Battle of Narva (1704)

For other Battles of Narva, see Battle of Narva.

Memorial in Narva

The Battle of Narva was the second Russian siege of Swedish Narva during the Great Northern War, resulting in the capture of the town by Russia on the 9th of August, 1704, and the subsequent massacre of some of its Swedish inhabitants.

Four years after the first battle of Narva, Tsar Peter I marched again to the area with a reorganized army in an attempt to capture Narva and occupy Ingria, previously a Swedish logistical center. Marshal Boris Sheremetev's force of 20,000 captured Tartu on 24 June. Sheremetev then besieged Narva, with the garrison under the Commandant Major-General Henning Rudolf Horn af Ranzien and consisting of only 3,800 infantry and 1,300 cavalry. After a long siege followed by a three-fronted attack the Russians captured Narva on the 20th of August, 1704, massacring hundreds of its Swedish garrison and inhabitants before Peter I stopped them. General Horn, several officers and a large number of Swedish soldiers were captured, after roughly 3,200 casualties in the siege and aftermath. The Russians lost up to 3,000 men in total. On the 11th of September, citizens of Narva swore allegiance to Peter I in the courtyard of the town hall. The city was incorporated into the Russian Tsardom.

In August, Peter I signed the Treaty of Narva in the town.

See also

• Lovisa von Burghausen
• Brigitta Scherzenfeldt
• Names of the Russian Generals, who command at the Siege of Narva, 1704 & Specification of the Regiments employed in the Siege of Narva.