10. Poltavskaja Batalija [July 27, 1709], [Moskva?], [1713]. COLLBN Port 163 N 69
Poltava was the turning point in the Great Northern War (1700-'21) between Sweden and Russia. When Hetman Mazepa learned that tsar Peter intended to further curtail the autonomy of his Cossacks, he strived to form a pan-Ukrainian Hetman state and began secret negotiations with king Charles XII. When the Swedish entered Ukraine, Mazepa openly sided with Charles against Peter, but most Cossacks did not. When Charles besieged [B] the city of Poltava [A] with 31.000 soldiers and 4 cannons Peter arrived with 42.500 soldiers and 102 cannons. You see the order of both armies at the bottom, the main Swedish camp [I], strongholds of the Muscovites [D and C], their cavalry [P], infantry [R] and the Swedish battle lines [W, S, V]. This battle marked the beginning of Russian supremacy in eastern Europe. Most Cossacks under Swedish command were executed and the Hetmanate came under Russian military rule.