Poltava Decided: Peter the Great Crushes Sweden
Charles XII had already won nine battles against larger armies. Then at Poltava, on June 27th, 1709, he attacked with 24,000 Swedes against Peter's 45,000 Russians—while nursing a foot wound so severe he commanded from a stretcher. Eight hours later, 9,000 Swedes lay dead. Charles fled to Ottoman territory with just 1,500 men. Sweden's Baltic empire, built over a century, collapsed in a single morning. The teenager who'd terrified Europe became a footnote, while Russia became the power nobody had seen coming.
July 8, 1709
317 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Sweden
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Europe
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Peter the Great
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Charles XII of Sweden
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Peter I of Russia
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Great Northern War
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Battle of Poltava
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Poltava
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Peter the Great
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Charles XII of Sweden
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Battle of Poltava
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Great Northern War
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Tsardom of Russia
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Sweden
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Europe
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