Great Northern War - III Young and Violent - Extra History
Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair nor-northern Europe... Wait a minute... [Extra History Intro Theme] With Poland-Lithuania out of the fight Charles XII sets his eyes on another foe: The Russian giant, Peter the Great. While Charles had run roughshod over Poland Peter had taken advantage of the moment to once again assail the Baltic provinces.He was stopped short of his ultimate goal but Peter's efforts there were not without gain. His armies carved a path all the way to the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans which he tore down to build an even greater fortress The Peter & Paul Fortress which would serve as the cornerstone for his most ambitious project of all: St. Petersburg. He would erect a new city here one grander and more modern than anything Russia had ever seen.
This would be his gateway to the West his port that tied Russia into the economic life of Europe. It would be his new capital, on which he would spare no expense in treasure or lives. This was to be the culmination of his legacy the embodiment of all his ideas on westernizing Russia on becoming a naval power, on embracing European art and science and culture. But for that to be the case, Russia would have to succeed in holding onto these gains something that Charles XII could not abide.
Throughout 1704 and 1705 Swedish forces tried to take Peter's great fortress but time and again, they were repelled. Soon, costs started to mount, and men who that ill afford to be lost died for little gain. So Charles revamped his strategy and blockaded St. Petersburg.
While the blockade dragged on, he began marshalling his main force for a march to the east. It was at this point that Russia sent him a peace offer: in return for an armistice, Russia would give up all of their gains except for St. Petersburg and the forts connecting it to Russian territory. But Charles was having none of it.
He knew how important St. Petersburg was. Why, with his invincible army, SHOULD he give it up? So Charles marched east, braving horrible weather and dangerous crossings to move with his traditional lightning speed. As he pressed forward, Peter fell back and back each defensive line Peter's commanders had planned to entrench was taken before their men could even unpack their spades.
But even this march could not make up for the time Charles had lost trying to make Poland support his puppet king. In the years that had followed his initial victories over the Russians and the Polish-Lithuanian forces Russia had not only seized and fortified what would become St. Petersburg but reinforced it, and kept reinforcing it. Yet, the Swedish army was strong their king was able, their officers daring and intelligent.
Top members of the military thought that it would be a tough fight but that they could take St. Petersburg. They drew up plans and submitted them to the king who swore them to utmost secrecy about the plans they had concocted. And so, the officers marched, thinking their objective to be St.
Petersburg but soon, they found themselves near Minsk. Wait a minute, that wasn't on the way to St. Petersburg! Charles had marched them in a different direction and there was only one place they could be going from there. He was marching them to Moscow.
Charles's officers had told him that they were not ready that striking so deep into Russia was simply too great of a gamble. It was something the army simply wasn't prepared for. BUT, how many times before had Charles been told that something was too great a gamble? How often had he heard that something was impossible only to then achieve it himself? He had made up his mind. They would not waste their time retaking lost territories.
He would unseat Peter himself. The first two rivers they crossed with little opposition being slowed only by the fact that the retreating Russian forces burnt every bridge along the way. Tartar horsemen also harassed them continually, but this seemed a minor nuisance. They were making good time through bad country, but then, at the Vabich River they found a large enemy force barring their passage.
The position held by the Russians was daunting: the Swedes would have to traverse marshy ground to get to them and beyond that was a forest, which might hide yet more troops. But Charles saw a way. The enemy line had a gap in it along a swampy area that the Russians clearly thought was impassable. Charles personally led his army across 1,500 yards of killing ground to reach this swampy area.
At one point, his men were shoulder deep in water. The enemy line was split. The Russians tried to use numbers to heal the breach but heroic actions from the Swedish cavalry prevented any joining of Russian arms. Soon, the line began to collapse.
The crossing was theirs. Once again, the Swedes had triumphed against impossible odds. But keen observers in the army would have noted that though the Swedes emerged victorious these Russian troops were made of sterner stuff than they had been eight years back. Tactics and firm soldiering had been hammered into them since their retreat at Narva.
They would not be turning and running like that anymore. This victory left Charles's army exhausted. It would take a month of rest before he could really move them again. And during this month, Peter was not idle.
Peter stripped the land bare. He laid waste to any stretch of ground that the Swedes would have to cross and even though it was his own country and the suffering caused to his own people was immense Peter made no half-measure of it. Every grain of wheat was carted off every pasture where a horse might graze was turned to ash. There would be nothing but wasteland for the Swedes to traverse.
Thus began a time of suffering for the Swedish forces. When they resumed their march, food was scarce. And with scarce food, came disease. This victorious army began to march as defeated men with hollow eyes and weary steps.
Charles continued to rally them, but he had no real answer to this predicament. He had been counting on living off the countryside as they marched. Their supply lines were stretched beyond their limit. Many asked him to turn home, but he believed in Swedish arms.
He believed that if he could just force Peter into one decisive battle they might yet win this war. But Peter demurred. He would not give Charles the battle he wanted. And so, the Swedish marched across fields of ash seeing always in the distance villages alight candles in remembrance to Peter's uncompromising policy of starvation.
In frustration, Charles turned to his officers and asked their advice. They recommended that the army fall back to the Dnierper, and meet up with a relief force laden with supplies. But this would be tantamount to giving up the campaign, so Charles asked for other options. Reluctantly, it was suggested that the Ukraine had not been as thoroughly plundered.
It might be possible to gather supplies there and enlist the aid of friendly Cossacks. But such a move would cut the army off from any real ability to communicate with Swedish territory, or get resupplied from the empire. Still, Charles saw it as a possible path to victory where retreat offered none. His officers pleaded with him to at least wait for the relief force and their provisions, but Charles, fearing that further delays would only give Peter more time turned the army toward Ukraine immediately.
They would now retrace their steps until they could turn south walking back across the same blasted waste from which they had just come. But as summer gave way to autumn, and autumn to winter a chill set in. Then, a deep cold. Then, a freezing, bone-gnawing frost And not just any frost.
This was what is known today as The Great Frost the coldest winter Europe has experienced in 500 years. Rivers froze from the Thames all the way down to the lagoons of Venice. And this frost served Peter well. By the time the winter of 1708 and 1709 came to an end Charles had only 20,000 remaining men able to fight less than half the number he'd begun this campaign with.
HALF of his undefeated army, lost. But, there's still hope yet! Join us next time to find out what happens to his reinforcements to the Cossacks Charles hopes yet to enlist, and most of all, to the great army of Charles himself as he and Peter finally square off at the battle of Poltava. [Outro Theme Plays].
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It's September of the year 331 BC. After taking Phoenicia and Egypt, Alexander marches east, to the inland of the Persian Empire. As his troops were about to cross the Tigris river, he received scout reports, that Persian King Darius had gathered another huge army and was preparing for a decisive encounter with the Macedonians. Both armies finally met on the vast open field near the village of Gaugamela in a final clash between two of the biggest powers of classical antiquity.
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Eight great tips for survival at Sea Most of us adore visiting Beach resorts at least once a year However, you shouldn't forget that the sea is as attractive as way worse. Do you know how to swim and behave in the open water? Here are several rules that might save your life one day The most important trick is number one as it works wonders in any desperate situation number eight calm down It's not surprising that people who find themselves in the open water have a wild fear for their life However panic definitely won't help you it can cloud your [judgement] and make you lose the rhythm of breathing Therefore the first thing you should do is to calm down Number 7 choose the right swimming style in this situation Sooner or later You'll have to move in the water the style of swimming you choose determines how long your strength will last Remember these two rules one in calm water It's better to swim on your back in this case You'll get the opportunity to relax as [much] as possible and breathe evenly - if waves Splash around you it's better to swim on your belly for instance try the breaststroke Take a breath of air then lower your head into the water and exhale If you don't keep [your] [head] above the water surface all the time you will save more energy number 6 find something that [slows] if [you're] in the open sea as a result of a shipwreck or an airplane water landing There must be plenty of things around you that perfectly keep afloat it will be even better If it's a boat or a raft with which ships are equipped Number 5. Take care of clothes Remember that open sunlight can be extremely dangerous So don't remove your clothes they'll protect you from the sun if you're half-naked Try to find something [that] can shelter you from the sun's rays Ideally build a tent that will create shape Number [4] decide what you'll eat It's good if you have an emergency food ration on your raft however You won't necessarily starve without one if you have rations divide them into small daily portions This will make them last for a long time And you won't have problems with digestion If you don't have one you can make a fishing Rod from lace and it can as a hook and try to fish If you last such items try catching seaweed small fish can get stuck there Try to fish even [if] you have stores of food after all fish contains some liquid Never eat spoiled foods no matter how hungry you are number [3] Provide Yourself with liquid During [1/4] sailing water is much more valuable than food After all you almost don't move and you are wasting little energy you have to consume the liquid Constantly but never drink seawater Here are some simple ways [to] get drinking water once Condensate you'll need a box [two] containers Waterproof material and wait take one container and pour seawater inside place the other in a box next to it Secure some waterproof material such as polyethylene above both Put a weight over the empty container soon the container will be filled with Fresh water To rain water try to ensure that you always have a couple of empty containers left for collecting rainwater Don't worry according to studies drinking untreated rainwater is safe for your health number two save yourself properly It's no wonder that in such a situation. [You'll] want to step on solid ground as soon as possible however You should consider all your rescue measures carefully Remember these simple rules if you have no idea where you are don't row Rely on the current it has more chance of carrying you [to] land Don't rush into the water if you see a ship in the distance Don't try to catch up to it.