The Battle of Poltava

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The Battle of Poltava is the most famous and significant episode in the Great
Northern War (1700-1721). The battle which took place on July 8th 1709 fell directly in the middle of the Great Northern War and is seen as the turning point in the war. Czar
Peter I own cause to end Sweden’s possession of its Baltic empire showed his strong will and determination. This battle in fact established Russia as an impressive European power and Czar Peter I as a great leader in the eyes of his country and all of Europe. The success of the battle opened Russia economically and politically to all European countries to the west. The success of the Russian army in the Battle of Poltava helped to spark the creation of a westernized, efficient nation.
The victory of the Battle of Poltava proved to Russia and all of Europe Czar Peter
I was a strong and determined leader. In the first years of his rule Peter learned about the art of war from several small naval encounters with the Turkish on the Black Sea. These skirmishes taught Peter the importance of defending his country and having a strong military. When the Great Northern War began after Russia joined the European Alliance against Sweden as a prominent power, the war was unfavorable for the Russian army.
This was mainly due to Peter’s troops being greatly under trained and unseasoned. He saw that men he could trust on the field would have to be recruited after they went through training in newly opened educational institutions or guard regiments. This helped to sustain the army against the Swedish while it battled for eight years, only to produce a number of unsuccessful campaigns. The better trained Swedes under the commanding rule of King Charles XII fought off the Russian troops over a dozen times
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but could never cripple the army enough end the constant battling. On the morning of the attack nineteen thousand Swedish assaulted the fortified camp of Poltava, which was defended by Peter's forty-five thousand men. Peter's victory was so astonishing that
Charles barely had the time to flee to Ottoman Empire, which left the remnants of his army to surrender. The Battle of Poltava changed the face of the war for all of Europe, as
Sweden fell to Russia it proved that Czar Peter I could be trusted and was a competent leader for Russia.

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