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Charles XII invasion of Russia was a Swedish invasion of Russia, 1707 - 1709, in the Great Northern War and began as the Russian army was broken after the battle of Narva between swedes and russians, The swedes prepared a march into Russia with good chances to conquer them. Peter I of Russia was concerned, and military tactics discussed how they would defend themselves. They concluded they wouldn't have any chance, other than destroying and ruin the land of the Swedish marching routs, making it hard for the swedes to collect food and provisions and putting up shelters, as the same time as sending small squads making raids on the them, never letting them to rest and tiring them out. They lay waste before the Swedish troops, even burnt villages and emptied others on food and supplies. The weapons the swedes were carrying with smooth gun barrels were not very effective at long range. The cossacks on the other hand, which the Russians were cooperating with, had weapons with grooved gun barrels, making them very accurat. The cossacks made raids on the swedes with fast cavalry, one close up after the other, keeping a long distance making it hard for the swedes to hit. They suffered only a few casualties every time while the Swedish numbers were major. The swedes had taken of with a big army, successfully starting their march by occupying the eastern part of Poland. But throughout the march, the Swedish army got more and more weakened as it got closer to its goal, but the king was stubborn to continue. A very weakened, hungry and tired army with broken a confidence reached the little Ukrainian city of Poltava, were a great battle was fought between the swedes and Russians, the battle of Poltava. The hungry and tired Swedish army of 20,000 men had to stand against the fresh and prepared Russian army of 45,000 men. The victory for Russia meant the start of Russian empire. The Russian army crushed the Swedish army, and Charles fled with his 1500 Swedish soldiers and cossacks, to the Ottoman empire. He requested Sultan Ahmed III assistance, but got declined. Charles stayed here for several years, trying to get assistance from the sultan and managed the ottomans and the russians to claim war on each other.
Swedish Empire
Russian Empire
