The main battles of the Northern War are turning points in the history of Russia and Europe

The Great Northern War of the early 18th century, in which many states of northern Europe were involved, largely influenced the geopolitical situation and the further development of the entire continent. The main battles of the Northern War led to a painful defeat of the Swedish empire. The state, which ruled the ball in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and throughout northern Europe for centuries, will never regain its former power. Simultaneously, the main battles of the Northern War Led to an unprecedented rise of the empire of the Russian on the site of a sufficient local Moscow kingdom. As a result of this conflict and, of course, thanks to the policy of the first emperor of the Russian state, the country strengthened in the Baltic states, the ports of the North Sea and for the first time acquired a powerful fleet. However, this conflict was not always successful for Moscow troops. Moreover, at the first stage the war was very successful for Sweden. But when did these turning points take place? Where did the main battle of the Northern War happen? The answers to this question can be very different. The confrontation dragged on for two whole decades - from 1700 to 1721. And we should highlight several battles that have had a major impact on the history of Russia, Europe and the world.

The main battles of the Northern War

The Battle of Narva

This battle was the first significant in the collision of Russian and Swedish armies. In August 1700, Charles XII forcibly forces Russia to surrender to Denmark and conclude peace with him. After this victory, Swedish troops begin a campaign on the northern Russian fortress in Narva and in mid-November they achieve victory. This defeat revealed the strong backwardness of the Russian state in the military and economic sense. The country was on the verge of conquest. However, the correct conclusions drawn from this defeat helped the Russian leadership to recover from it in the near future.

The main battle of the Northern War

Where and when did it happen? For our country, no doubt, this is the famous Poltava battle. By 1709 the Swedes were not only able to advance far to the south of the continent, but also withdrew from the war a number of Peter's allies. First of all, we are talking about Saxony and Poland. The whole burden of confrontation with a powerful enemy fell on Russia's shoulders. The Swedish campaign in this land began in the spring of 1708. Probably, it makes no sense to repeat once again how the Battle of Poltava ended. This is known today to every schoolboy. But what is important, it became a turning point of the entire conflict, after which the Russian armies managed to transfer the theater of war from Ukraine to the Baltic states.

Gangut battle

In 1714 the newborn Russian fleet won its first loud victory at Cape Gangut. In fact, after this defeat, the offensive initiative will forever go over to the armies of Peter.

Gregam Battle

In 1720 the young Russian fleet won another loud victory at Gregam Island. Sweden, defeated earlier on land, and now with a defeated fleet, was forced to go to peace. Thus, the main battles of the Northern War eventually led to the so-called Nystad Peace Treaty (after the city where it was signed), which resulted in the Baltic coast from Riga to Vyborg in favor of Russia, which turned it into a sea power.