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.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth refused to support its king,[24] and Russia waited for a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire to transfer its struggle from south to north.

[26] During November, Russian troops surrounded the city of Narva in Estonia (part of the Swedish Empire at the time), attempting to secure its surrender via siege.

[27]: 686 The Swedish army was commanded personally by Charles XII, assisted by Lieutenant-General Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld[4] and General of the cavalry Otto Vellingk.

Both also had the experience of service in foreign armies: Vellingk served for ten years in France, during which he rose to the rank of colonel, and Rehnskiöld participated in the Franco-Dutch War (1688—1697).

However, some scholars believe this accusation has little merit, as reportedly, the Tsar had placed himself in physical danger too many times for this departure to be an act of cowardice.

[30][31] De Croÿ refused to accept the command several times and relented only after Peter personally "strengthened his resolve with a glass of wine".

[32] The Russian army near Narva was divided into three main parts (general'stvo), commanded by Avtonom Golovin, Trubetskoy, and Weide.

All of them were young men (born in 1667), and their combat experience was limited to the two sieges of the Turkish fortress of Azov, but they had served in Peter's favorite poteshnye voiska.

Massie notes the excellent actions of the Swedish artillery in the skirmish at Pyhajoggi Pass, eighteen miles west of Narva.

Under the screen of their dragoons, the cannons were quickly deployed and suddenly opened fire on the clusters of Russian cavalry from a close distance.

[34] The formal commander of Russian artillery was Prince Alexander of Imereti, a young man of 26, a close companion of Peter in his entourage.

Charles was not sure if Narva was still holding, so he ordered to give the Swedish recognition signal by cannon shots and then got the same response from the fortress.

[43] In the center of the Russian position was the Goldenhof Hill, fenced on all sides by barracks and sharpened stakes (the chevaux de frise) and adapted to all-around defence.

It was the weakest part of the three main divisions: there were only two "regular" infantry regiments, and they were even worse drilled than the rest – they were formed as late as August 1700, and in September, Trubetskoy already marched to Narva.

[46][47] By afternoon, the Swedes had finished their preparations and moved forward at 2 p.m. At that moment, it got colder, the wind changed, and the snowstorm blew directly into the eyes of the Russians.

At first, the Russians vigorously resisted: "They returned a heavy fire and killed many fine fellows", but within 15 minutes, the Swedes filled the ditches with fascines, broke into the fortifications with cold steel arms, and "a terrible massacre" began.

There was panic and chaos; Russian soldiers began killing foreign officers, and de Croÿ, with his staff, hurried to surrender.

Masses of panicking Russians troops rushed to the only Kamperholm Bridge over the Narva River, located at the northern edge of the defensive line.

Most of the Russian commanders, including generals Golovin and Trubetskoy, managed to join this group despite the surrender of de Croÿ.

On the left flank, General Weide was seriously wounded at the very beginning of the battle, but his "division" for the most part did not succumb to panic and even made a successful counterattack,[49] but could not reconnect with the rest of the army.

The Russians also suffered heavy losses in armaments, as the Swedes captured 4050 muskets and 173 artillery pieces, including 64 siege cannons.

If Charles had continued the campaign against Russia (as General Vellingk had suggested attacking Novgorod and Pskov[55]), the Russian army very likely would have suffered another defeat.

"[56] On 20 November 2000, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lena Hjelm Wallén inaugurated a new memorial monument to celebrate the victory.

[27]: 697  Sheremetev then besieged Narva, where the garrison was under Commandant Major-General Henning Rudolf Horn af Ranzien[27]: 697  and consisted of 3,800 infantry and 1,300 cavalry.

[27]: 697  Horn, several officers, and a large number of Swedish soldiers were captured, with about 3,200 casualties while the Russians lost up to 3,000 men during the siege and the assault.