Charles XII Crushes Russia: The Battle of Narva

An outnumbered Swedish army of 8,500 soldiers under Charles XII exploited a sudden blizzard to overwhelm a Russian siege force of nearly 40,000 at Narva on November 30, 1700, shattering Peter the Great's early ambitions to dominate the Baltic. This was one of the most decisive battles of the Great Northern War, fought outside the fortress city of Narva in what is now Estonia. Peter had besieged the city for six weeks when Charles arrived with his relief force after a forced march through terrible weather. The Swedish king was eighteen years old. He ordered an attack during a snowstorm that blew directly into the Russian positions, masking the Swedish advance. The assault struck the Russian line at two points, and the defenders, unable to see the attackers until they were at close quarters, broke and fled. The Russian command structure collapsed when several foreign officers who commanded key units surrendered or were captured in the opening minutes. Thousands of Russian soldiers drowned trying to cross the Narova River on a pontoon bridge that collapsed under the weight of retreating men. The lopsided victory made Charles XII the most feared monarch in Europe, but his failure to pursue the retreating Russians gave Peter the time he needed. Over the following nine years, Peter rebuilt his army on Western European models, imported officers and military engineers, and constructed St. Petersburg as a new capital and naval base on the Baltic coast. When Charles and Peter met again at Poltava in 1709, the result was reversed. Russia destroyed the Swedish army and ended Sweden's century as a great European power permanently.