Battle of Narva, 1700 ⚔️ How did Sweden break the Russian army? ⚔️ Great Nothern War 

🚩 Follow my link to play World War Armies and receive the Pershing tank and a DESERT skin with tokens immedieately after finishing the tutorial: wwc.onelink.me/uDzy/historymarche 🚩Typo in the title, it should say 1700, not 1701. Apololgies!

A 18 year old boy proving to be an unparalleled military genius, knocking Denmark out of the war within days and then force marching his army under freezing conditions to defeat an entrenched enemy army that was four times the size of his own. And then people say history is boring….

Dude won a military engagement outnumbered 4 to 1 with an entrenched enemy??? Well, that was an epic win.

My favourite historical battle! When the Russian defenders first could see the Swedish army in the snowstorm, they stood 30 metres apart, at which point the Russians fired their muskets, which hit very poorly because of the visibility. The Swedes were trained to not fire until they could see the white part of the enemies eyes. They advanced another 20 metres further, then fired their muskets only 10 metres away, which had a devastating effect. Thereafter they charged with swords and bayonets. A Russian historian describes the attack by the Swedish Carolinian soldiers as follows: "When they launched an attack, the Carolinians "exploded" in fury. With mental strength and with the furious pressure of swords, bayonets and pikes, they shook the opponent, who retreated without engaging in close combat...".

This is one of the most insane victories in history. The Swedes were masters of war in those days.

The Great Northern War is a fascinating, overlooked part of history. While we often associate Scandinavian martial prowess with the Vikings, not many people know that Sweden was temporarily one of Europe’s great powers from the 17th to early 18th centuries. Good stuff.

As a swede, always interesting when our history is covered. Great video about one of our most famous battles. I am impressed by your pronunciation of Swedish names. 👍🇸🇪

Thanks for this! This was an incredible battle that showed the world what Carolus Rex was made of!

This battle saw the introduction of a march song to the Swedish forces (of which Finns were a part of) which is nowadays known as the Narva March. The tone of it is incredibly macabre, somber, like the soldiers listening to it were marching to their deaths. It is used here in Finland as a funerary march for mostly military personnel, but certain civilians might also get this march to play out during the carrying of their coffin back outside the church. Last time I heard this march was in 2017, as the funerary procession of former President Mauno Koivisto left Helsinki Cathedral and headed for the Hietaniemi National Cemetery.

I would really like a video about the battle of Lund in 1676. It is the bloodiest battle in Scandinavian history. The casualty rate was insane. Great video btw :)

"Marching across the belt, crushing blow at Narva dealt, Livgardet, our Royal Guards!" -Sabaton

A daring winter assault, even 200 years later with all the inventions of the 20th and 21th century no one could ever imagined to have a winter assault on a heavy defended position.

No ever thinks of the Swedes as being an aggressive power - Charles XII would shatter that belief. Nicely done here.

Charles XII is one of my favorite historical figures

Just the first 8 seconds already got me smiling. So much love and work must go into these videos! You are very much appreciated

Famous French philosopher Voltaire wrote a book on Charles XII, whom he considered to be a great example of a character who embodies every virtue to such an extent that it actually tips over and becomes almost as dangerous as their opposed sins. In his book he describes the Battle of Narva in detail. It honestly reads as some absurdist comedy. In case anyone is curious, here it is: So at a time when frost and snow force nations in temperate climates to suspend hostilities Peter was besieging Narva, thirty degrees from the Pole, and Charles was advancing to its relief. The Czar had no sooner arrived before the place than he hastened to put into practice all that he had lately learned on his travels: he drew out his camp, fortified it on all sides, built walls at intervals, and opened the trench with his own hands. He had given the command of the army to the Duke of Croy, a German, and a clever general, who got little support from the Russian officers. The Russians are strong- and indefatigable, and perhaps as brave as the Swedes, but it requires time to make veterans, and discipline to make them invincible. The only fairly reliable regiments were commanded by German officers, but there were very few of them ; the rest were savages torn from their forests, clothed in the skins of wild beasts, some armed with arrows and others with clubs. Few had muskets, none had seen a regular siege, there was not one good gunner in the whole army. A hundred and fifty cannon, which ought to have reduced the little town of Narva to ashes, hardly made breach, while every moment the artillery of the town were destroying whole lines at work in the trenches. Narva was practically unfortified, and Count Horn, who was in command, had not a thousand regular troops, and yet this immense army was not able to reduce it in ten weeks. On the 15th of November the Czar heard that the King of Sweden had crossed the sea with 200 transports and was on his way to the relief of Narva. There were not more than 20,000 Swedes, but superiority of numbers was the Czars only advantage. He was far, therefore, from underestimating his enemy, and used all his skill to crush him; and not content with 100,000 men he levied another army to oppose him and harass him in his advance. He had already sent for 30,000 men who were advancing from Plescow by forced marches. He then took a step which would render him contemptible if so great a legislator could be so. He left his camp, where his presence was necessary, to go to meet these reinforcements, which could quite well reach the camp without his aid; this step made it appear that he was afraid of fighting, in an entrenched camp, a young and inexperienced prince, who might attack him. However that may be, his plan was to hem in the King between two armies. Nor was this all: a detachment of 30,000 men from the camp before Narva was posted at a leagues distance from the town, on the King of Sweden's route, 20,000 Strelitz were further off on the same route, and 5,000 others formed an advanced guard. Charles would have to force his way through all these troops before he could reach the camp, which was fortified by a rampart and a double ditch. The King of Sweden had landed at Pernaw, on the Gulf of Riga, with about 15,000 foot and more than 4,000 horse. From Pernaw he made a forced march to Revel, followed by all his horse and only 4,000 of his foot. He continually advanced without waiting- for the rest of his troops. Soon he found himself, with only 8,000 men, in presence of the enemy's outposts. He did not hesitate to attack them one after the other, without giving- them time to find out with how small a number they had to contend. The Russians, when they saw the Swedes advancing against them, took it for granted that they had a whole army to encounter, and the advanced guard of 5,000 men, who were holding a pass between the hills where 100 men of courage might have barred the passage of a whole army, fled at the first approach of the Swedes. The 20,000 men behind them, terrified at the flight of their countrymen, were overcome by fear and caused panic in the camp to which they fled. All the posts were carried in three days and a half, and what would have been on other occasions reckoned three distinct victories did not delay the King an hour. At last he appeared with his 8,000 men, weaned with the fatigues of so long a march, before a camp of 80,000 Russians, protected by 150 cannon. He hardly allowed them time for rest before he gave orders for an instant attack. The signal was two musket-shots, and phrase in German: "God is with us". A General Officer pointed out to him the greatness of the danger. "Surely you have no doubt," he replied, "but that I with my 8,000 brave Swedes shall trample down 80,000 Russians?!" Then a moment after, fearing that his speech was boastful, he ran after the officer. "Do you not agree with me," he said, "that I have a double advantage over the enemy? First because their horse will be useless to them, and secondly because, as the position is cramped, their numbers will only incommode them, that I shall really possess the advantage." The officer thought it best not to differ from him, and so they attacked the Russians about noon, on the 30th November. As soon as the cannon of the Swedes had made a breach in the entrenchments they advanced with fixed bayonets, having the snow, which drove full in the face of the enemy, behind them. The Russians stood the fire for half-an-hour without quitting their posts. The King attacked the Czars quarters, on the other side of the camp, and hoped to meet him in person, for he was ignorant of the fact that he had gone to meet his 40,000 reinforcements who were expected shortly. At the first discharge the King was shot in the shoulder; but it was a spent ball which, from long range, was stopped by his thick cravat. His horse was killed under him, and it is said that the King leapt nimbly on another, exclaiming, "These fellows make me take exercise!" Then he continued to advance and give orders with the same presence of mind as before. Within three hours the entrenchments were carried on all sides: the King chased the enemy's right as far as the river Narva with his left, if one may speak of "chasing" when 4,000 men are in pursuit of nearly 50,000. The bridge broke under them as they fled; in a moment the river was full of dead bodies; the rest in despair returned to their camp without knowing the direction in which they were going. They found some huts behind which they stationed themselves; there they defended themselves for a time because they had no mean of escape; but finally their generals, Dolgorouky, Gollofkin and Federowitz surrendered to the King and laid down their arms at his feet. Just then the Duke of Croy arrived to surrender with thirty officers. Charles received all these prisoners with as charming and engaging a manner as if he were fating them in his own Court. He only put the general officers under a guard; all the under officers and soldiers were disarmed and taken to the river Narva, where they were provided with boats to convey them to their own country. In the meantime night came on, and the right wing of the Russian force was still fighting. The Swedes had not lost 1,500 men. 18,000 Russians had been killed in their entrenchments, many had been drowned, many had crossed the river; but still there remained enough to entirely exterminate the Swedes. But it is not the number lost, but the panic of survivors which spells defeat in war. The King made haste to seize the enemy's artillery before nightfall. He took up an advantageous position between their camp and the town, and there got some hours sleep on the ground, wrapped in his cloak, waiting till at daybreak he could fall on the enemy's left wing, which was not yet completely routed. At two o'clock in the morning General Wade, who was in command of that wing, having heard of the King’s gracious reception of the other generals and his sending home of the subalterns and soldiers, asked the same favour of him. The conqueror sent him word that he need only approach at the head of his troops and surrender his arms and standards. Soon the general appeared with his Russians, to the number of about 30,000. Soldiers and officers marched bare-headed in front of less than 7,000 Swedes. As the soldiers passed before him they threw down their muskets and swords; the officers surrendered their ensigns and colours. He let the whole band cross the river without keeping one single prisoner. Had he put them under guard the number of prisoners would have been at least five times that of the conquerors.

Thank you for constantly even though taking some time making some amazing quality and such masterpieces of videos. The hard work and dedication are showed so clearly in each video. Thanks for your work. And like Sam your videos inspire me to make my own battles at home which is true story. Thanks so much for you uploading still❤️

Thanks for a wonderful episode! The "Great Northern War" is a tremendously compelling subject for study. ⚔🔥🙌

Charles showing off what a brilliant battlefield commander he was. Peter would learn from this defeat however.

I first read about this battle in "Peter the Great: His Life and World" by the late historian Robert K. Massie. I highly recommend this book as it pays special attention to tell Charles XII's side of the story as well as the Swedish army. This video felt very similar to Massie's brilliant depiction of Narva, good work!

Genuinely love these videos, every single one of them, hostory is such a great passtime, amd listening to it while i carry on about my day is the greatest thing ever thank you!!!

Wow, this was epic. And those were Real Men back then. Tough as nails!

Great content, yet more history to discover! Thank you

In Sweden we mostly remember Karl XII with pride and the highest regards, he was a genius tactician and very brave 👍 Narva is one of those nearly impossible battles that he somehow managed to win against all the odds.

It’s hard to wrap one’s head around, the chaos and blood thirsty hand to hand combat mixed with gun powder muskets and cannon fire. Just trying to see it in one’s head, is impossible. Life was always balanced on a razors edge in battles back then. Just jaw dropping.😳

Incredible documentary as always!

Best one yet! Thank you @HistoryMarche !!

This was a great look into one of the more interesting battles around this time. Great job.

Great video as always, Narva was the most revered victory in sweden during the war hands down. Are you planning to do a series of battles on the Great Northern War?

This is what i sub for. A part of history unknown to me at all. Absolutely brilliant tactical use of the weather by the Swedes

Incredible video as always! Can't wati to see more of this conflict!

Well done, very well done indeed. I have often wondered about this battle. Thank you for sharing.

Great breakdown once again! What a battle!

I'm glad you're finally venturing more into early modern battles.

Really cool format to learn about history, keep up the good work :)

I love the narration! I have no clue how to pronounce many of the names/locations in this video but it sounds very convincing 👍

Absolutely brilliant. Another excellent video even though you wiped Scotland out of existence on the map. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Keep it up.

Closing in with the enemy before firing was called "Gå På Marsch/Go On March". The Caroleans were very well drilled and had high morale to compensate for lack of numbers, and thus were very aggressive. The Swedish military still use the term Gå På Marsch, usually issued by the platoon/squad commander when it is impossible (or just impractical) to issue relevant orders. A well defined goal is set (like clearing a trench or bunker), and the men are free to accomplish the objective as they see fit using any available means. It has always been armed forces culture to prepare for a war with russia where they will have numerical superiority, so Swedish armed forces just have to rely on quality of material and weapons, and well prepared, educated, and motivated troops.

Great episode, @HistoryMarche

Really nice video HistoryMarche and I like the soundtracks you have been putting!! There is a statue in Stockholm of Carl Charles (Karl den 12:e) of him pointing towards east, and that means be aware of the russian. Magnus Stenbock who was with Carl Charles 12, is a hero in Helsingborg, there is also a statue of him in the square of him and his horse, After the defeat battle of Poltava, the danish King wanted to invade Sweden to retake Skåne (which was part of Denmark before), but Magnus Stenbock and his men rallied and defeated them in the battle of Helsingborg.

One thing that is easy to miss here is that Estonia in November is a very very dark place until a proper layer of snow falls on ground. The day is extremely short and the ground is black-ish from all the dying plants and mud. Add a blizzard and visibility would become near zero

The Swedish King, covered in mud and lacking a boot, now that's badass!

thank you for a great watch, please make a series of the great northern war following up on this video.

wow! nothing more to say, your work is amazing!:-)

Charles was a Gigachad.

Finally, the great northern war. Thank you sir

Brilliant as usual. Cheers!

Excellent documentary as usual.

Peter the Great and Golovin: Hey LaCroy, we're just gonna go to the store for cigarettes. Have fun!

finally some swedish history 😍

Brilliant video mate.

Incredible retelling of an incredibly battle!

This is one of my favorite battles never underestimate a small army. Love this battle! Charles the 12 one of my favorite monarchs. That 10 to 12 year stretch was something to behold.

Great vid, thanks!

These videos are a great way to enjoy history lessons of other countries

If anyone's interested, Schwerpunkt made a thorough tactical analysis of the battle, plus further Swedish warfare content

deffinetly need a movie about charles instead of napoleon

Excellent, thank you.

🚩 Follow my link to play World War Armies and receive the Pershing tank and a DESERT skin with tokens immedieately after finishing the tutorial: wwc.onelink.me/uDzy/historymarche

Bro I am one of your biggest fans and supporters and I love your videos, now I realized that you have made a video some time ago "Saladin vs Lionheart" a.k.a the siege of acre, and it was part one and you never released part two, so I figured to write this comment, maybe you will see it and finally release the next video. Thank you 😊

Awesome video, got to love history.

Amazing video! as always HM

My Favorite Channel along with Baz Battles, Epic History, Hoc Est Bellum...

Would make an amazing film.

Super wonderful introducing of that magnificence episode about Narva battle in 1700 AD between Russian 🇷🇺 army and Swedish 🇸🇪 army that battle resulted obvious victory of Swedish army in specific harsh weather conditions...thank you (History Marche) channel for sharing this ultra wonderful historical coverage video

Great video!!

Love your videos feel like you should create your own site if not already and collab with the other amazing historians on RU-vid

Great Video. I have been to some of the historical sites in Denmark; they do not remember these wars and the Swedish empire fondly.

2 Questions: 1. Why did Peter decide to leave for Novgorod just when his cavalry contacted the Swedish screen? 2. Why did he turn over command to Du Croy? He turned army command to a foreigner, when he could had turned it over to a Russian commander, like Golovin.

Excellent video!

You can still see some of the captured standards in the Swedish Army Museum in Stockholm. Really fascinating.

Great Videos, Which program do you use for making battle maps?

Great as usual!

Another fab video!!!

WOW!!!! Hearing about this battle, simply STUNNING and amazing what the SWEDES did and good job to them!!

As a Swede: In my years in the school system, I have never learned so much about 1: King Charles the Twelfth or 2: 18th century war strategy on the battlefields. Thanks for this video.

Nice video !

Thank you for the nice movie! It's very interesting story.

a full frontal assault on a fortified position in winter equals a glorious victory, just proves nothing is certain in war

Charles XII was so freaking badass. He really should have fathered an heir before, but he loved being tested in the crucible of battle. Looking at his picture he looks like somebody who would work in the IT industry. Goes to show you never truly know who has the warrior spirit until the are given the opportunity to prove themselves in Battle. You could be the Ultimate Chad, but run away at the first hint of conflict. Than have the nerd, walk up and dominate the field.

Thanks for the info , it was fun vid

Great video, i liked it alot.

Love this video. I hope that you do a video about Charles grandfather Karl X Gustav. He was a beast who fought first in the 30 years war in Germany and later against the Commonwealth, Denmark-Norway and many others before his death in 1660.

In the Swedish army museum in Stockholm they still have some of the standards and banners captured in this battle, I recommend anyone who is interested in this war and the history of the Swedish Empire to visit the museum

great video!

Love history and these are a great listen

Thanks so much for the video But why no new episodes about hanibal and second panic war? It had been 4 months since the last part was released 😕

Thank you for putting meat on historical bones, well made as always.

To be exact, the king Carolus brought his army (or a fraction of it then - it took in the end half a year for the main army to gather to Estonian areas) to Pärnu with the mindset of using it in Riga, but learned about the abandoned siege right after arriving to Pärnu and made a prompt decision to relieve Narva with it. Otherwise he would have probably sailed straight to Tallinn. The Swedish army's rally point was Rakvere, an old fortress town, the units took different routes and were to meet there. The king himself actually went there through Tallinn and separated from the main army, in the sense to welcome the army units that came from Finland and landed in Tallinn. While settling for a while in Toompea castle in Tallinn, Carolus recieved a peace offer from Poland-Lituania, which he coldly rejected. He actually spent 10 days in Tallinn, after which he also went to the Rakvere garrison, I think it's worth noting - the video makes it seems like a rush operation, which it wasn't - probably Carolus was quite confident in Narva's fortifications. But that doesn't take away from the brilliance of the battle execution. The battle, and the Swedish army and king's winter quartering in Eastern Estonia in 1700/1701 has left a definite mark in Estonian folklore.

De Croy was like "Fuck this shit! I'm out!" I can't exactly blame him. He was a foreigner and his army has just unlocked the ability 'mutinous mob'. It can now only be controlled by Russian officers and even that is tenous at best...

This was so good!

Excellent quality

I WAS CHOSEN BY HEAVEN! SAY MY NAME WHEN YOU PRAY TO THE SKIES SEE CAROLUS RISE!

I always wanted to see a video about this battle, to understand how the Russian army could have ended so badly after it and it shows the professionalism of the Swedish army of those times. On the other hand, it would be great if you did some of the little-commented battles of the War of the Spanish Succession such as Almansa and Denain (since other RU-vid channels generally only give visibility to the English and Austrian victories of the conflict).

Amazing video!

Those soldiers at 3:57 are not carolean soldiers. The hats were very different and the common soldiers did not wear wigs, particularly not these wigs that seem to be from the later half of the 18th century. And what stood out on the battlefield was not so much the Swedish weaponry but more their very aggressive tactics.

This battle shows perfectly difference between well- and poorly- organized armies. Russian Empire and allies had serious advantages but due to inexperience and poor management failed to utilize them. I'm baffled how greatly Pyotr misjudged his allies - they folded like a piece of paper. By the way, I think there is a slight mistake in translation. In the video cry "немцы нас предали" was translated as "germans has betrayed us". The thing is, while nowadays the word "немец" means "a german", it had different meaning in 1700. Originally the word meant "one who can't talk". During reign of Pyotr the Great people used the word to describe any foreigner, since they usually couldn't speak Russian well. After some time meaning of the word narrowed to include only Germans. Probably because there was a lot of them in the Empire during the period. The correct translation of the cry is "Foreigners have betrayed us"

Great video

Very interesting. Thank you,

Russians: "We outnumber them 4:1 and we're entrenched, the Swedes attacking us would surely lead to an easy victory!" Blizzard: