Surrender at Perevolochna

Perevolochna
Part of the Swedish invasion of Russia
Map depicting the surrender. Red=Russians and blue=Swedes. In the bottom left, Charles XII crosses the Dnieper along the two islands. Perovolocna is to the right, next to the Vorskla River.
Date 30 June 1709 (O.S.) 1 July 1709 (Swedish calendar) 11 July 1709 (N.S.) Location Perevolochna, present-day Ukraine 48°49′00″N 34°07′00″E / 48.8167°N 34.1167°E / 48.8167; 34.1167 Result No fighting, Swedish surrender while Charles XII escapes to Bendery, in Moldova
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt  (POW)	Alexander Menshikov
Strength
12,000[1]: 710 [a]	9,000[2]: 231 [b]
Casualties and losses
Entire army captured[2]: 246 [1]: 710

The surrender at Perevolochna was the capitulation of almost the entire Swedish army on 30 June 1709 (O.S.) / 1 July 1709 (Swedish calendar) / 11 July 1709 (N.S.). It signified the virtual annihilation of the once formidable Swedish army after the defeat at Battle of Poltava, and paved the way for the eventual Russian victory in the Great Northern War. After the Battle of Poltava, Charles XII escaped to Moldavia, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.

Background

Leaving Pushkaryovka around 7 PM on the 28th, the same day as their defeat, the remnants of the Swedish army head south following the west bank of the river Vorskla to the river Dnieper, reaching Stari Sanzhary 20 km to the south where the baggage wagons stopped until dawn while the artillery, treasure-wagons and troops continue on to Novi Sanzhary.^{[2]: 210, 213} The artillery reached Novi Sanzhary after midnight, Charles XII at 1:30 AM, and the troops at dawn. The Tsar Peter the Great sent Prince Golitzin's Semyonovskiy Regiment and Christian Felix Bauer's ten regiments of dragoons in pursuit.^[2]: 214

The march resumed by 7 AM on the 29th, heading for Bjeliki, and Major-General Meijerfeldt is sent back to negotiate with the Tsar.^[2]: 214 The convoy linked up with Lt. Col. Silfverhielm's 500 men at Kobeliaky in the late afternoon.^[2]: 216 On 30 June, the convoy reached Tashtayka on the Dnieper where Axel Gyllenkrok had been sent earlier to prepare a crossing.^[2]: 220 However, Gyllenkrok wanted Charles to stop at Kishenka, and decide if they should cross the Vorskla at the ford and head into the Crimea, or head further south and attempt a crossing of the Dnieper into Turkey.^[2]: 218 Now the Swedes found the Dnieper river broad and swift, with few materials with which to build boats or a bridge.^[2]: 222 Ivan Mazepa and his men along with Silfverhielm's men crossed on the few boats available.^[2]: 222 Efforts to swim across ended in drowning for men and horse alike.^[2]: 224

The Swedish command convinced Charles to save himself by crossing the Dnieper and heading for Ochakov, while the army, led by Lewenhaupt, would cross the Vorskla into the Crimea.^[2]: 225 About 3,000 crossed that day and night with the king, mostly officers and members of the royal household.^[2]: 227

The surrender

The dawn of the next morning brought news that a Russian corps of infantry, cavalry and artillery was deployed in a crescent shape, ready for battle, on the plateau above the river, about 9,000 men under the command of General Menshikov.^[2]: 231 The Cossacks, allied with the Russians, swept down to plunder the Swedish wagons.^[2]: 233 The Russian army advanced and blocked the road to Kishenka and a Swedish escape.^[2]: 233 The Swedish army now faced the sandhills and the Russian army on the plateau.^[2]: 234

Lewenhaupt did not want to fight the Russians, instead sending the Prussian military attache to start truce negotiations.^[2]: 234 After conferences and voting among the higher officers,^[2]: 243 the Swedish army of 12,000^[1]: 710 to 20,000 capitulated.^[2]: 246 The king departed the southern river bank at 9:45 AM while the announcement of surrender was made at 11 AM.^{[2]: 236, 243} The Russians executed the Cossacks allied with the Swedes, who were unable to escape across the Dnieper.^[3]: 294

Effect on the war

The surrender was a contributing cause to the Russian victory in the Great Northern War. The Swedish continental army had ceased to exist, leaving the remaining defenses of the Swedish Empire hopelessly outnumbered. Strategically, Russia now had taken the offensive, while Sweden would be hard pressed to muster a new army to defend itself. General Lewenhaupt was imprisoned and died in Russian captivity in 1719. King Charles did nothing to have him released, but fled to Bendery in what was then the Ottoman Empire.^[1]: 710

Notelist

References

This page was last edited on 13 January 2024, at 12:12