Dictionary of Battles / From the Earliest Date to the Present Time

by Thomas Benfield Harbottle

Pultowa (Russo-Swedish Wars).

Fought July 8, 1709, between the Swedes, 24,000 strong, under Charles XII, and the Russians, 70,000 in number, under Peter the Great. After some successes early in the battle the Swedes were overwhelmed by the Czar's great superiority in artillery, and were defeated with a loss of 9,000 killed and wounded and 6,000 prisoners. Charles with difficulty made his escape from the field by swimming the Borysthenes.