Battle of Narva

In November 1700 Peter I of Russia was besieging the Swedish-held town of Narva with a large and poorly trained army. Charles XII, then eighteen, landed on the coast and marched to relieve it. Charles attacked at once in a blinding snowstorm that blew into the faces of the Russians. His smaller force broke through the extended Russian lines, and the army fell into confusion, with many men drowned when a bridge over the river collapsed. The victory encouraged Charles to turn against Poland and Saxony rather than finish Russia, giving Peter time to rebuild his army.

Narva is usually told as the lesson that Peter took to heart, and the first stage in his reform of the Russian army. The figures for Russian strength are inflated in many Swedish accounts and are lower in modern estimates, and Russian casualties include men who deserted or drowned. The snowstorm is often treated as decisive luck, but historians also point to the poor layout of the Russian camp, spread thinly around a long line of earthworks. The battle is a clear case of how a stunning victory can hide a strategic mistake, since Charles then spent years away from Russia.