War with Sweden.--The battle of Narva.
[Sidenote: 1700.]
A grand scene was now opened on the frontiers of Sweden. One of the
principal causes of all the revolutions which happened from Ingria, as
far as Dresden, and which laid waste so many countries for the space of
eighteen years, was the abuse of the supreme power, by Charles XI. king
of Sweden, father of Charles XII. This is a fact which cannot be too
often repeated, as it concerns every crowned head, and the subjects of
every nation. Almost all Livonia, with the whole of Esthonia, had been
ceded by the Poles to Charles XI. king of Sweden, who succeeded Charles
X. exactly at the time of the treaty of Oliva. It was ceded in the
customary manner, with a reservation of rights and privileges. Charles
XI. shewing little regard to these privileges, John Reinhold Patkul, a
gentleman of Livonia, came to Stockholm in 1692, at the head of six
deputies from the province, and laid their complaints at the foot of the
throne, in respectful, but strong terms.[56] Instead of an answer, the
deputies were ordered to be imprisoned, and Patkul was condemned to lose
his honour and his life. But he lost neither, for he made his escape to
the country of Vaud, in Switzerland, where he remained some time; when
he afterwards was informed, that Augustus, elector of Saxony, had
promised, at his accession to the throne of Poland, to recover the
provinces that had been wrested from that kingdom; he hastened to
Dresden, to represent to that prince, how easily he might make himself
master of Livonia, and revenge upon a king, only seventeen years of age,
the losses that Poland had sustained by his ancestors.
At this very time czar Peter entertained thoughts of seizing upon Ingria
and Carelia. These provinces had formerly belonged to the Russians, but
the Swedes had made themselves masters of them by force of arms, in the
time of the false Demetriuses, and had retained the possession of them
by treaties: another war and new treaties might restore them again to
Russia. Patkul went from Dresden to Moscow, and, by exciting up the two
monarchs to avenge his private causes, he cemented a close union between
them, and directed their preparations for invading all the places
situated to the east and south of Finland.
Just at this period, the new king of Denmark, Frederick IV. entered into
an alliance with the czar and the king of Poland, against Charles, the
young king of Sweden, who seemed in no condition to withstand their
united forces. Patkul had the satisfaction of besieging the Swedes in
Riga, the capital of Livonia, and directing the attack in quality of
major-general.
The czar marched near eighty thousand men into Ingria. It is true, that,
in this numerous army, he had not more than twelve thousand good
soldiers, being those he had disciplined himself; namely, the two
regiments of guards, and some few others, the rest being a badly armed
militia, with some Cossacks, and Circassian Tartars; but he carried
with him a train of a hundred and forty-five pieces of cannon. He laid
siege to Narva, a small town in Ingria, that had a very commodious
harbour, and it was generally thought the place would prove an easy
conquest.
Sept.] It is known to all Europe, how Charles XII. when not quite
eighteen years of age, made head against all his enemies, and attacked
them one after another; he entered Denmark, put an end to the war in
that kingdom in less than six weeks, sent succours to Riga, obliged the
enemy to raise the siege, and marched against the Russians encamped
before Narva, through the midst of ice and snow, in the month of
November.
The czar, who looked upon Narva as already in his possession, was gone
to Novogorod, (Nov. 18,) and had taken with him his favourite,
Menzikoff, then a lieutenant in the company of bombardiers, of the
Preobrazinski regiment, and afterwards raised to the rank of
field-marshal and prince; a man whose singular fortunes entitle him to
be spoken of more at large in another place.
Peter left the command of the army, with his instructions for the siege,
with the prince of Croi; whose family came from Flanders, and who had
lately entered into the czar's service.[57] Prince Dolgorouki acted as
commissary of the army. The jealousy between these two chiefs, and the
absence of the czar, were partly the occasion of the unparalleled defeat
at Narva.
Charles XII. having landed at Pernau, in Livonia, with his troops, in
the month of October advanced northward to Revel, where he defeated an
advanced body of Russians. He continued his march, and meeting with
another body, routed that likewise. The runaways returned to the camp
before Narva, which they filled with consternation. The month of
November was now far advanced; Narva, though unskilfully besieged, was
on the point of surrendering. The young king of Sweden had not at that
time above nine thousand men with him, and could bring only six pieces
of cannon to oppose to a hundred and forty-five, with which the Russian
intrenchments were defended. All the relations of that time, and all
historians without exception, concur in making the Russian army then
before Narva amount to eighty thousand men. The memoirs with which I
have been furnished say sixty thousand; be that as it may, it is
certain, that Charles had not quite nine thousand; and that this battle
was one of those which have proved, that the greatest victories have
been frequently gained by inferior numbers, ever since the famed one of
Arbela.[58]
Nov. 30.] Charles did not hesitate one moment to attack with his small
troop this army, so greatly superior; and, taking advantage of a violent
wind, and a great storm of snow, which blew directly in the faces of the
Russians, he attacked their intrenchments under cover of some pieces of
cannon, which he had posted advantageously for the purpose. The Russians
had not time to form themselves in the midst of that cloud of snow, that
beat full in their faces, and astonished by the discharge of cannon,
that they could not see, and never imagined how small a number they had
to oppose.
The duke de Croi attempted to give his orders, but prince Dolgorouki
would not receive them. The Russian officers rose upon the German
officers; the duke's secretary, with Colonel Lyon, and several others,
were murdered. Every one abandoned his post; and tumult, confusion, and
a panic of terror, spread through the whole army. The Swedish troops had
nothing more to do, but to cut in pieces those who were flying. Some
threw themselves into the river Narva, where great numbers were drowned;
others threw down their arms, and fell upon their knees before the
conquering Swedes.
The duke de Croi, general Alland, and the rest of the general officers,
dreading the Russians more than the Swedes, went in a body and
surrendered themselves prisoners to count Steinbock. The king of Sweden
now made himself master of all the artillery. Thirty thousand of the
vanquished enemy laid down their arms at his feet, and filed off
bare-headed and disarmed before him. Prince Dolgorouki, and all the
Russian generals, came and surrendered themselves, as well as the
Germans, but did not know till after they had surrendered, that they had
been conquered by eight thousand men. Amongst the prisoners, was the son
of a king of Georgia, whom Charles sent to Stockholm: his name was
Mittelesky Czarovits, or czar's son, an additional proof that the title
of czar, or tzar, had not its original from the Roman Cæsars.
Charles XII. did not lose more than one thousand two hundred men in this
battle. The czar's journal, which has been sent me from Petersburg,
says, that including those who died at the siege of Narva, and in the
battle, and those who were drowned in their flight, the Russians lost no
more than six thousand men. Want of discipline, and a panic that seized
the army, did all the work of that fatal day. The number of those made
prisoners of war, was four times greater than that of the conquerors;
and if we may believe Norberg,[59] count Piper, who was afterwards taken
prisoner by the Russians, reproached them, that the number of their
people made prisoners in the battle, exceeded by eight times the number
of the whole Swedish army. If this is truth, the Swedes must have made
upwards of seventy-two thousand prisoners. This shews how seldom writers
are well informed of particular circumstances. One thing, however,
equally incontestable and extraordinary, is, that the king of Sweden
permitted one half of the Russian soldiers to retire back, after having
disarmed them, and the other half to repass the river, with their arms;
by this unaccountable presumption, restoring to the czar troops that,
being afterwards well disciplined, became invincible.[60]
Charles had all the advantages that could result from a complete
victory. Immense magazines, transports loaded with provisions, posts
evacuated or taken, and the whole country at the mercy of the Swedish
army, were consequences of the fortune of this day. Narva was now
relieved, the shattered remains of the Russian army did not shew
themselves; the whole country as far as Pleskow lay open; the czar
seemed bereft of all resource for carrying on the war; and the king of
Sweden, victor in less than twelve months over the monarchs of Denmark,
Poland, and Russia, was looked upon as the first prince in Europe, at
an age when other princes hardly presume to aspire at reputation. But
the unshaken constancy that made a part of Peter's character, prevented
him from being discouraged in any of his projects.
A Russian bishop composed a prayer to St. Nicholas,[61] on account of
this defeat, which was publicly read in all the churches throughout
Russia. This composition shews the spirit of the times, and the
inexpressible ignorance from which Peter delivered his country. Amongst
other things, it says, that the furious and terrible Swedes were
sorcerers; and complains that St. Nicholas had entirely abandoned his
Russians. The prelates of that country would blush to write such stuff
at present; and, without any offence to the holy St. Nicholas, the
people soon perceived that Peter was the most proper person to be
applied to, to retrieve their losses.