The Battle of Varja took place on November 7, 1700 close to at the villages of

Varja Varja is a village in Lüganuse Parish, Ida-Viru County in northeastern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across f ...

and Aa, in the Duchy of Estonia of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

during the

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n campaign of the first year in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

.Margus Laidre. Segern vid Narva. Bokförlaget

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with head office in Stockholm known for an extensive series of teaching materials. Its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wif ...

, Stockholm, 1996. pp. 141–142

Prelude

A Swedish force consisting of 800 menDaniel Defoe. The History of the Wars, of His Late Majesty Charles XII, King of Sweden. H. P, 1720. pp. 60–61 under the command of generals

Georg Reinhold Patkul Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

and Hans Henrik von Tiesenhausen were sent out from

Rakvere Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the administrative centre of the Lääne-Viru ''maakond'' (county), 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Rakvere is the 8th most populous urban area in Estonia. Rakvere has a tota ...

to secure the road at which the main army under

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

were going in order to relief the city of

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

which had been besieged by the Russians for a while.

Battle

At the villages of Varja and Aa they surprised a Russian force of 2,000 men from Boris Sheremetev's detachment gathering supplies for their army at Narva. The Russians were caught completely off guard and subsequently took cover within the houses to avoid the Swedish onslaught, these were however, soon put on fire by the Swedes, an action resulting in 1,500 Russians killed, wounded or captured to about 200 Swedes with only 500 Russians who managed to escape. Later during the day, as the Swedes were looting the Russian supplies, a larger force of 3,000 men under Sheremetev himself, arrived and in turn surprised the Swedes who were driven off with a loss of 80 men among them, the Swedish commander Georg Reinhold Patkul who was captured during the retreat.

Aftermath

The Russians here received important information about the approach of the Swedish main army under Charles, who arrived at the two villages about two weeks later. Sheremetev would later face the Swedish vanguard at Pühhajoggi, however after initial skirmishes he was soon driven offMargus Laidre. Segern vid Narva. Bokförlaget

, Stockholm, 1996. p. 143 leading to the battle of Narva where the Russian main army saw itself decisively defeated by the Swedish army.Kerala J. Snyder. The Organ As a Mirror of Its Time: North European Reflections, 1610–2000, 2002. p. 137

References

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1700 in Europe

18th century in Estonia