REFIGHTING POLTAVA

The Battle of Poltava is the most famous and decisive battle in the Great Northern War. In the early campaigns of the war up to 1707, the Swedes had defeated a coalition of enemies with their main force while restricting Russia’s advances with secondary forces. In 1708, the Swedes invaded Russia with some success, but the invasion ran into problems and by 1709 the two armies were in the area of the Ukrainian town of Poltava.

By Nicholas Dorrell

In May, the Swedes started besieging Poltava’s fortress. The main Russian army was closing in, but it needed to cross the Vorskla River. The Swedes attempted to block the Russians from crossing, but Swedish king Charles XII was wounded. Without him, the Swedish command was paralyzed. Unopposed, a few days later the Russians crossed over. As the Russians approached Poltava, an opportunity to attack them arose. With Charles XII still wounded, no decision to attack was made (A). The Russians started to build a fortified camp near to the Swedes. The Swedes were still divided on whether to attack while the camp was being built or to wait (B1). With the camp completed, the Russians started a series of small redoubts. The Swedes could have launched an attack at this point…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 122

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