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The Battle of Poltava ((スウェーデン語:Slaget vid Poltava); (ロシア語:Полта́вская би́тва); (ウクライナ語:Полта́вська би́тва)) on 27 June 1709 (8 July, N.S.) was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia, also known as Peter the Great, over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld, in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power, as the Tsardom of Russia took its place as the leading nation of north-eastern Europe. The battle also bears major importance in Ukrainian national history, as ''Hetman'' Ivan Mazepa sided with the Swedes, seeking to create an uprising in Ukraine against the tsardom. == Prelude == Charles XII had led Swedish forces to early victories in North Zealand (summer 1700) and in the Battle of Narva in November 1700. However, it would take six years before he defeated Augustus II of Saxony-Poland.〔 Peter I withdrew from Poland in the spring of 1706,〔 and offered to surrender all of his Baltic possessions to Sweden except St. Petersburg, but Charles refused.〔 Peter subsequently adopted a scorched-earth policy in order to deprive the Swedish forces of supplies.〔 Charles ordered a final attack on the Russian heartland with a possible assault on Moscow from his campaign base in Poland. The Swedish army of almost 44,000 men〔Tucker, S.C., 2010, A Global Chronology of Conflict, Vol. Two, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC, ISBN 9781851096671〕 left Saxony on 22 August 1707 and marched slowly eastwards. Charles took the field in November after waiting for reinforcements to arrive.〔 Continuing east, Charles crossed the Vistula River on 25 December 1707, then continued through a hostile Masuria and took Grodno on 26 January 1708 after the Russian troops had abandoned the city.〔 At the time, the Russians had been occupied with a large rebellion of Don Cossacks, known as the "Bulavin Rebellion" (1707–1708). This revolt was contained in part by the forces of the Cossack Hetmanate led by ''Hetman'' Ivan Mazepa.〔 The Swedes continued to the area around Smorgon and Minsk, where the army went into winter quarters. Charles left 8,000 dragoons under Major-General Ernst Detlof von Krassow in western Poland.〔Christer Kuvaja: ''Karolinska krigare 1660–1721'', p.179. Schildts Förlags AB 2008. ISBN 978-951-50-1823-6.〕 Poor weather and road conditions kept the Swedish troops in winter quarters until June 1708. In July the Swedes defeated Marshal Boris Sheremetyev's forces at the Battle of Holowczyn and advanced to the Dnieper River.〔 During the spring, General Lewenhaupt in Courland had been ordered to gather supplies and to march his army of about 12,000 men to join Charles' forces. However, his departure from Mitau was delayed until late June and consequently only joined Charles' forces on 11 October.〔Christer Kuvaja: ''Karolinska krigare 1660–1721'', p.180–185. Schildts Förlags AB 2008. ISBN 978-951-50-1823-6.〕 Rather than winter in Livonia or wait for Lewenhaupt, Charles decided to move southward into the Ukraine and to join Mazepa, who had decided to rebel against Peter.〔 Peter sent Sheremetev to shadow the Swedish army.〔Frost, R.I., 2000, The Northern Wars, 1558–1721, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, ISBN 9780582064294〕 Lewenhaupt followed south and was attacked while crossing a river near a small village that gave name to the Battle of Lesnaya, losing the supply train and half of his force.〔 In need of resupply, Charles moved towards Baturyn, Mazepa's headquarters, but Russian troops under Aleksandr Menshikov reached the city first. Anticipating the Swedish arrival, Menshikov ordered the merciless massacre of the population, razing the city and destroying or looting arms, ammunition and food.〔 By the spring of 1709 Charles' force had shrunk to half of its original size. After the coldest winter in Europe in a century, Charles was left with 20,000 soldiers and 34 cannon.〔 Short of supplies, Charles laid siege to the Russian fortress at Poltava on the Vorskla River on 2 May 1709.〔 Peter's force of 80,000 marched to relieve the siege.〔 Upon his arrival, Peter built a fortified camp on the Vorskla, 4 km north of Poltava.〔 While observing the Russian position on 20 June, Charles was struck by a stray bullet, injuring his foot badly enough that he could not stand.〔 In addition, Charles' last hope of reinforcement expired, as the Swedish forces under von Krassow had turned aside to deal with the anti-Swedish Sandomierz Confederation in Poland.〔 Between the Russian and Swedish forces the Yakovetski and Budyschenski woods formed a corridor, which the Russians defended by building six forts across the gap.〔Englund, P., 1992, The Battle that Shook Europe, London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., ISBN 9781780764764〕 Peter, in addition, ordered four more redoubts built so the entire system of ten forts would have a ''T'' shape, providing flanking fire to a Swedish advance.〔 Two of the redoubts were still being constructed on the morning of the battle, but 4,000 Russians manned the remaining eight, with 10,000 cavalry under General Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov stationed behind them.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Poltava」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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