Re: The Great Northern War (1701 - 1703)

[TLS]

Lowlands Campaign

Summer, 1702

After the battles of the previous season, both the English and Austrian armies engage in maneuvers to convince the other that they are standing pat while, in reality, they are withdrawing to the German theater. English cavalry ride up to the gates of Brussels, making a show of force and bravado while their countrymen make for Ostend and ships sailing them up the coast to the north. Meanwhile, the fortress of Brussels exudes power and strength by manning the walls with all manner of boys and elderly men, from a distance appearing clad in uniforms and armed with rifles while, up close, wearing nothing but patterned fabric and holding sticks and iron rods. Both armies are more interested in shielding their movements than uncovering those of their enemies, and before too long the charades stop--and the low countries are bereft of standing field armies.

Forces in theater at end of Summer, 1702

Austria
Brussels
-1 Fortress
-1 Garrison Brigade

[TLS]

German Campaign

Summer, 1702

The Danish siege of Berlin sends the assorted armies of the Coalition into a flurry. The Saxons, fresh off their victory in the battle of Stettin, decide to burn the Pommeranian port and wreck its facilities (2 points, 1 turn to repair by whoever holds it) and make for the besieged Brandenburger capital. The Brandenburgers, who have raised a brigade of their own, are aware of the limited nature of their military force, and wait for a larger Coalition host to join--which is, as it so happens, en route, but too far away to arrive before the tail end of the season.

When the Saxons arrive at the outskirts of Berlin, however, they notice that the Danish host--rather than settling in for a continued siege--is on the move back to the northwest. The Saxons recognize that their army, even when combined with that of the Austrians inside the walls, is too small to effectively challenged the Danes, and observe as the army marches away. The Saxons then move to reinforce the garrison yet again.

The Austrians, under Leopold, march the majority of their army back across northern Germany, knowing that they are just close enough to make it to Berlin by the start of fall. Along the way they are joined by the Brandenburger infantry Brigade at Magdeburg, and arrive at Berlin by mid-September. The Emperor had been made aware of the Danish retreat a few weeks prior (messengers on horseback move faster than an entire army) and thus slowed the pace of his march to keep his army in better fighting condition. As summer ends, the Coalition has re-assembled its host in the capital of Brandenburg with an eye to the threat to the north.

Meanwhile, the English army which had slipped out to sea from Ostend makes a landing in Altona and march to meet up with the Danish army based in the Holsteiner city of Segeberg. The Swedish army at Malmo, or what remains of it, also spends the summer transiting through Denmark and into Holstein, so that all three allies have assembled forces in the Danish duchy.

Forces in theater at end of Summer, 1702

Allies of Sweden

England
Army of Germany (Holstein)
-3 Infantry Brigades
-1 infantry battalion
-1 cavalry brigade
-1 cavalry regiment

Denmark
Danish Army (Holstein)
-5 infantry Brigades
-1 Danish Cavalry brigade
-1 German Cavalry brigade

Sweden
Scanian Army (Holstein)
-2 Infantry Brigades

Total Allied Forces
-10 Infantry Brigades
-3 Cavalry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Regiment
-1 Infantry Battalion

Coalition Forces

Austria
Hapsburg Army of the Lowlands (Berlin)
-4 Infantry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Brigade
-1 Engineer Brigade
-1 Swiss Infantry Brigade
-2 Militia Brigades
-2 German Cavalry Regiment

Saxony
Army of Saxony (Berlin)
-2 Infantry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Brigade

Brandenburg
Army of Brandenburg (Berlin)
-1 Infantry Brigade

Total Coalition Forces
-8 Infantry Brigades
-2 Cavalry Brigades
-2 Militia Brigades
-1 Engineer Brigade
-2 Cavalry Regiments

[TLS]

Ingrian Campaign

Summer, 1702

Alexander Menshikov and the Sevarnaya Armiya continue their siege of Narva throughout the summer, during which time the assembled militia brigades are wracked by disease and desertion and effectively dissipate back to Russia (2 brigades shattered by disease, the other two hampered by desertion due to operating outside of home territory). Meanwhile, the Swedish Army of Ingria moves south in an attempt to force the Russians to lift the siege. Another Russian army has been sent up from Novgorod to intercept any such attempt, however, and in early August the two armies meet along the Gulf of Finland outside the small town of Nyen (RL St Petersburg).

Battle of Nyen, August 2

Sweden
-2 Infantry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Brigade

Russia
-2 infantry brigades
-2 cavalry regiments
-1 militia brigade

The fight is brief and inconclusive, but the Russians end up holding the field. The Swedes are able to disperse the Russian militia (1 brigade shattered) at the cost of their own infantry being dispersed (2 brigades shattered), and so the Swedish commander sounds the retreat as the cavalry provides cover (the cavalry brigade is able to overpower/keep away the 2 Russian cavalry regiments and effectively screen the retreat).

Casualties of the Battle of Nyen

Sweden (Total: 2,500 casualties)
-2 Infantry brigades shattered, reformed into 1 (Total: 2,500 casualties)

Russia (Total: 1,250 casualties)
-1 Militia brigade shattered, disbanded (Total: 1,250 casualties)

The relief force thus repelled, the Russian siege of Narva continues. By mid-September, the Swedish garrison is horrendously out of supply and has no hope of rescue (Narva being too far inland for the Swedish naval superiority to make a difference in a potential evacuation) and thus the Swedish commander surrenders the fortress. Swedish territory along the eastern shore of the Baltic has thus been cleft in two.

Forces in theater, end of Season

Russia

Sevarnaya Army (Narva)
-6 infantry brigades
-1 infantry battalion
-1 cavalry brigade
-2 cavalry regiments (Cossack)

Militia Reserves (Pskov)
-3 Militia Brigades (available in Spring)

Army of Ingria (Nyen)
-2 Infantry Brigades
-2 Cavalry regiments

Sweden

Army of Ingria (Vyborg)
-1 Fortress
-1 Infantry Brigade
-1 Cavalry Brigade

[TLS]

Baltic Campaign at Sea

Summer, 1702

With a series of reversals on land, the Swedes desperately intercede with their allies to help secure control of the Baltic Sea once and for all to ensure the ability to reinforce their armies on the mainland in the coming year--not to mention rescue their King who is trapped at Riga. The Allies, aware of their overwhelming naval superiority, make for the Polish fleet sat offshore at the Livonian port city in an attempt to blockade the city into submission. The Polish commander is unable to extricate his fleet from combat (as Riga is in a gulf) and is forced to direct his ships to engage with the Allied naval forces. The Swedish naval forces are to the north, defending the lines of communication and supply to Finland, leaving the combined Anglo-Danish fleet to engage the Poles.

Battle of the Gulf of Riga, July 19

Allies of Sweden
Denmark
Danish Fleet (based in Copenhagen)
-3 BatRon
-1 CruRon
-4 PatRon

England
Baltic Fleet (based in Malmo)
-4 BatRon
-1 CruRon
-1 PatRon

Coalition
Poland
Polish Fleet (Konigsberg)
-2 BatRon
-4 CruRon
-3 PatRon

The Polish fleet is able to meet the Allies in open combat forcefully, disabling a large chunk of the Allied screens in the opening salvos of the battle (blowing away the entirety of the Danish PatRon screen and disabling an English CruRon), but the heavy advantage that the Allies have in Ships of the Line is not dented, though their opening salvos are ineffective (only disabling 3 Polish PatRons). As the battle stretches on throughout the day, however, the Allied BatRons are able to increasingly leverage their firepower. The Polish CruRons prove effective and adept and returning fire, but are still unable to entirely match the combined fleet. The Poles are able to inflict sizeable casualties in the allied fleet (disabling two of the attacking BatRons, one of which is sent to the bottom of the Baltic) but are eventually overmatched. The majority of the Polish fleet is sent to the bottom of the gulf, with only a few ships surviving the brunt of the fire well enough to be capturable in a decent state.

Casualties of the Battle of the Gulf of Riga

Allies of Sweden

Denmark (1 sunk, 4 sent back for repairs)
-1 BatRon disabled, sent back for repairs (4 points, 2 turns)
-1 PatRon sunk
-3 PatRon sent back for repairs (1 point, 1 turn)

England (1 sunk, 2 sent back for repairs)
-1 BatRon sunk
-1 CruRon disabled, sent back for repairs (2 points, 2 turns)
-1 PatRon disabled, sent back for repairs (1 point, 1 turn)

Coalition

Poland (7 sunk, 2 captured)
-2 BatRon (2 sunk)
-4 CruRon (3 sunk, 1 captured by Denmark 2 points, 2 turns to repair)
-3 PatRon (2 sunk, 1 captured by England, 1 point, 1 turn to repair)

Forces in Theater at End of Season

Allies of Sweden
Denmark
Danish Fleet (based in Copenhagen)
-2 BatRon
-1 Batron (disabled)
-1 CruRon
-1 CruRon (disabled)
-1 Patron
-3 PatRon (disabled)

England
Baltic Fleet (based in Malmo)
-3 BatRon
-1 CruRon (disabled)
-2 PatRon (disabled)

Sweden
Baltic Squadron (based in Stockholm)
-1 Batron
-1 CruRon
-4 PatRon

[TLS]

Ingrian Campaign

Summer, 1702

Charles is holed up in Riga as the naval blockade sits offshore, increasingly anxious to remove himself from the collapsing campaign in the East. However, the port of Riga is blockaded by the Polish navy offshore, and though he has heard reports that his Allies will move to break the siege by sea he has yet to see their flags on the horizon. Meanwhile, Polish cavalry have encircled Riga, severely hampering his chance to escape. His worst fears are realized when, on the 15th of July, the Polish banners arrive over the horizon (Windau is exactly 2 weeks away marching). Though he knows that relief is a matter of days away, he sees that the Polish army is not making as if to invest--it is making to attack.

2nd Battle of Riga, July 15

Sweden (under the command of Charles, Warrior King)
-1 Fortress

Poland
-4 Infantry Brigade
-3 Cavalry Brigade
-5 Militia Infantry Brigades

The overwhelming numbers of Polish besiegers thunder into the walls of the fortress. Cannons roar from the battlements, directed by the young King himself, and the Poles suffer heavy casualties in their assault. However, their numbers are more than enough to overwhelm the defenders, and they pour into the city. Charles attempts to flee out of the city in the ensuing melee, but not only does he not manage to escape, he is cut down by a Polish lancer (he rolled a critical miss in his escape attempt--oops) and killed.

Casualties of the 2nd Battle of Riga

Sweden (Total: 1,001 casualties)
-1 Fortress destroyed (Total: 1,000 casualties)
-1 Warrior King killed (Total: 1 casualty)

Poland (3,750 casualties)
-3 Militia Infantry Brigades shattered, disbanded (3,750 casualties)

[TLS]

Postscript to the Great Northern War

The "Great" Northern War, in the end, promised more glory and excitement than it was able to provide. The brash and dashing young Charles demonstrated an aptitude for the battlefield, but though later historians would argue he should have been seen as a great captain of history such arguments were widely dismissed in the face of his achievements: though he managed to score a devastating victory at Narva, it is generally explained away as the product of militia charging an entrenched position, not due to his personal leadership. Sweden's dismal performance in the war is ultimately traced to Charles' ill-fated expedition into the heart of Poland-Lithuania; though his strategy of trying to knock out the Poles by provoking a civil war was sound, he lacked the ability to execute his vision, and ultimately Poland-Lithuania scored the fatal blow--and was rewarded through establishing itself as perhaps the premier power on the Baltic. Russia also finally obtained access to the Baltic, and soon began construction on a port worthy of the name--though Poland and Russia now added further hundreds of miles of frontier between them while removing their mutual enemy Sweden, raising questions as to the permanence of their friendship.

The war in Germany overshadowed, in many ways, the war along the Baltic. The attempt by the Emperor to provoke a Catholic war against the Protestant Swedes served ultimately to only involve other Protestant powers in a war they had no other interest in. Though Brandenburg was knocked down, it was not knocked out--the loss of its Prussian territories was to a degree balanced out by the acquisition of Swedish Pomerania. The war promised more bloodshed than it ultimately provided, however, as the death of Charles gave the assembled powers the opportunity to abandon the fight before it drew in the remaining neutral powers of France and the Ottoman Empire. The Emperor emerged from the war marginally more secure than before--by replacing the Elector in Prussia with his pliable son (or, more accurately, surrounded by advisors who told the youth to throw himself on the Emperor's mercy in return for his core lands and rights) he had worked towards ensuring that at least one Elector was more predisposed towards him. However, his actions did not exactly endear him to the rest of the Electors who feared Hapsburg influence--by not removing the Hohenzollerns from their post he prevented a wholesale uproar in the Diet, but the idea that the Emperor would be willing to kill Electors in order to ensure their vote caused a great deal of dismay in the hearts of the others.

Arguably the most interesting outcome of the war was the nascent moves towards the acceptance of the English Commonwealth in the international system. Though the regicidal state remained outside the mainstream of the European sphere, England was openly accepted as a partner by the Danes and Swedes--admittedly, states without historical enmity towards the Commonwealth, but still an important step. The fact that even ancestral enemies, such as the French and Dutch, were widely suspected of working in illicit concert with the English was the cause for alarm throughout the European continent, and within those countries themselves. However, both nations had a history of realpolitik, and thus their ruling elites were able to justify (at least to themselves) that these entreaties were far the greater good to hobble Hapsburg power.

Of course, that the war ended almost out of the blue, with the providential death of the Swedish King, meant that nothing was really settled by the end of hostilities. The powers of Europe thus licked their wounds, and observed their shrunken coffers, and again fell into the old routines of plotting and planning.

[Sponsored content]