James Baquet The Great Northern War (1700-1721) is another of the many major conflicts discussed only by history buffs today. Two empires — the Russian Tsardom and its allies on one side, and the Swedish Empire on the other — were struggling for control of vast tracts of land that included virtually all of the Baltic region. Backing Russia for at least some part of the war were the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark-Norway, Prussia, Hanover and Great Britain, among others. Sweden’s allies included some of the same powers — like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Great Britain, who switched sides at various times — as well as the Ottoman Empire, the Dutch Republic and others. The war began when some members of the Russian alliance realized that Charles XII of Sweden was callow and possibly unable to hold onto his territories. (They were right, as it ended with a Russian victory two years after Charles’ death on the battlefield in 1719.) The Battle of Narva was one of the earlier battles in that war, taking place in late November 1700, and seemed to bode well for Sweden’s success. The Russians had laid siege to Narva in Estonia (then part of the Swedish Empire) and called on it to surrender. Charles approached with a troop of some 10,500 men (with 2,000 more inside the city) and faced a Russian army of somewhere between 34,000 and 40,000 men. A betting person, thinking in sheer numbers, would have been wise to put his money on the Russians. But there was a hidden factor: the Russian army was newly formed, poorly trained, and badly commanded, since most of its leaders were not military men but inexperienced noblemen. The Swedes, on the other hand, were a well-drilled professional army, a factor which would have balanced things somewhat. But the real star of the show — as sometimes happens — was the weather. Just as the Swedes began to move on the Russians, the weather turned cold, and a snowstorm developed with the wind blowing snow directly into the Russians’ eyes. After just one clash — with the Russians losing up to half of their men — their leadership surrendered. Charles thereafter turned his attention to the south; the Russians took Narva in a second siege four years later. Vocabulary: Which words above mean: 1. practiced, “rehearsed” 2. areas, expanses 3. fans, geeks 4. below the king but above the people 5. immature, inexperienced 6. supporting 7. predict, portend 8. after that 9. like a kingdom 10. encounter, battle | 