List of campaigns in the Great Northern War
The list of campaigns in the Great Northern War includes all military operations that occurred in northeastern Europe during the period from 1700 to 1721. Thus, a continuous period of several months, operational ranges of several hundred kilometers and several skirmishes and battles are typical for the campaigns listed. In the era of the Cabinet Wars (around 1650 to 1800), in which the war activities were interrupted in winter, this meant that a "campaign" referred to the war operations between two winter camps.
State of research on tactical operations for the Great Northern War
Understanding individual operations in detail on a tactical level is not possible with the existing literature. On the one hand, the historiography of the 19th century shows the lack of viewing military trains from one side only and neglecting the actions of the enemy. On the other hand, there are few or very few current publications on the Great Northern War that attempt to trace a complete history of operations to the war. For this reason there is still no complete nomenclature or time information for the individual campaigns. The name predominates after the individual regions in a composite form, for example the Pomeranian campaign or the Livonia campaign .
However, this also shows the narrow angle of observation, as the division according to geographical regions only relates to the limited objectives of the active war party, which in turn operated in a larger overall context. The term Livonia Campaign expresses the campaign goal of a war party, for example, to conquer this province, but the opposing party who reacts also developed its own plans and objectives, so that in the further course of the campaign a completely different operational character emerges from the current perspective leads to being neglected. The Russian campaign operations in particular are not adequately taken into account and have so far remained in the dark of history.
In addition to the open problem of one-sided campaign analyzes in the literature, there is also the unresolved issue of geographical delimitation of individual campaigns. The historiography of this mainly considers the local point of reference, i.e. describes the rational actions of the commanders from a local and not a strategic point of view. Commanders decided on the basis of a lack of food or the lack of certain equipment and not on the basis of overriding motives. This way of thinking of the commanders cannot have taken place, since it contradicts the elementary characteristics of the military who are trained in tactical thinking. As a result of this historical methodology, however, almost all publications that can be found thematically document battles and representations of sieges in detail. Tactical analyzes, which are the basis for campaign descriptions, take place on a very rudimentary level. The higher level, i.e. the formation of individual troop contingents, the associated coverage of territories or strategic points has so far been excluded from consideration and forms black spots in the historiography of the Great Northern War. The analysis of tactical operations management is therefore in its infancy. The campaign divisions used here are therefore in line with the existing historical literature, but are inadequate from a tactical point of view and not yet finally divided from a research perspective.
Campaigns
| image | campaign | Beginning | The End | States involved | Aims) | Results) | Fighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saxon Livonia Campaign | February 12, 1700 | October 17, 1700 | Saxony , Sweden | Conquest of Swedish Livonia | Saxon retreat | Battle at Jungfernhof , Siege of Riga (1700) |
|
Holstein campaign | March 17, 1700 | August 18, 1700 | Sweden, Denmark | Danish conquest of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf | Sweden forces Denmark to peace at Traventhal | Danish invasion of Holstein-Gottorp, landing at Humlebæk , bombing of Copenhagen (1700) |
| Russian Narva campaign in 1700 | September 1700 | November 30, 1700 | Sweden, Russia | Conquest of a coastal strip for Russia | Narva is besieged unsuccessfully | Siege of Narva | |
|
Charles XII's Narva campaign | Late October 1700 | November 30, 1700 | Sweden, Russia | Relief from Narva | Narva is successfully shocked and Swedish Livonia secured for the time being | Battle at Pühhajoggi pass , battle near Varja, battle near Narva |
|
Russian incursions into Livonia 1701 | September 1701 | December 30, 1701 | Sweden, Russia | Support for Saxony-Poland through relief attacks | increasing weakening of the Swedish defense force | Skirmishes at Rauge , Battle of Erastfer |
|
Swedish invasion of Courland in 1701 | June 17, 1701 | Sweden, Russia, Saxony-Poland,
Duchy of Courland |
"Punishment" and removal of August II. | Occupation of the Duchy of Courland by Sweden | Battle of the Daugava , conquest of Mitau, conquest of Kokenhusen and Dünamünde | |
|
Charles XII's Polish campaign (1702) | March 23, 1702 | July 31, 1702 | Sweden, Saxony-Poland, | Occupation of Poland and deposition of August II. | Swedish control of the residential city of Warsaw and the coronation city of Krakow | Battle of Klissow , capture of Krakow |
|
Russian Livonia and Neva campaign (1702) | July 1702 | Late October 1702 | Sweden, Russia | Russian control of Ingermanland | Russian access to the Neva | Battle at Hummelshof , siege of Nöteborg , naval battles on Lake Ladoga |
|
Charles XII's Polish campaign (1703) | March 1703 | Late December 1703 | Sweden, Saxony-Poland | Defense against a Saxon attack and destruction of the newly established Saxon army | complete control of Poland by Sweden | Battle of Pułtusk (1703) , Siege of Thorn |
| Neva campaign (1703) | March 1703 | Late July 1703 | Sweden, Russia | Russian control of the Newaumland | Siege of Nyenschanz , Battle of Systerbäck , | ||
| Charles XII's Polish campaign (1704) | Late May 1704 | Early November 1704 | Sweden, Saxony-Poland, Russia | Protect the king's election and enforce the Swedish candidate's claim | renewed control of Warsaw and driving back the Saxons by Charles XII. | Capture of Warsaw , storming of Lemberg , battle of Punitz | |
|
Lithuanian noble feud in the Great Northern War | Sweden, Lithuania, Russians | renewed displacement of the Oginskis from Lithuania | Battle of Saladen , battle of Jakobstadt , conquest of Birse | |||
.jpg)
|
Campaign in the Baltic States (1704) | Early May 1704 | August 1704 | Swedes, Russians | Russian conquests of part of Livonia | Fights on Lake Peipus, Siege of Tartu (1704) , Siege of Narva (1704) , Battle of Wesenberg (1704) , attacks on Saint Petersburg | |
.jpg)
|
Grodno campaign (1705/1706) | July 1705 | October 1706 | Swedes, Russians, Saxony-Poland | Driving back the Swedes from Poland | Swedish victory, implementation of the Swedish candidate for the Polish crown, peace of Altranstädt | Battle of Gemauerthof , Siege of Mitau , Conquest of Bauske, Battle of Rakowitz , Blockade of Grodno , Battle of Fraustadt , Skirmish in Nyasvish , Battle of Klezk , Siege of Lyachavichy , Battle of Kalisch |
|
Russian campaign of Charles XII. | January 1708 | July 1709 | Swedes, Russians, Poles, Cossack State | Forcing Russia to Peace | Turning the war in favor of Russia | Battle of Golowtschin , Battle of Moljatitschi , Battle of Rajowka , Battle of Lesnaya , Battle of Koniecpol , siege of veprik , Battle of Krasnokutsk , Battle of Poltava |
| Scania campaign (1709/1710) | Sweden, Danes | Conquest of southern Sweden | Defense against the Danish invasion | Battle of Helsingborg | |||
| Campaign in the Baltic States (1710) | Sweden, Russia | Siege of Riga (1709) , Siege of Pernau , Siege of Reval | |||||
| Pruth campaign | Ottoman Empire, Russia | ||||||
| Pomeranian Campaign (1711/1712) | Sweden, Russia | Siege of Stralsund (1711) , battle near Lübow , naval battles in the Greifswalder Bodden (1712) , siege of Stettin (1713) | |||||
| Bremen-Verden campaign (1712) | Sweden, Denmark | Siege of Stade | |||||
|
Stenbock campaign | Sweden, Denmark, Saxony, Russia | Sea battle of Rügen (1712) , battle of Gadebusch , cremation of Altona , siege of Tönning (1713) | ||||
| Russian naval operation in the Gulf of Bothnia, 1714 | Sweden, Russia | ||||||
| Finland campaign | Sweden, Russia | Sea battle at Hogland , Battle of Pälkäne , Battle of Storkyro , Sea battle of Hanko | |||||
|
Pomeranian campaign 1715/1716 | Sweden, Denmark, Saxony, Russia | Sea battle near Fehmarn (1715) , siege of Wismar (1715) , sea battles in the Greifswalder Bodden (1715) , siege of Stralsund (1715) , sea battle near Jasmund (1715) , storming of the Peenemünder Schanze , battle of Stresow | ||||
|
Norwegian campaign (1716) | Sweden, Denmark | Attack on Frederikshald (1716) , naval battle in Dynekilen Fjord | ||||
| Norwegian campaign (1718) | August 1718 | January 1719 | Sweden, Denmark | Siege of Frederikshald , Carolinian death march | |||
|
Russian devastation in Sweden from 1719 to 1721 | 1719 | 1721 | Sweden, Russia | Sea battle at Ösel , battle at Södra Stäket , raid on Sundsvall , sea battle at Grönham |
literature
- Different from Fryxell: History of Charles the Twelfth. New edition. Mustard, Leipzig 1865.
- Not so Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden. Based on the Swedish original, freely transcribed by Georg Friedrich von Jenssen-Tusch. Volume 1. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1861, digitized .
- Eva Susanne Fiebig: The Great Northern War 1700–1721. In: Eva Susanne Fiebig / Jan Schlürmann (eds.): Handbook on Nordic military history. Army and wars in Schleswig, Holstein, Lauenburg, Eutin and Lübeck, 1623–1863 / 67 . Husum 2010, pp. 367-408