Battle of Narva
Part of the Great Northern War
The Swedish Victory at Narva by Gustaf Cederström, painted 1910
Date November 30, 1700 (November 20 Swedish transitional calendar) Location Narva, present-day Estonia Result Decisive Swedish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Russia
Commanders
Charles XII	Charles Eugène de Croÿ  #
Strength
about 8,500	about 37,000
Casualties and losses
667 killed 1,200 wounded [1]	16,000 killed, 17-22 000 taken capture 180 guns 230 flags [2]

v • d • e Great Northern War Narva – Daugava – Erastfer – Kliszów – Pułtusk – Jēkabpils – Poznań – Punitz – Gemauerthof – Warsaw – Grodno – Fraustadt – Kalisz – Holowczyn – Malatitze – Lesnaya – Poltava – Perevolochna – Helsingborg – Gadebusch – Bender – Pälkäne – Storkyro – Gangut – Stralsund – Dynekilen – Ösel – Stäket – Grengam

For other Battles of Narva, see Battle of Narva (disambiguation).

The Battle of Narva was an early battle in the Great Northern War fought in November of 1700. The Swedish army under Charles XII of Sweden defeated a Russian force four times its size, commanded by Peter the Great. Narva marked the peak of Swedish power on the continent, with Russia eventually finding decisive victories to end the conflict. The fight at Narva was a massive defeat for Russia.

Prelude

During the 17th century, Russia was less advanced than the rest of Europe. This extended to their armed forces, making raids and attacks from their neighbors commonplace^[3]. Peter the Great was keen to give his newly inherited nation security, and so organised an expedition against his Swedish rivals in the West.

The new Tsar would drastically modernize Russia in the coming years, but the army with which he traveled in 1700 was still poorly drilled. Peter had employed foreign generals to improve his armed forces, but they were still far from seasoned. Sweden, on the other hand, was at the height of its powers. Charles XII of Sweden had the most complete military force in northern Europe, even if it wasn't the biggest, and Peter envied its capabilities.^[3]

During November, Russian troops surrounded the Swedish-held city of Narva, attempting to secure its surrender via siege. King Charles moved to relieve the city and push Peter's forces back into Russia.

The battle

On November 30, 1700 (November 20 in the Swedish transitional calendar), Charles XII positioned his 8,140 men opposite the besieging Russian army of about 37,000 troops.

The Swedish army was commanded personally by Charles XII, assisted by General Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld. The Russian forces were commanded by Tsar Peter and Charles Eugène de Croy. Due to domestic events in Russia, Peter had left Narva in fear just days before and wasn't present during the fighting.^[3]

For much of the day, a blizzard engulfed both armies, making attacks impossible. However, at midday, the winds changed and the snowstorm blew directly into the eyes of the Russians. Charles XII saw his opportunity and advanced on Peter's troops under the cover of the weather. The Swedes quickly broke through the Russian lines, scattering their opponents, who could offer little resistance. In the chaos, many of the Russian soldiers killed their foreign generals, whom they hated.^[3]

The Russian forces were decimated and the Swedes retained Narva.

Battle of Narva 1700

On November 20 1700 approximately 10.000 Swedish troops went to attack against 40.000 Russian troops entrenched in front of the walls of Narva, consisting of a circumval line 6 km. long with a central bastion in the middle.

The Swedish troops were formed into 2 columns with cavalry on each wing. At kl.2 in the afternoon a storm of snow and hail blew in from the west into the Russian position. The Russian line was split into 3 parts; the left column under Gen. Maj. Majdell broke through the line just left of the central bastion and swung left rolling up the Russian line.

The right column under Gen. Maj. Wellingk broke through to the right of the bastion and rolled up the left wing of the Russian line then did an about face to attack the central bastion.

The cavalry held their position at the far ends of the wings to prevent any escape though the Russian right wing tried to make its escape across a bridge at Kamperholm an island in the middle of the river. The bridge could not hold the load and broke taking many Russians into the icey water. The Russian cavalry under Gen. Scheremetjev to the south made their escape across the river but lost 1000 men to the strong current.

Nov. 20 was the king's birthday.

All information is taken from Professor Franz G. Bengtsson, The Life Of Carl XII, 1935

Second battle

Four years after the first battle of Narva, Tsar Peter marched again in an attempt to capture Narva. Peter marched with 45,000 man total. The garrisson of Narva was under the Commandant Major-General H. R. Horn af Ranzien and counted 3,800 infantry and 1,300 cavalry. The Russians made a three-fronted attack and after a long battle they took Narva. General Horn, several officers and a great number of soldiers were captured. The Russians, though successful, lost big numbers. The Russians lost 13,000 men during the siege and final attack, the Swedish — some 3,200.

References