Editing Battle of Narva (1700) (section)

== Battle ==
===Preparations===
On the afternoon of {{OldStyleDate|29 November|1700|18 November}}, Charles XII approached the village of Lagena, 7 miles from Narva, and made a final inspection of his army. Charles was not sure if Narva was still holding, so he ordered to give the Swedish recognition signal by cannon shots and then got the same response from the fortress. Earlier, the Sheremetev's cavalry joined the main forces.{{sfn|Massie|1980|p=328}} Thus, the Russian siege camp was warned about the enemy's approach. De Croÿ inspected the army and ordered it to increase vigilance, prepare firearms, and keep half of the army on alert throughout the night. On the morning of the next day, "before sunrise," it was ordered to give soldiers the charges and build the entire army. Among other instructions was the prohibition against opening fire earlier than 20–30 steps to the enemy.{{sfn|Петров [Petrov]|1901|pp=223–224}}

On 19 ([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Sweden|OS]]), 20 ([[Swedish calendar|S.S.]]){{Sfn|von Essen|2024|p=XVIII}} or 30 ([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Sweden|NS]]) November 1700<ref name=Frost230232>Frost (2003), pp. 230, 232</ref>, Charles XII positioned his 10,500 men<ref name=SwBO>{{Cite web |url=http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2011/04/swedish-bo-in-battle-of-narva-192030.html |title=Swedish BO in the battle of Narva, 19(20)/30 Nov 1700 |access-date=5 March 2018 |archive-date=5 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202617/http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2011/04/swedish-bo-in-battle-of-narva-192030.html |url-status=live }}</ref> (another 2,000 men were garrisoned in the city and would take part in the battle at a later stage) opposite the besieging Russian army of about 34,000 to 40,000 troops.<ref name=kuvaja/><ref name="Svenska slag">Ericson (2003), p. 257</ref><ref name=Frost230232/><ref name="Profiriev">Porfiriev (1958), p. 145</ref>

The Swedes approached the Russian army at 10 a.m. and began to prepare for an attack. Charles and his generals examined the Russian position, and the soldiers stored the fascines to overcome the ditches surrounding it. De Croÿ was concerned about the small size of the Swedish army and suspected that this was only the vanguard of the main forces. Sheremetev proposed to lead the army out of the entrenchment in the field and attack the Swedes but was not supported by other generals.{{sfn|Беспалов [Bespalov]|1998}} De Croÿ decided to leave the army stretched for {{convert|4|mi}} and sandwiched between two rows of ramparts.{{sfn|Massie|1980|p=330}} The space between the ramparts was uneven: about {{convert|1200|m}} on the right Russian flank, about {{convert|250|m}} in the center, and on the left flank – only {{convert|60|–|100|m}}. There were many barracks for soldiers between the ramparts, which made it difficult to maneuver.{{sfn|Петров [Petrov]|1901|p=199}}

In the center of the Russian position was the Goldenhof Hill, fenced on all sides by barracks and sharpened stakes ([[Cheval de frise|''the chevaux de frise'']]) and adapted to all-around defence.{{sfn|Петров [Petrov]|1901|p=199}} Charles divided his infantry into two parts and directed them to the north and south of the Goldenhof Hill. On the right (southern) flank were 11 "field" battalions under the command of Vellingk. On the left (northern) flank were 10 "field" battalions under the command of Rehnskiöld, including a small column of two battalions under the command of [[Magnus Stenbock]], where Charles was himself.{{clarify |date=May 2020 |reason=The words "was Charles himself" does not fit with the rest of the sentence.}} Grenadiers with fascines marched in the vanguard of the infantry columns. The Swedish cavalry (≈4,300 men) covered the flanks of the infantry and had to prevent Russian attempts to exit the fortifications. The Swedish artillery (37 guns at all), located on a small rise, bombarded the places planned for the attack.{{sfn|Massie|1980|p=332}}<ref name=SwBO/><ref name="Davies2011">{{cite book |author=Brian Davies |title=Empire and Military Revolution in Eastern Europe: Russia's Turkish Wars in the Eighteenth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJcg5lNqjS8C |date=2011 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4411-6238-0 |page=65 |access-date=2018-03-12 |archive-date=2023-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130064402/https://books.google.com/books?id=RJcg5lNqjS8C |url-status=live }}</ref>

The exact battle order of the Russian army is unknown – Russian documents are not preserved, and the Swedish data are contradictory. It is known that the "division" (''general'stvo'') of Trubetskoy was located in the center. It was the weakest part of the three main divisions: there were only two "regular" infantry regiments, and they were even worse drilled than the rest – they were formed as late as August 1700, and in September, Trubetskoy already marched to Narva. Trubetskoy also had four weak regiments of local ''streltsy'' from Novgorod and [[Pskov]] garrisons and, may be, there were two regular infantry regiments temporarily separated from other divisions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2010/11/russian-bo-at-narva-on-1930-nov-1700-by.html |title=Russian BO at Narva on 19/30 Nov, 1700 by Fer & Wolff. |access-date=2018-03-07 |archive-date=2018-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308041604/http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2010/11/russian-bo-at-narva-on-1930-nov-1700-by.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Великанов В.С. К вопросу об организации и численности русской армии в нарвском походе 1700. // "Война и мир. Новые исследования и материалы". Материалы 2-й международной научно-практической конференции. СПб, 2011. Ч. 1. С. 130–143</ref>

===Action===
[[File:Battle of Narva 1700.JPG|thumb|300px|left|''The Battle of Narva'' by [[Alexander Kotzebue]]]]
By afternoon, the Swedes had finished their preparations and moved forward at 2 p.m. At that moment, it got colder, the wind changed, and the snowstorm blew directly into the eyes of the Russians.<ref name="Tucker">Tucker, S.C., 2010, A Global Chronology of Conflict, Vol. Two, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC, {{ISBN|978-1-85109-667-1}}</ref>{{rp|686}} Some Swedish officers asked to postpone the attack until the end of the storm. Still, Charles saw his opportunity and advanced on the Russian army under cover of the weather.<ref name=Black111/>{{sfn|Massie|1980|p=332}}
The Swedes attacked with two highly dense shock groups, quickly approached the Russian positions, and gave a volley, after which the Russians "fell like grass". At first, the Russians vigorously resisted: "They returned a heavy fire and killed many fine fellows", but within 15 minutes, the Swedes filled the ditches with fascines, broke into the fortifications with cold steel arms, and "a terrible massacre" began.{{sfn|Massie|1980|p=332–333}}

Acting according to the plan, the Swedes moved south and north along the fortification line, rolling up the Russian defense. They attacked inexperienced Russian regiments and shattered them one by one. There was panic and chaos; Russian soldiers began killing foreign officers, and de Croÿ, with his staff, hurried to surrender. Masses of panicking Russians troops rushed to the only Kamperholm Bridge over the [[Narva River]], located at the northern edge of the defensive line. At one crucial point, the bridge collapsed under retreating Russian troops.<ref name=Black111/>

On the right (northern) flank of the Russians, only two regiments of the future Guards ([[Preobrazhensky regiment|Preobrazhensky]] and [[Semyonovsky regiment|Semyonovsky]]) retained the battle order. They rebuilt in a [[Infantry square|square]], arranged improvised barricades of wagons, and stubbornly held on; some running soldiers joined them. Karl led the attacks against this center of resistance, encouraging his troops, but they were repulsed, and a horse under Karl was killed. Most of the Russian commanders, including generals Golovin and Trubetskoy, managed to join this group despite the surrender of de Croÿ. On the left flank, General Weide was seriously wounded at the very beginning of the battle, but his "division" for the most part did not succumb to panic and even made a successful counterattack,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2015/05/unknown-episode-of-narva-battle-on-2030.html |title=Unknown episode of Narva battle on 20/30 November 1700 |access-date=12 March 2018 |archive-date=13 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313031408/http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2015/05/unknown-episode-of-narva-battle-on-2030.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but could not reconnect with the rest of the army.{{sfn|Massie|1980|pp=333–334}}{{sfn|Петров [Petrov]|1901|p=234}}

===Capitulation===
[[File:Narva (Gustaf Cederström) - Nationalmuseum - 18638.tif|thumb|250px|right|Russian force surrendering to Charles]]
After the first clash, the high command of the Russian army lost its morale and decided to capitulate. The Swedes, in turn, were exhausted and could not finish off those parts of the Russians who did not succumb to panic and kept their ground. The right flank of the Russian army capitulated faster on a free exit with weapons and colours, but general Weide on the left flank capitulated later and was already forced to hand over weapons and banners. All the artillery and wagon-trains also fell into the hands of the Swedes.<ref name ="ullgren">Ullgren (2008), p.57</ref><ref name="bespalov43">Беспалов А. В. Северная война (1998), p.43</ref>

The Swedes and the Russians repaired the Kamperholm Bridge through which capitulated troops crossed to the right bank of the [[Narva River]]. The highest Russian commanders remained with the Swedes, initially as hostages, to ensure the fulfillment of the terms of surrender. But later, Charles violated the treaty and kept them as prisoners. The Swedes explained this act by not receiving the army treasury.{{sfn|Петров [Petrov]|1901|p=234–238}} Sheremetev with his cavalry marched to the south along the left bank of Narva river to [[Vasknarva|''Syrensk'']], crossed the river on the bridge there and thus escaped captivity.<ref name=Velikanov4>[http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2017/01/1700-1701.html Великанов В.С. К вопросу о состоянии русской армии после нарвского поражения, зима 1700–1701 гг.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313153724/http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2017/01/1700-1701.html |date=2018-03-13 }} // Война и оружие: Новые исследования и материалы. Труды Седьмой Международной научно-практической конференции, 18–20 мая 2016 года. СПб.: ВИМАИВиВС, 2016. Ч. 2. С. 26–42.</ref>

===Results===
The Battle of Narva was a terrible defeat for the Russian army. The Swedes captured ten generals and ten colonels, and many Russian regimental officers were killed in battle. The Russian regimental rolls from January 1701 show that the total loss of personnel was about 25% (with a 57–68% loss in the two regular infantry regiments of Trubetskoy's "division"). In Golovin's "division" (excluding the two Guard regiments), only 250 of the 356 officers survived. Weide's "division", however, fared somewhat better. The Russians also suffered heavy losses in armaments, as the Swedes captured 4050 muskets and 173 artillery pieces, including 64 siege cannons. Soon thereafter, the Swedes took an additional 22 mortars from a baggage train near [[Yam fortress|''Yam'']]. While the Russians had mostly replenished their small arms by the spring of 1701, the former Golovin and Weide "divisions" still lacked regimental artillery. If Charles had continued the campaign against Russia (as General Vellingk had suggested attacking Novgorod and Pskov<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2013/06/nilsson-bengt-abraham-cronhjort-and.html |title=Nilsson Bengt. Abraham Cronhjort and the defense of Ingria 1700–1703 |access-date=2018-03-13 |archive-date=2018-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314042341/http://rusmilhist.blogspot.ru/2013/06/nilsson-bengt-abraham-cronhjort-and.html |url-status=live }}</ref>), the Russian army very likely would have suffered another defeat.<ref name=Velikanov4/>