The Battle of Poltava is one of the significant victories of the Russian troops. This event dates back to the Great Northern War of 1700-1721. between Russia and Sweden when two strong opponents clashed.
The reason for the war is access to the Baltic
Russians needed access to the Baltic Sea. By the beginning of the 18th century, as a result of the current difficult foreign policy situation, there was a great risk of losing it. Most importantly, trade in the Baltic Sea was controlled by Sweden, which imposed huge customs duties. Not only could this not be beneficial for Russia, but it also did not have direct contact with Western countries.
A similar situation was resolved during the difficult long Northern War. The command of the troops was taken over by Peter the Great, who had recently entered the Russian throne. It is worth saying that Sweden turned out to be an insidious and powerful opponent, and Charles XII - a wise ruler and a brave warrior.
Interestingly, the beginning of the Northern War was a failure for Peter. This was due to the ongoing reorganization in the Russian army. The first major battle near Narva in 1700 was devastating. The Swedish king rejoiced: it is unlikely that Russia will be able to recover from such a serious defeat.
However, the culmination of the Northern War was the Battle of Poltava in 1709. By this time, the war was with varying success: the Swedes had already suffered a series of defeats, but were advancing into Russian territory. The Swedish command decided to capture the city of Poltava. This seemed like a simple task: a small city with a population of 4 thousand could hardly have shown strong resistance. However, this calculation failed Carl.
The Swedes besieged the city, laid explosives under its walls. However, the Russians had a counterattack on such a blow: they dug up explosives at night, fought light battles in the afternoon, and prepared for a decisive battle.
Troops came to the aid of the Poltava residents under the leadership of the indispensable assistant Peter the Great Menshikov. It is interesting that the Swedes made a number of sorties in the hope of breaking into the city beyond the Poltava walls, but were repulsed by the Russians.
