The Great Northern War

I. Background analysis

(A) the historical origin

Sweden (from/kloc-Sweden in the 7th century), a powerful empire in the Baltic Sea, has a long and winding coastline of 2,500 miles, and has a unique advantage in foreign trade and opening up overseas markets. /kloc-Sweden's land area was nearly twice as large as it is now in the 0/7th century. Nevertheless, its land resources are very scarce. They are on the edge of European culture, even the only country in Europe that needs to save food for a rainy day. At that time, the spring breeze of the Renaissance could not move their country at all, claiming that they were still living in medieval life. Under such pressure of survival, Swedes can only look to other European countries and enrich themselves through plunder. This idea was later proved to be wrong. The occupied areas could never maintain such a high war expenditure, which also became one of the foreshadows for the future failure of the Swedes.

Swedish army in the Middle Ages

This is a century of crazy external expansion. The reason why Swedes can win one victory after another is inseparable from their military strength. Although the army is relatively small, its military literacy is higher than that of countries with equal competition, so it does not suffer. At that time, the Russian empire was in an era of internal troubles and foreign invasion, and the country was once in turmoil. When the nobles spared no effort to solve the civil strife, in 16 13, in order to solve the problem that the Russian empire had no owner for three years, the Russian empire launched an all-Russian gentry meeting and elected a new czar, Mikhail romanov, which ended this chaotic state and the national will tended to be unified again.

The Stalbo Treaty deprived Russia of the right to directly enter the Baltic Sea, and Russia temporarily lost the qualification to challenge Swedish hegemony.

However, the dilemma of the Russian empire has not been solved, and foreign powers are still eyeing it, especially the northern powers Sweden and Poland, occupying part of the territory of the Russian empire, which is a shame for a country's sovereignty. In order to recover these territories, Russians can only be forced to negotiate with Sweden for a long time, and as a defeated country, Russians are bound to cede greater interests. Due to the tense situation at that time, Russia finally made concessions to the other side on the issue of interests in 16 17, and signed the Stalbo-Vaud Treaty, which humiliated the country. The defeated party was forced to recognize Sweden's sovereignty over the Gulf of Finland, which was the only way for the Russian Empire to reach the Baltic Sea. This is very fatal to the Russians, and the grievances between the two sides have been settled. The interests surrounding the Baltic Sea were the conflict between the two sides later.

Sweden's powerful army

(2) Comparison of military strength between the two sides

Before the Great Northern War broke out, the king of Sweden at that time was karl xii, who considered himself a knight in the Middle Ages. This title comes from his strong sense of justice. It can also be said that he was a world policeman in the Middle Ages. He doesn't like the luxurious baroque life in European countries. For this reason, he caused many wars, deposed those who he thought were not worthy of being opponents of the king, and turned to support those who he was used to. This practice was tantamount to a clean stream at that time. No one has ever seen such a crazy king, just to satisfy his sense of justice, and completely ignore the interests of the country. However, it is undeniable that Sweden's military strength is indeed very strong. In order to satisfy his medieval knighthood, karl xii trained a standing army of 77,000 people all the year round. Although the army was exhausted when the war broke out, it was still developing steadily. According to historical records, the total number of this army exceeded120,000 in 1707, including Holstein who stood on the Swedish side.

Karl xii's personal expedition, karl xii on the right riding a big horse and wearing a fur coat.

On the other hand, in the face of the difficult situation of half a century, the Russian kings of past dynasties turned their attention to reform. The far-sighted Tsar Feodor carried out a series of reforms, especially in the military field, which accelerated the modernization process of the Russian army and greatly improved its combat effectiveness. He even sent his son Peter I to Europe to study and actively absorbed the advanced development achievements of Europe to strengthen himself. After Peter I returned from his studies and succeeded to the throne, the Russian empire changed. On the one hand, he continued to carry out the reform of his predecessor, on the other hand, he began to expand Zhang Zhilu. On the eve of the war, the territory of the Russian empire has nearly tripled, and the comprehensive national strength has also undergone earth-shaking changes. But such a huge country has also brought trouble to the Russians, who need defense everywhere, but their mobility is limited. However, their anti-Swedish alliance is powerful, including Denmark-Norway, Saxony, Poland and other powerful countries, and the available military power is equally considerable. Therefore, from the perspective of military strength comparison, the strength of both sides is relatively equal. 1700, the outbreak of the battle in northern Russia completely kicked off the protracted Great Northern War, which was a battle of interests.

Peter I

Second, the outbreak of war.

The first stage of the campaign: the brave Swedes.

It's hard to beat the strong. We should start with Sweden's allies, gradually weaken Sweden's military strength, and then surround Sweden and destroy it. The anti-Swiss alliance. Forget it. 1697, under the leadership of King Friedrich IV der Aufrichtige of Denmark, the Danish army took the lead in attacking its southern neighbor Holstein-Gotopp (an ally of Sweden) and destroyed many military fortresses. This was regarded as an extreme provocation against the Swedish Union, but because the time was not ripe, the Danish side did not carry out a greater military struggle.

It was not until 1700 that a new round of military struggle broke out after Russia, Denmark and Saxony signed a tripartite agreement. As a pioneer, the Danish army invaded and besieged Tening again. On the other hand, the troops of Saxony Auguste began to put pressure on the Swedish alliance-national Virginia. In the face of such a fierce anti-Swiss alliance, karl xii didn't lose his temper. After analyzing the situation of the enemy, he focused his attention on Denmark. He first broke through the blockade of the channel by the Danish navy, and then unexpectedly sent troops to Copenhagen, Denmark. Seeing that their base camp was in danger of being attacked by surprise, the Danes lost their interest in fighting in an instant. Under pressure, they failed to persist for a period of time and announced their withdrawal from the war in August of the same year.

Karl xii, the young monarch, became famous in the battle of Narwa by winning more with fewer.

One point was broken, leaving only Saxony and Russia. The two sides fought fiercely in Unal. Unfortunately, in the face of old Sweden, the Russian Empire was a little immature, and Peter I suffered a major setback since his debut. Karl xii turned to Saxony to meet Auguste. In this battle, the Swedes won absolutely and overwhelmingly, and Auguste also paid a painful price. The first anti-Swiss alliance also broke up. This alliance not only failed to hit Sweden, but also encouraged Sweden's arrogance. Karl xii became a veritable European arbitrator.

The winning Swede

(2) The second stage of the campaign: quickly defeat the Swedes.

At the end of the first stage, karl xii faced a major problem choice. Is to continue to expand the Narwa campaign, Russia, or turn to attack Poland and southern Saxony? After many hesitations, karl xii finally chose to go south. What does karl xii think? In fact, the reason is very simple. Geographically, the border between Sweden and the Russian Empire is very remote, the environment is extremely harsh, and logistical supplies may not be available. In addition, the Russian Empire is located in a high latitude area with a vast territory, and the economic benefits and supplies that can be obtained by attacking the Russian Empire are very poor. The army may not be worth the loss. If it is delayed, it will give the opponent a chance to attack from both sides. On the other hand, most of the attacks on Poland-Saxony are plains, and there is no danger to defend, which is conducive to the advancement of troops. On balance, karl xii chose to attack Poland-Saxony to the south, but what karl xii didn't expect was that this would be the key point for his defeated army to turn.

At the Battle of poltava, the Russians were finally proud.

In order to completely conquer Poland-Saxony, karl xii was stuck in this quagmire for six years. Although his judgment proved to be keen, the Swedish army won an all-round victory. But it gave the Russians a precious breathing space. Under the painful experience of Peter I, the Russians began to develop the navy and well-trained army, which once again improved the strength of the army. Until 1707, the breathing Russians once again demanded that Sweden return the occupied area, but how could karl xii at that time accept such a request? In order to show the size of the fist to the Russians again, karl xii dispatched troops to attack Moscow. Sadly, however, due to the extremely cold weather in high latitudes, Sweden's military strength has been seriously depleted. To make matters worse, the army carrying a lot of goods was intercepted and destroyed, and Sweden's allies suffered the same fate. The Russians seized the opportunity and took the opportunity to break out the Battle of poltava. Under the oppression of Peter I's army, karl xii was defeated and exiled to other countries, and Sweden's defeat was finalized.

The war between Sweden and the Russian Empire.

Third, the outcome is different.

After this campaign, the Russians took the opportunity to conquer the Baltic Sea and regain control of the right to go to sea. The rest of the anti-Swiss alliance also fought against Reservoir Dogs, and even Denmark and Saxony, which had previously announced their withdrawal from the war, took the opportunity to join in, and then launched a fierce military strike against Sweden. The Great Northern War ended in the defeat of Sweden, which completely lost its status as a big country, and the Russian Empire became a big country in Eastern Europe with the victory of this battle. The distinction between right and wrong is very emotional.