Table of Contents

Introduction PROLOGUE The Stoat THE MARCH  Sunday Morning The Road to Poltava The War The Campaign Anatomy of a Battlefield A Council of War Sunday Evening THE BATTLE 8. Let Us Go Forward 9. Give the Enemy No Time 10. Cavalry Forward!! Shot in Vain 11. Would God Roos Were Here 12. They Are Leaving Their Lines 13. Not My Men but the King’s 14. Sheep to Sacrifical Slaughter 15. No Musket-ball Will Hit 16.  As Grass Before a Scythe 17. The Devil Couldn’t Make them 18.  It Goes Ill 19. He Tramples Down 20. All is Lost 21. To Gather in Retreat 22. Bodies Mountain-High THE RETREAT 23. 100,000 Roubles 24. Fight at My Command 25. Would They Defend Themselves 26. Not Without Tears EPILOGUE 27.  A Fist Filled with Soil Sources and Literature Biographical Appendix Index

Promotional Information

The Battle of Poltava, 1709, marks the birth of the Tsar's vast Russian Empire. In 1700, seeking to open Russian trade routes to the West, the Tsar combined with Denmark, Saxony and Poland to attack Swedish hegemony in the North. Against the odds, King Charles XII of Sweden subdued the hostile coalition for nearly a decade.

About the Author

Peter Englund is Professor of History at Uppsala University, Sweden's oldest and most prestigious seat of learning. He is heavily involved in the international media and has worked as a war correspondent in Afghanistan and the Balkans. He has recently been elected to the Swedish Academy, responsible for awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature. His bestselling The Battle that Shook Europe is recognised as the definitive work on the subject, and an international classic of the genre.