8 July in military history: Battle of Poltava, 1709

Quick answer

On 8 July 1709 the Russian army of Tsar Peter the Great routed the Swedish army of King Charles XII outside Poltava, in what is now Ukraine. Three days later most of the Swedish survivors surrendered at Perevolochna, and Charles fled to Ottoman lands. On 8 July 1758 Montcalm's French threw back a British assault at Fort Carillon.

Battle of Poltava

8 July 1709 (27 June Old Style) · 317 years ago

Russia under Peter the Great won a decisive victory at Poltava on 27 June 1709 (Old Style), destroying the invading Swedish army of Charles XII deep in what is now Ukraine.

Read the full story of Battle of Poltava ›

Battle of Carillon, 1758: Montcalm's victory at Ticonderoga

8 July 1758 · 268 years ago

Near Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain, Montcalm's French army faced a much larger British force under James Abercrombie in the French and Indian War. Abercrombie sent his men head on at the entrenched French without artillery and suffered a defeat often cited as a classic blunder.

Read the full story of Battle of Carillon, 1758: Montcalm's victory at Ticonderoga ›

Also on this day

1716: In the narrow fjord of Dynekilen on the Bohuslän coast, Peter Wessel Tordenskiold's Dano-Norwegian squadron attacked a Swedish transport fleet carrying supplies for Charles XII's invasion of Norway and destroyed or captured it, and Charles called off the campaign.¹

Frequently asked questions

When and where was the Battle of Poltava fought?

It was fought on 8 July 1709 (27 June in Russia, which had not adopted the Gregorian calendar, and 28 June in Swedish dating) outside the town of Poltava on the Vorskla River, in what is now Ukraine.

Who won the Battle of Poltava?

Russia. The army of Tsar Peter the Great routed the Swedish army of King Charles XII, which Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld commanded in the field after the king was wounded.

Why was Charles XII carried on a litter?

He had been shot in the foot while riding close to the Russian lines before the battle. During the fighting he was carried among his troops on a litter until a cannon shot smashed it.

How many men were lost at Poltava?

Russian losses were 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded. Swedish figures differ by source, from about 9,200 to over 9,300 dead and roughly 2,900 to 3,000 prisoners in the IEU and the BRE. Three days later most of the rest of the army surrendered at Perevolochna.

Why is the Battle of Poltava important?

It was the turning point of the Great Northern War: Sweden went over to the defensive and Russia to the offensive, Charles XII spent years in Ottoman lands, and the anti-Swedish alliance revived.