Although um if you have told me about the Great Northern War I have completely forgotten; can I have a relatively short recap?
I have not! What I've said is that having finished the War of the Spanish Succession, I would like to learn about the Great Northern War, which is how I got onto Whitworth in the first place. It's a complicated twenty-year war involving tons of countries and principalities, and shifting alliances, and I barely know anything about it, so my recap will be sketchy in both quality and quantity, but here goes.
17th century Sweden was a significant military power, dominating the Baltic on both land and sea. In 1700, their neighbors, including Peter the Great in Russia, decide to take advantage of the fact that the new king is an inexperienced 18-yo and try to get some land back. Unfortunately, that 18-yo is Charles XII, who will be a famous, if ultimately unsuccessful, general.
He wins a bunch of battles. Storms through Poland, kicks August of Saxony off the throne and installs Stanislas Leszczynski. Stanislas' first reign of Poland only lasts a few years, just like his second reign in the 1730s.
Charles XII invades Russia, but as we discussed in the War of the Spanish Succession, ends up trying to live off the land during the great winter of 1708/1709. 1709, the year of Malplaquet, is also the year of Poltava, the big battle where Peter the Great's forces kick Charles' butt, and put an end to Sweden's superpower days. Also to Stanislas' days as King of Poland.
But the war is only halfway over, and more countries get involved. Brandenburg-Prussia and Hanover both want strategically located territory. Hanover wants Bremen-Verden to connect them to the Baltic.
FW wants Swedish Pomerania and especially Stettin.
He'll end up getting the southern part of Pomerania to go with the Pomerania he already owns. Take a look at the blue area on the map that's between the orange parts. That's the part he gets. You'll see Stettin, and if you go south along the river a bit, you'll see Gartz, Fredersdorf's hometown.
If you go way up north in the blue and off the to the west, you'll see Stralsund. The siege here is where FW met and decided he liked Seckendorff and Duhan. Duhan was so brave that FW immediately decided to enlist him as tutor for Fritz (Fritz is 3 years old at this point, in 1715), causing adult Fritz to snark about how unusual it is to engage a tutor in a trench. Also, FW totally missed the mark on this one too, as usual, thinking that a good soldier can't also be a cultured man of French manners! (I see the campaign to have Eugene be his role model failed.)
Then Whitworth and Rottembourg show up in Berlin the late 1710s, trying to get FW to reach terms with Sweden and Britain so affairs can be settled in the Baltic. In the end, he gets the parts of Swedish Pomerania he most wanted, and Hanover gets Bremen-Verden.
And one day, if all goes well, you may get a more in-depth dive into this war.
The Great Northern War
I have not! What I've said is that having finished the War of the Spanish Succession, I would like to learn about the Great Northern War, which is how I got onto Whitworth in the first place. It's a complicated twenty-year war involving tons of countries and principalities, and shifting alliances, and I barely know anything about it, so my recap will be sketchy in both quality and quantity, but here goes.
17th century Sweden was a significant military power, dominating the Baltic on both land and sea. In 1700, their neighbors, including Peter the Great in Russia, decide to take advantage of the fact that the new king is an inexperienced 18-yo and try to get some land back. Unfortunately, that 18-yo is Charles XII, who will be a famous, if ultimately unsuccessful, general.
He wins a bunch of battles. Storms through Poland, kicks August of Saxony off the throne and installs Stanislas Leszczynski. Stanislas' first reign of Poland only lasts a few years, just like his second reign in the 1730s.
Charles XII invades Russia, but as we discussed in the War of the Spanish Succession, ends up trying to live off the land during the great winter of 1708/1709. 1709, the year of Malplaquet, is also the year of Poltava, the big battle where Peter the Great's forces kick Charles' butt, and put an end to Sweden's superpower days. Also to Stanislas' days as King of Poland.
But the war is only halfway over, and more countries get involved. Brandenburg-Prussia and Hanover both want strategically located territory. Hanover wants Bremen-Verden to connect them to the Baltic.
FW wants Swedish Pomerania and especially Stettin.
He'll end up getting the southern part of Pomerania to go with the Pomerania he already owns. Take a look at the blue area on the map that's between the orange parts. That's the part he gets. You'll see Stettin, and if you go south along the river a bit, you'll see Gartz, Fredersdorf's hometown.
If you go way up north in the blue and off the to the west, you'll see Stralsund. The siege here is where FW met and decided he liked Seckendorff and Duhan. Duhan was so brave that FW immediately decided to enlist him as tutor for Fritz (Fritz is 3 years old at this point, in 1715), causing adult Fritz to snark about how unusual it is to engage a tutor in a trench. Also, FW totally missed the mark on this one too, as usual, thinking that a good soldier can't also be a cultured man of French manners! (I see the campaign to have Eugene be his role model failed.)
Then Whitworth and Rottembourg show up in Berlin the late 1710s, trying to get FW to reach terms with Sweden and Britain so affairs can be settled in the Baltic. In the end, he gets the parts of Swedish Pomerania he most wanted, and Hanover gets Bremen-Verden.
And one day, if all goes well, you may get a more in-depth dive into this war.