Souvenirmedal new 39 mm 25,5 g Bronze
This historical souvenir medal commemorates the Battle of Narva during the Swedish Russian War in 1700. Crafted in Germany, it is a unique collectable. The medal features intricate details of the battle and is a must-have item for any historical memorabilia enthusiast.
The Battle of Narva (Russian: Битва при Нарве Bitva pri Narve; Swedish: Slaget vid Narva) on 30 November [O.S. 19 November] 1700 (20 November in the Swedish transitional calendar) was an early battle in the Great Northern War. A Swedish relief army under Charles XII of Sweden defeated a Russian siege force three to four times its size. Previously, Charles XII had forced Denmark–Norway to sign the Treaty of Travendal. Narva was not followed by further advances of the Swedish army into Russia; instead, Charles XII turned southward to expel August the Strong from Livonia and Poland-Lithuania. Tsar Peter the Great of Russia took Narva in a second battle in 1704.
Background
During the 17th century, Russia was less advanced technologically than the rest of Europe, a condition which extended to its armed forces.[19] Despite this shortcoming, Peter the Great of Russia was keen to get "an adequate opening to the Baltic" by conquering parts of Sweden's Baltic provinces Russia lost during the Time of Troubles.[20] However, there was a problem: while most states' armies of the time consisted of poorly trained militia and small contingents of mercenaries, Sweden had a professional army, one of the largest and most disciplined of northern Europe.
The new Russian tsar, Peter I, would drastically modernize Russia in the coming years, but the army with which he traveled in 1700 was still poorly drilled. Preparing for war, he decided to form 31 new regiments. At the same time, in the spring of 1700, a revision of the officer corps was made whereby most officers were sent into retirement or to garrison units to serve without pay. A catastrophic shortage of command personnel (up to 70% at the company level) resulted. The vacancies were filled with young Moscow noblemen who had neither the experience of command nor the experience of service in the infantry nor regular military training—their traditional places were elite irregular cavalry or court service. Non-commissioned officers also experienced serious problems—they were not veteran soldiers but were elected from recruits.
Charles XI or Carl (Swedish: Karl XI; 4 December [O.S. 24 November] 1655 – 15 April [O.S. 5 April] 1697)[2] was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721).
He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. His father died when he was four years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen. Soon afterward, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Having successfully fought off the Danes, he returned to Stockholm and engaged in correcting the country's neglected political, financial, and economic situation. He managed to sustain peace during the remaining 20 years of his reign. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, and education emerged during this period.[3] Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe.
Though Charles was crowned as Charles XI, he was not the 11th king of Sweden of that name. His father's name (as the 10th) was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden (1604–1611), having adopted his own numeral by using a mythological History of Sweden. That ancestor was actually the third King Charles.[4] The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf.