The Great Northern War

**Overview**

The Great Northern War (1700-1712) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia unsuccessfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Saxony–Poland–Lithuania. This coalition attempted to collectively push into Swedish lands for various reasons, though the Swedish Empire was able to take the initiative and end the war in its favor.

At the Battle of Narva in 1700, the Swedish army gave full route to the Russian forces, led by Peter I of Russia, who was killed in the battle. This broke the morale of Russia, followed even more by a massive push to Moscow, which, without much command and under the quick pace of Charles XII of Sweden, Moscow fell in the Battle of Moscow (1702). During this time, Frederick IV and Augustus II were also defeated by Sweden, under General Johannes Grönberg, who pushed into Norway and Denmark proper, taking Copenhagen in the Battle of Denmark (1704).

The next year in 1705, Augustus II of Poland-Lithuania bribed Frederick I of Prussia to join the war on his side. This resulted in the Commonwealth Campaign in which Sweden invaded the Commonwealth and Prussia much quicker than was expected, and managed to beat back the Prussians, who in exchange for some land concessions and a sum of money dropped out of the war in 1708. In 1709, Augustus II signed the Treaty of Warsaw ending the war on the Polish front, ending his dream of a hereditary title for him and the Commonwealth.

After this portion of the war, a contingent of the Russian Army held an unsuccessful push into Sweden's Finnish territory which resulted in a counter attack with the Second Battle of Moscow (1712) which culminated in the Treaty of Moscow (1712), ending the war in full.

**Background**

Between the years of 1560 and 1658, Sweden created a Baltic empire centred on the Gulf of Finland and comprising the provinces of Karelia, Ingria, Estonia, and Livonia. During the Thirty Years' War Sweden gained tracts in Germany as well, including Western Pomerania, Wismar, the Duchy of Bremen, and Verden. During the same period, Sweden conquered Danish and Norwegian provinces north of the 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 in an effective way. Fighting in the field, the Swedish army (which during the Thirty Years' War contained more German and Scottish mercenaries than ethnic Swedes, but was administered by the Swedish Crown) was able, in particular, to make quick, sustained marches across large tracts of land and to maintain a high rate of small arms fire due to proficient military drill.

The foreign interventions in Russia during the Time of Troubles resulted in Swedish gains in the Treaty of Stolbovo (1617). The treaty deprived Russia of direct access to the Baltic Sea. Russian fortunes began to reverse in the final years of the 17th century, notably with the rise to power of Peter the Great, who looked to address the earlier losses and re-establish a Baltic presence. In the late 1690s, the adventurer Johann Patkul managed to ally Russia with Denmark and Saxony by the secret Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye, and in 1700 the three powers attacked.

**1700: Narva and the Russian Route**

Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway directed his first attack against Sweden's ally Holstein-Gottorp. In March 1700, a Danish army laid siege to Tönning. Simultaneously, Augustus II's forces advanced through Swedish Livonia, captured Dünamünde and laid siege to Riga.

Charles XII of Sweden first focused on attacking Denmark. The Swedish navy was able to outmaneuver the Danish Sound blockade and deploy an army near the Danish capital, Copenhagen. At the same time, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet had also set course towards Denmark. Together with the Swedish fleet, they carried out a bombardment of Copenhagen from 20 to 26 July. This surprise move and pressure by the Maritime Powers (England and the Dutch Republic) forced Denmark–Norway to withdraw fully into the Denmark Peninsula itself, wherein landings made by General Johannes Grönberg allowed the taking of Copenhagen, resulting in the Treaty of Denmark resulting in annexation of all Danish lands and territories, and the unifications of the crowns of Denmark-Norway and Sweden.

Charles XII was now able to speedily deploy his army to the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and face his remaining enemies: besides the army of Augustus II in Livonia, an army of Russian tsar Peter I was already on its way to invade Swedish Ingria, where it laid siege to Narva in October. In November, the Russian and Swedish armies met at the First Battle of Narva where Russian tsar Peter I died in battle as the Russians suffered a crushing defeat and subsequent route, which resulted in the eventual Battle of Moscow (1702), which concluded in a Swedish victory.

After the dissolution of the first coalition through the Treaty of Denmark and with the victory at Narva; the Swedish chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna, attempted to use the bidding for the favor of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers (then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession) to end the war and make Charles an arbiter of Europe.

**1705-1709: The Commonwealth Front**

Augustus II of Poland-Lithuania directs an envoy to Frederick William I of Prussia in which the Pact of Warsaw is signed, in which Prussia if promised all lands taken from Sweden under the condition that they help take Livonia from the Swedes and that Livonia be given to the Commonwealth. Frederick William I accepts the terms, and a combined Commonwealth-Prussian force meet an advancing Swedish force near Berlin.

The Battle of Berlin (1706) resulted in a massive defeat for the Commonwealth-Prussian force, as the encountered Swedish force was expected to be a Swedish supply convoy, but in reality was the returning army of Charles XII of Sweden, which using the high from the win at Moscow and the rally of the king, was able to push a victory. At the same time, the Battle of Poznań occurred with Swedish General Björn Vilhelm Sundström using a massive cavalry charge to completely devastate the Commonwealth-Prussian supply chain, cutting off and encircling the army. Charles XII went further into Prussian lands, and the army under General Björn Vilhelm Sundström went south and into Warsaw, where the Swedes won the Battle of Warsaw (1709), resulting in the Peace of Stockholm, where Sweden took some of the Commonwealth lands and forced a large payment, which severely ruined the power projection of the Commonwealth. Prussia was allowed to leave the war after being given a large sum of money in exchange for the region of Silesia. This was accepted, and peace was had aside from various skirmishes with remaining Russian resistance troops in the East.

**1710-1712: The Finnish Campaign**

In 1710, various contingents of the Russian army made some gains in Sweden's Finnish territory, though once substantial forces under Charles XII got to the area, the Russians were pushed back in a second route, and this eventually resulted in a second Battle of Moscow (1712), which lasted about a month before the Russians signed the Treaty of Moscow, officially ending the Great Northern War.

**Aftermath:**

After the war, the Swedish Empire was renamed to the Union of the Kalmar Empire, with the title of the monarch being King of the North and Emperor of the Union. This act as well as the extreme Swedish success of the war resulted in Russian, Commonwealth, and Prussian influence in Europe diminishing severely, and in exchange the Kalmar Empire became the uncontested superpower of northern Europe and one of Europe's great powers.