 men, 16 guns, a herd and thousands of carriages, advanced only with most extreme slowness.

Without direct communications between these two Charles forces as much as it waited could for Lewenhaupt arrive. At one time they were only with a hundred and twenty kilometers of variation. Charles decided to raise the camp and to leave for the Ukraine to seek grain and a less hard climate. The more so as this part of Russia was controlled by Mazepa which wanted to use the Swedes to obtain independence.

Lewenhaupt followed to the south and was attacked whereas it crossed a river close to the small village which gave its name to the Bataille of Lesnaya, where it discovered the new method of the Russians. Lewenhaupt decided to join Charles at any speed what implied to give up the guns, the herd and almost all food, thus starting a mutiny among the soldiers. Those took all alcohol, became drunk and Lewenhaupt had to give up them in wood. When it joined Charles, it had nothing any more but 6 000 men and almost more luggage.

In spring Charles took again his advance but this time its army had melted of a third in particular because of the food shortage, of engelures and other effects of the climate. Moisture had also reduced strongly its powder provision usable. Their first decision was to put the seat of Poltava on the river Vorskla in Ukraine.

Pierre had already organized an enormous army to protect it and make a against-seat locking up the Swedish forces between the city and his lines. When the battle started, Charles had approximately 19 000 men while Pierre had 45 000. To worsen the Charles situation was wounded during the seat and had to entrust the command to the Rhensköld marshal. Nevertheless it was organized to break surrounding and to leave.

At the beginning the confrontation was favorable to the Swedes better trained on the left wing and to the center, but Pierre had much more infantry and while it maintained the Swedes remote with artillery it circumvented with its cavalry and forced the decision obliging the Swedes with a retirement towards the Dniepr where they had to go.

Prisoners, the Swedes were obliged to build Saint-Pétersbourg what killed much of it. Charles and 1 500 men managed to flee in Moldavie, then in the Ottoman Empire.

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