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53-713: Since the end of the 19th century the Russian Empire began to build coastal fortresses and naval strongholds to Estonia which was annexed to empire after the Great Northern War in 1721. Tallinn having been historically an important trading center between the East and the West became one of the main naval bases of the Imperial Russian Baltic fleet . A systematic coastal defence network and naval gun installations were ordered and

106-668: 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

159-684: A Norwegian front but was killed in the Siege of Fredriksten in 1718. The war ended with the defeat of Sweden, leaving Russia as the new dominant power in the Baltic region and as a new major force in European politics. The Western powers, Great Britain and France , became caught up in the separate War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), which broke out over the Bourbon Philip of Anjou 's succession to

212-508: A Russian galley fleet made a lightning raid on Borgå and managed to return to Kronslot just one day before the Swedish battle fleet returned to the blockade, after being delayed by unfavourable winds. In August 1708, a Swedish army of 12,000 men under General Georg Henrik Lybecker attacked Ingria , crossing the Neva from the north. They met stubborn resistance, ran out of supplies and, after reaching

265-453: A Swedish ally, though this proved hard to achieve. After years of marches and fighting around Poland he finally had to invade Augustus' hereditary Saxony to take him out of the war. In the treaty of Altranstädt (1706) , Augustus was finally forced to step down from the Polish throne, but Charles had already lost the valuable advantage of time over his main enemy in the east, Peter I, who then had

318-565: A concept shared by most major powers of the period. The cost of the warfare proved to be much higher than the occupied countries could fund, and Sweden's coffers and resources in manpower were eventually drained in the course of long conflicts. 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

371-652: A prolonged struggle with Augustus II the Strong ; he had already inflicted defeat on him at Riga in June 1701 and took Warsaw the following year, but trying to force a decisive defeat proved elusive. Russia left Poland in the spring of 1706, abandoning artillery but escaping from the pursuing Swedes, who stopped at Pinsk . Charles wanted not just to defeat the Commonwealth army but to depose Augustus, whom he regarded as especially treasonous, and have him replaced with someone who would be

424-529: 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 effectively. Fighting in the field, the Swedish army (which during the Thirty Years' War contained more German and Scottish mercenaries than ethnic Swedes, but

477-530: Is often unclear as Swedish cavalry was used as heavy shock cavalry yet was unarmoured. ** The Saxon army and corresponding militia does not have full details available. 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

530-616: 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. Charles XII of Sweden succeeded Charles XI of Sweden in 1697, aged 14. From his predecessor, he took over

583-608: The Battle of Fraustadt , both in the first months of 1706. As a consequence of Fraustadt, the Saxon electorate was virtually undefended, and when Charles XII combined his forces with Rehskiöld and moved through Silesia to occupy it, he met no resistance . Augustus the Strong made peace with the Swedish Empire . He renounced his claims to the Polish crown , accepted Stanisław Leszczyński as

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636-802: The First Battle of Narva where the Russians suffered a crushing defeat. After the dissolution of the first coalition through the peace of Travendal and with the victory at Narva, the Swedish chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna , attempted to use the bidding for the favour 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. Charles XII then turned south to meet Augustus II , Elector of Saxony , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

689-573: The Sandomierz Confederation , remained loyal to Saxon elector Augustus the Strong , Polish king since 1697 and allied against Charles XII with Russian tsar Peter the Great . The resulting civil war in Poland (1704-1706) did not go well for August. His attempt to regain control in Poland–Lithuania was thwarted by Charles XII in the Battle of Grodno and by Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in

742-748: The Spanish throne and a possible joining of France and Spain. The formal conclusion of the Great Northern War came with the Swedish-Hanoverian and Swedish-Prussian Treaties of Stockholm (1719), the Dano-Swedish Treaty of Frederiksborg (1720), and the Russo-Swedish Treaty of Nystad (1721). By these treaties Sweden ceded its exemption from the Sound Dues and lost the Baltic provinces and

795-592: The Baltic Sea were evicted, with the last city, Tallinn , falling in the autumn of 1710. The coalition members partitioned most of the Swedish dominions among themselves, destroying the Swedish dominium maris baltici . Sweden proper was invaded from the west by Denmark–Norway and from the east by Russia, which had occupied Finland by 1714. Sweden defeated the Danish invaders at the Battle of Helsingborg . Charles XII opened up

848-645: The Baltics, and eventually he built up a powerful navy. In 1710 the Russian forces captured Riga , at the time the most populated city in the Swedish realm, and Tallinn , evicting the Swedes from the Baltic provinces, now integrated in the Russian Tsardom by the capitulation of Estonia and Livonia . Treaty of Altranst%C3%A4dt (1706) The Treaty of Altranstädt was concluded between Charles XII of Sweden and Augustus

901-546: The Great in Rawa Ruska in September 1698, where the plans to attack Sweden were made, became legendary for its decadence. Frederick IV of Denmark -Norway, another cousin of Charles XII, succeeded Christian V in 1699 and continued his anti-Swedish policies. After the setbacks of 1700, he focused on transforming his state, an absolute monarchy, in a manner similar to Charles XI of Sweden. He did not achieve his main goal: to regain

954-501: The Gulf of Finland west of Kronstadt, had to be evacuated by sea between 10 and 17 October. Over 11,000 men were evacuated but more than 5000 horses were slaughtered, which crippled the mobility and offensive capability of the Swedish army in Finland for several years. Peter I took advantage of this by redeploying a large number of men from Ingria to Ukraine . Charles spent the years 1702–06 in

1007-400: The Neva with 4,000 troops and defeated an opposing Russian force, but made no move on Saint Petersburg. Later in the autumn Peter I led an army of 20,000 men in an attempt to take the Swedish town and fortress of Viborg . However, bad roads proved impassable to his heavy siege guns. The troops, who arrived on 12 October, therefore had to abandon the siege after only a few days. On 12 May 1708,

1060-478: The Polish sejm to replace him with Stanislaus Leszczyński in 1704. August II resisted, still possessing control of his native Saxony, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Fraustadt in 1706, a battle sometimes compared to the Ancient Battle of Cannae due to the Swedish forces' use of double envelopment , with a deadly result for the Saxon army. In 1706, after a Swedish invasion of Saxony , August II

1113-428: The Polish king and had to congratulate him. Augustus' alliance with Russia, formalized in the Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye and the Treaty of Narva , was declared void. All Russians under Augustus' command were to be handed over to the Swedish as prisoners. Johann Patkul was declared a criminal and likewise taken in Swedish custody. The treaty was concluded in secrecy. The diplomat and politician Johann Patkul

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1166-457: The Russian fortifications held. In 1705, repeated Swedish attacks were made against Russian fortifications in the area, to little effect. A major attack on 15 July 1705 ended in the deaths of more than 500 Swedish men, or a third of its forces. In view of continued failure to check Russian consolidation, and with declining manpower, Sweden opted to blockade Saint Petersburg in 1705. In the summer of 1706, Swedish General Georg Johan Maidel crossed

1219-498: The Strong of Saxony and Poland–Lithuania , on 13 October 1706, during the Great Northern War . Augustus had to renounce his claims to the Polish throne and his alliance with Russia . On behalf of Charles XII, who had occupied much of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Great Northern War, Stanisław Leszczyński was crowned king of Poland on 4 October 1705. A faction of the commonwealth, organized in

1272-530: The Strong of Saxony – Poland–Lithuania . Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII , and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706 respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava . George I of Great Britain and the Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715. Charles XII led

1325-472: The Strong , elector of Saxony and another cousin of Charles XII, gained the Polish crown after the death of King John III Sobieski in 1696. His ambitions to transform the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into an absolute monarchy were not realized due to the zealous nature of the Polish nobility and the previously initiated laws that decreased the power of the monarch. His meeting with Peter

1378-518: The Swedish Empire as an absolute monarch. Charles XI had tried to keep the empire out of wars, and concentrated on inner reforms such as reduction and allotment , which had strengthened the monarch's status and the empire's military abilities. Charles XII refrained from all kinds of luxury and alcohol and usage of the French language, since he considered these things decadent and superfluous. He preferred

1431-475: The Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp , several Polish magnates under Stanislaus I Leszczyński (1704–1710) and Cossacks under the Ukrainian Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1708–1710). The Ottoman Empire temporarily hosted Charles XII of Sweden and intervened against Peter I. The war began when an alliance of Denmark–Norway , Saxony and Russia , sensing an opportunity as Sweden

1484-460: The Swedish fortress of Nyen , guarding the mouth of the River Neva . Thanks to General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt , whose outnumbered forces fended the Russians off in the battles of Gemäuerthof and Jakobstadt , Sweden was able to maintain control of most of its Baltic provinces. Before going to war, Peter had made preparations for a navy and a modern-style army, based primarily on infantry drilled in

1537-502: The Swedish heir since 1702. He claimed the throne upon Charles XII's death in 1718, but was supplanted by Ulrike Eleonora . Charles Frederick was married to a daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna . Ivan Mazepa was a Ukrainian Cossack hetman who fought for Russia but defected to Charles XII in 1708. Mazepa died in 1709 in Ottoman exile. Peter the Great became Tsar in 1682 upon the death of his elder brother Feodor but did not become

1590-475: The actual ruler until 1689. He commenced reforming the country, turning the Russian tsardom into a modernized empire relying on trade and on a strong, professional army and navy. He greatly expanded the size of Russia during his reign while providing access to the Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas. Beside Peter, the principal Russian commanders were Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov and Boris Sheremetev . Augustus II

1643-579: The best preserved ones are located on the island of Aegna. [REDACTED] Wikimedia Atlas of Estonia Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully 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

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1696-654: The campaign ended in 1709 with the destruction of the main Swedish army at the decisive Battle of Poltava (in present-day Ukraine ) and Charles' exile in the Ottoman town of Bender . The Ottoman Empire defeated the Russian-Moldavian army in the Pruth River Campaign , but that peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russia's position. After Poltava, the anti-Swedish coalition revived and subsequently Hanover and Prussia joined it. The remaining Swedish forces in plague-stricken areas south and east of

1749-671: The construction works began at the end of the 1890s. Most of the coastal fortifications and fortresses were blown up by the retreating Russians units in October 1917 after the Germans had landed on the islands. During the Estonian War of Independence and after the Treaty of Tartu the Estonia Navy began to rebuild and develop the coastal defence network. During the period of independence from 1918 to 1940 Estonia invested millions of kroons into

1802-642: The former eastern Danish provinces lost to Sweden in the course of the 17th century. He was not able to keep northern Swedish Pomerania, Danish from 1712 to 1715. He did put an end to the Swedish threat south of Denmark. He ended Sweden's exemption from the Sound Dues (transit taxes/tariffs on cargo moved between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea). Frederick William I entered the war as elector of Brandenburg and king in Prussia —the royal title had been secured in 1701. He

1855-612: The life of an ordinary soldier on horseback, not that of contemporary baroque courts. He determinedly pursued his goal of dethroning his adversaries, whom he considered unworthy of their thrones due to broken promises, thereby refusing to take several chances to make peace. During the war, the most important Swedish commanders besides Charles XII were his close friend Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld , also Magnus Stenbock and Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt . Charles Frederick , son of Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (a cousin of Charles XII) and Hedvig Sophia , daughter of Charles XI of Sweden, had been

1908-493: The renovation and development of the coastal defence. By 1939 the coastal batteries presented a considerable naval force and were considered among the Navy elite forces. During World War II and later the Soviet occupation of Estonia , little has remained of the former coastal defence lines and fortifications. Today some buildings and firing positions can be seen at various places of which

1961-693: The southern part of Swedish Pomerania . The peace treaties also ended its alliance with Holstein-Gottorp. Hanover gained Bremen-Verden , Brandenburg-Prussia incorporated the Oder estuary ( Stettin Lagoons ), Russia secured the Baltic Provinces , and Denmark strengthened its position in Schleswig-Holstein . In Sweden, the absolute monarchy had come to an end with the death of Charles XII, and Sweden's Age of Liberty began. Between 1560 and 1658, Sweden created

2014-403: The time to recover and build up an army that was both new and better. At this point, in 1707, Peter offered to return everything he had so far occupied (essentially Ingria) except Saint Petersburg and the line of the Neva, to avoid a full-scale war, but Charles XII refused. Instead he initiated a march from Saxony to invade Russia . Though his primary goal was Moscow, the strength of his forces

2067-417: The use of firearms. The Nyen fortress was soon abandoned and demolished by Peter, who built nearby a superior fortress as a beginning to the city of Saint Petersburg . By 1704, other fortresses were situated on the island of Kotlin and the sand flats to its south. These became known as Kronstadt and Kronslot. The Swedes attempted a raid on the Neva fort on 13 July 1704 with ships and landing armies, but

2120-483: The war against the only hostile power remaining, Tsar Peter's Russia. The Battle of Narva dealt a severe setback to Peter the Great , but the shift of Charles XII's army to the Polish-Saxon threat soon afterward provided him with an opportunity to regroup and regain territory in the Baltic provinces. Russian victories at Erastfer and Nöteborg (Shlisselburg) provided access to Ingria in 1703, where Peter captured

2173-573: The war in August 1700 according to the terms of the Peace of Travendal . 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

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2226-568: The way (September 1706) and forcing him to acknowledge defeat in the Treaty of Altranstädt (October 1706). The treaty also secured the extradition and execution of Johann Reinhold Patkul , architect of the alliance seven years earlier. Meanwhile, the forces of Peter I had recovered from defeat at Narva and gained ground in Sweden's Baltic provinces, where they cemented Russian access to the Baltic Sea by founding Saint Petersburg in 1703. Charles XII moved from Saxony into Russia to confront Peter, but

2279-472: The yet to be conquered Polish crown to Hungarian rebel prince Francis II Rákóczi , to British general John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , to Polish Jakub Sobieski , to Savoyan commander in Habsburg service Eugene of Savoy , and to others. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the treaty had improved Stanisław Leszczyński's position. He subsequently gained the loyalty of part of the lesser gentry. By

2332-1141: Was able to mobilize a larger army but could not put all of it into action simultaneously. The Russian mobilization system was ineffective and the expanding nation needed to be defended in many locations. A grand mobilization covering Russia's vast territories would have been unrealistic. Peter I tried to raise his army's morale to Swedish levels. Denmark contributed 20,000 men in their invasion of Holstein-Gottorp and more on other fronts. Poland and Saxony together could mobilize at least 100,000 men. 33,456 musketeers 19,584 pikemen 6,528 grenadiers 8,400 militia 1,200 naval infantry 1,540 grenadiers 9,600 militia (768 grenadiers) 150 halberdiers 1,500 grenadiers cavalry 100 Horse drabants 15,000 heavy cavalry 1,800 noble cavalry 402 horse guards 57 drabant guard 4,556 line cavalry 2,800 pancerni 2,200 heavy cavalry 1,800 cuirassiers 4,000 baltic militia dragoons 20,000 Ukrainian cossacks 15,000 Zaporozhian cossacks 15,000 Don Cossacks 804 militia dragoons 1,710 light cavalry 32,400 cavalry 63,351 cavalry 13,723 cavalry 12,810 cavalry * The difference between heavy and other cavalry

2385-533: 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 from

2438-533: 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 . However, the Swedish state ultimately proved unable to support and maintain its army in a prolonged war. Campaigns on the continent had been proposed on the basis that the army would be financially self-supporting through plunder and taxation of newly gained land,

2491-485: Was crushingly defeated by a larger Russian force under Peter in the Battle of Poltava and fled to the Ottoman Empire while the remains of his army surrendered at Perevolochna . This shattering defeat in 1709 did not end the war, although it decided it. Denmark and Saxony joined the war again and Augustus the Strong, through the politics of Boris Kurakin , regained the Polish throne. Peter continued his campaigns in

2544-681: Was determined to gain the Oder estuary with its access to the Baltic Sea for the Brandenburgian core areas, which had been a state goal for centuries . George I of the House of Hanover , elector of Hanover and, since 1714, king of Great Britain and of Ireland, took the opportunity to connect his landlocked German electorate to the North Sea . In 1700, Charles XII had a standing army of 77,000 men (based on annual training). By 1707 this number had swollen to at least 120,000 despite casualties. Russia

2597-420: Was executed. When the treaty was revealed to him, Peter the Great was disappointed. His diplomats, though aware of the possibility of a separate peace between Saxony and Sweden and actually negotiating a separate peace for Russia since 1703, had been unable to intervene. Furthermore, Peter had regarded Augustus not just as an ally, but as a close friend. With Augustus resigned, Peter unsuccessfully offered

2650-414: Was forced to sign the Treaty of Altranstädt in which he made peace with the Swedish Empire, renounced his claims to the Polish crown, accepted Stanislaus Leszczyński as king, and ended his alliance with Russia. Patkul was also extradited and executed by breaking on the wheel in 1707, an incident which, given his diplomatic immunity, infuriated opinion against the Swedish king, who was then expected to win

2703-463: Was formally neutral at this point, as Augustus started the war as an Elector of Saxony. Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament, Charles crossed into the Commonwealth and decisively defeated the Saxe-Polish forces in the Battle of Klissow in 1702 and in the Battle of Pultusk in 1703. This successful invasion enabled Charles XII to dethrone Augustus II and coerce

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2756-423: Was ruled by the young Charles XII, declared war on the Swedish Empire and launched a threefold attack on Swedish Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish Livonia , and Swedish Ingria . Sweden parried the Danish and Russian attacks at Travendal (August 1700) and Narva (November 1700) respectively, and in a counter-offensive pushed Augustus II's forces through the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to Saxony, dethroning Augustus on

2809-500: Was sapped by the cold weather (the winter of 1708/09 being one of the most severe in modern European history) and Peter's use of scorched earth tactics. When the main army turned south to recover in Ukraine , the second army with supplies and reinforcements was intercepted and routed at Lesnaya —and so were the supplies and reinforcements of Swedish ally Ivan Mazepa in Baturyn . Charles

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