Battle of Orsha
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Orsha was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman
Konstanty Ostrogski
, and the army of Grand Duchy of Moscow
under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin
. The Battle of Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the lands of former Kievan Rus'
under their rule.
According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein
, the primary source for the information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated the 80,000 Russian soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. These numbers and proportions have been disputed by modern historians. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, it had little impact on further warfare which ended in Moscow's favor. According to the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions to Moscow.
began a new war for Grand Duchy of Lithuania
's Ruthenia
n lands of present-day Belarus
and Ukraine
. Albrecht I
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
rebelled and refused to give a vassal pledge to Sigismund I the Old
according to the Second Peace of Thorn (1466). Albert I was supported by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
.
The fortress of Smolensk
was then the easternmost outpost of the Grand Duchy and one of the most important strongholds guarding it from the east. It repelled several Russian attacks, but in July 1514 a Russian army besieged and finally captured it. Spurred on by this initial success, the Grand Prince of Moscow
Vasili III
ordered his forces farther into present-day Belarus, occupying the towns of Krichev
, Mstislavl and Dubrovna.
Meanwhile Sigismund the Old gathered some 35,000 troops for war with the eastern neighbor. This army was inferior in numbers, but consisted mostly of well-trained cavalry
. The forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland placed under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski
included 16,000 of Lithuania cavalry, 14,000 of Polish cavalry
(light and heavy), 3,000 of Polish mercenary
infantry
, and 2,500 volunteers, mostly from Bohemia
. Sigismund left 4,000–5,000 men in the town of Barysau
, while the main forces, around 30,000, moved on to face the Russians. At the end of August, several skirmishes took place at the crossings of the Berezina, Bobr and Drut River
s, but the Russian army avoided a major confrontation.
Suffering negligible losses, the Russians advanced to the area between Orsha
and Dubrovno on the Krapivna River, where they set up camp. Ivan Chelyadnin, confident that the Lithuanian-Polish forces would have to cross one of the two bridges on the Dnieper River
, split his own forces to guard those crossings. However, Ostrogski's army crossed the river farther north via two pontoon bridge
s. On the night of 7 September, it began preparations for a final battle with the Russians. Hetman Konstantyn Ostrogski placed most of his 16,000 horses from the Grand Duchy in the center, while most of the Polish infantry
and the auxiliary troops manned the flanks. The Bohemia
n and Silesia
n infantry were deployed in the center of the line, in front of the reserves comprising Lithuanian and Polish cavalry
.
The size of the Russian army remains an unsolved question. Narrative Polish-Lithuanian sources use to give huge numbers. King Sigismund wrote to the Pope Leo X
about a "horde of Muscovites" which counted 80,000 men. Sigismund also claimed that his army had killed 30,000 Russians and taken prisoner 46 commanders and 1,500 nobles. Extant Polish and Lithuanian documents, however, list all captured nobles by name, only 611 men in all. The Polish historian Bohun considers it improvident to rely on "propaganda data" of Sigismund. Another Polish researcher Gembarowicz's opinion is that the number of the Russian army was about 40,000. It remains also unclear why, if the data on 70,000–80,000 is to be trusted, King Sigismund who knew about such superiority of the Russian army from Mikhail Glinsky's letters kept a personal guard of about 5,000 men (about 15% of his army) without throwing them into the battle. The Russian chronicles (Novgorodian and Sophian codexes) tell about a Polish-Lithuanian numerous superiority.
The Russian historian A. Lobin tried to calculate the size of the Russian army at Orsha based on the mobilisation capacities of the towns which had to send townspeople for military services. It is known that except for Boyar sons of the sovereign's regiment there were people of 14 towns: Novgorod, Pskov
, Velikie Luki, Kostroma
, Murom
, Borovsk
, Tver
, Volok
, Roslavl
, Vyazma
, Pereyaslavl
, Kolomna
, Yaroslavl
and Starodub
. Based on the data of the well-documented Polotsk campaign of 1563 the author gives following numbers: 400–500 Tatars, 200 boyar sons of the sovereign's regiment, 3,000 Novgorodian and Pskovians, and about 3,600 representatives of other towns, altogether about 7,200 noblemen. Complemented with servants the overall number of the Russian army could be 13,000-15,000 men. Considering the losses during the campaign, the abandonment of service which is documented in the sources and the number of soldiers left as garrison in Smolensk the number of Russian troops present at Orsha could be about 12,000 men.
The suggested calculation method was backed by such historians as Brian Davies (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA), N. Smirnov, A. Pankov, O. Kurbatov,, М. Krom, and V. Penskoy.
On 8 September 1514, shortly after dawn, Ivan Chelyadnin gave the order to attack. The Russian forces attempted to outflank the Lithuanians and Poles by attacking the flanks, manned by Polish, Lithuanian light hussar and tartar troops. One of the pincers of the attack was commanded by Chelyadnin personally, while the other was led by Prince Bulgakov-Golitsa
. The initial attack failed, and the Russians withdrew toward their starting positions. Chelyadnin was still confident that the almost 3:1 odds in his favor would give him the victory. However, preoccupied with his own wing of the Russian forces, he lost track of the other sectors and failed to coordinate a defense against the counterattack by the Lithuanian light and Polish heavy cavalry, which until then had been kept in reserve.
The Lithuanian and Polish light horse
and tartars attacked the overstretched center of the Russian lines in an attempt to split them. At the crucial moment the cavalry of the Grand Duchy seemed to waver, then went into retreat. The Russians pursued with all their cavalry
reserves. The Lithuanian tartars and Polish cavalry, after retreating for several minutes, chased by the Russians, suddenly turned to the sides. The Russian cavalry now found themselves confronted by artillery
concealed in the forest. From both sides, Polish and Lithuanian forces appeared and proceeded to surround the Russians. Ivan Chelyadnin sounded retreat
, which soon became somewhat panicky. The Russian forces were pursued by the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
for five kilometers.
The Russian defeat is often attributed to repeated failures by Ivan Chelyadnin and Golitsa
to coordinate their operations.
Sigismund von Herberstein
reported that 40,000 Russians were killed. According to accounts in Polish chronicle
s, at the Battle of Orsha 30,000 Russians were killed and an additional 3,000 were taken captive, including Ivan Chelyadnin and eight other commanders. The forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland seized the Russian camp
and all 300 cannon
s. Upset at word of the massive defeat, Grand Prince Vasili III
allegedly remarked that "the prisoners [were] as useful as the dead".
before the winter. Also Ostrogski did not reach the gates of Smolensk until late September, giving Vasili III enough time to prepare defense.
In December 1514, Hetman
Konstanty Ostrogski
triumphantly entered Vilnius
. To commemorate the victory, two Orthodox churches were erected: the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Church of Saint Nicholas
, which remain among the most impressive examples of Orthodox Church architecture in Lithuania. Immediately after the victory, the Polish–Lithuanian state started to exploit the fact for its propaganda
in Europe, aimed at improving the image of Poland-Lithuania abroad. Several panegyrical accounts of the battle were sent to Rome
. "The Polish message was similar to Bomhover's: the Muscovites are not Christians; they are cruel and barbaric; they are Asians and not Europeans; they are in league with Turks and the Tatars to destroy Christendom".
Impressed by the scope of the Lithuanian and Polish victory, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, started peace negotiations with the Jagiellons
in Vienna. On 22 July 1515, final agreements on peace were made and the broad coalition against Lithuania and Poland ceased.
The war between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and Grand Duchy of Moscow
lasted until 1520. In 1522 a peace was signed, under the terms of which Lithuania was forced to cede to Moscow about a quarter of its possessions within the lands of the former Kievan Rus'
, including Smolensk
. The latter city was not retaken until almost a century later, in 1611. After the peace agreement of 1522, Grand Duchy of Lithuania tried to attack Russia one more time, but major military conflicts were settled for around 40 years.
as a symbol of national revival, but its significance is being suppressed by state authorities. In September 2005, by order of President Alexander Lukashenko
, four members of the Belarusian National Front opposition were each fined almost 4 millions roubles (roughly 1500 Euro
) for celebrating the 491st anniversary of the battle.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
and Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski was a Lithuanian duke of slavonic origin and a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since September 11, 1497, until his death. As a speaker of the Ruthenian language he is considered to be one of the precursors of the Belarusian language and a national hero in Belarus.He...
, and the army of Grand Duchy of Moscow
Grand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow or Grand Principality of Moscow, also known in English simply as Muscovy , was a late medieval Rus' principality centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia....
under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
. The Battle of Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars The conflicts are referred to as 'Muscovite wars' in Polish historiography and as 'Lithuanian wars' in Russian one; English historiography uses both, ex...
conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the lands of former Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
under their rule.
According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein
Sigismund von Herberstein
Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, , was an Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council...
, the primary source for the information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated the 80,000 Russian soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. These numbers and proportions have been disputed by modern historians. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, it had little impact on further warfare which ended in Moscow's favor. According to the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions to Moscow.
Eve of battle
At the end of 1512, the Grand Duchy of MoscowGrand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow or Grand Principality of Moscow, also known in English simply as Muscovy , was a late medieval Rus' principality centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia....
began a new war for Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
's Ruthenia
Ruthenia
Ruthenia is the Latin word used onwards from the 13th century, describing lands of the Ancient Rus in European manuscripts. Its geographic and culturo-ethnic name at that time was applied to the parts of Eastern Europe. Essentially, the word is a false Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...
n lands of present-day Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Albrecht I
Albert I, Duke of Prussia
Albert of Prussia was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia, which was the first state to adopt the Lutheran faith and Protestantism as the official state religion...
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
rebelled and refused to give a vassal pledge to Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548...
according to the Second Peace of Thorn (1466). Albert I was supported by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
.
The fortress of Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
was then the easternmost outpost of the Grand Duchy and one of the most important strongholds guarding it from the east. It repelled several Russian attacks, but in July 1514 a Russian army besieged and finally captured it. Spurred on by this initial success, the Grand Prince of Moscow
Grand Prince of Moscow
This is a list of Princes and Grand Princes of Russian Grand Duchy of Moscow.Note: the first 3 Princes are not members of the family of Daniel of Russia and their ownership of Moscow is disputed.- Princes of Moscow :* Vladimir Yuryevich This is a list of Princes and Grand Princes of Russian Grand...
Vasili III
Vasili III of Russia
Vasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil...
ordered his forces farther into present-day Belarus, occupying the towns of Krichev
Krichev
Krychaw or Krichev is a city in the eastern Belarusian Mahilyow Voblast. Krychaw is the administrative center of the Krychaw Raion. It is located on the Sozh River .Krychaw was first mentioned in 1136.-External links:* 36...
, Mstislavl and Dubrovna.
Meanwhile Sigismund the Old gathered some 35,000 troops for war with the eastern neighbor. This army was inferior in numbers, but consisted mostly of well-trained cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. The forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland placed under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski was a Lithuanian duke of slavonic origin and a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since September 11, 1497, until his death. As a speaker of the Ruthenian language he is considered to be one of the precursors of the Belarusian language and a national hero in Belarus.He...
included 16,000 of Lithuania cavalry, 14,000 of Polish cavalry
Polish cavalry
The Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of Medieval mounted knights. Poland had always been a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment...
(light and heavy), 3,000 of Polish mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, and 2,500 volunteers, mostly from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. Sigismund left 4,000–5,000 men in the town of Barysau
Barysau
Barysaw , also transliterated Barysau, is a city in Belarus situated near the Berezina River in the Minsk Voblast.-History:...
, while the main forces, around 30,000, moved on to face the Russians. At the end of August, several skirmishes took place at the crossings of the Berezina, Bobr and Drut River
Drut River
Drut is a river in Belarus, a right tributary of Dnieper. It originates in the Orsha Upland in the Belarusian Ridge and flows through Vitebsk,Mogilev and Homiel provinces of Belarus.Cities of Tolochin and Rogachev are located by Drut....
s, but the Russian army avoided a major confrontation.
Suffering negligible losses, the Russians advanced to the area between Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
and Dubrovno on the Krapivna River, where they set up camp. Ivan Chelyadnin, confident that the Lithuanian-Polish forces would have to cross one of the two bridges on the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
, split his own forces to guard those crossings. However, Ostrogski's army crossed the river farther north via two pontoon bridge
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
s. On the night of 7 September, it began preparations for a final battle with the Russians. Hetman Konstantyn Ostrogski placed most of his 16,000 horses from the Grand Duchy in the center, while most of the Polish infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and the auxiliary troops manned the flanks. The Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n infantry were deployed in the center of the line, in front of the reserves comprising Lithuanian and Polish cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
The size of the Russian army
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
about a "horde of Muscovites" which counted 80,000 men. Sigismund also claimed that his army had killed 30,000 Russians and taken prisoner 46 commanders and 1,500 nobles. Extant Polish and Lithuanian documents, however, list all captured nobles by name, only 611 men in all. The Polish historian Bohun considers it improvident to rely on "propaganda data" of Sigismund. Another Polish researcher Gembarowicz's opinion is that the number of the Russian army was about 40,000. It remains also unclear why, if the data on 70,000–80,000 is to be trusted, King Sigismund who knew about such superiority of the Russian army from Mikhail Glinsky's letters kept a personal guard of about 5,000 men (about 15% of his army) without throwing them into the battle. The Russian chronicles (Novgorodian and Sophian codexes) tell about a Polish-Lithuanian numerous superiority.
The Russian historian A. Lobin tried to calculate the size of the Russian army at Orsha based on the mobilisation capacities of the towns which had to send townspeople for military services. It is known that except for Boyar sons of the sovereign's regiment there were people of 14 towns: Novgorod, Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
, Velikie Luki, Kostroma
Kostroma
Kostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers...
, Murom
Murom
Murom is a historic city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the left bank of Oka River. Population: -History:In the 9th century CE, the city marked the easternmost settlement of the Eastern Slavs in the land of the Finno-Ugric people called Muromians. The Russian Primary Chronicle...
, Borovsk
Borovsk
Borovsk is a town and the administrative center of Borovsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located just south from the oblast's border with Moscow Oblast. It is situated on the Protva River, about southwest of Moscow.Population: 12,000 ....
, Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
, Volok
Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: -History:...
, Roslavl
Roslavl
Roslavl is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: It was founded in 1137 by the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavitch, hence the name...
, Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
, Pereyaslavl
Pereslavl-Zalessky
Pereslavl-Zalessky or Pereyaslavl-Zalessky , is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow on the main Moscow Yaroslavl road and on the shores of Pleschevo Lake. It was called Pereyaslavl until the 15th century. The town is located on the southeastern shore of the Lake...
, Kolomna
Kolomna
Kolomna is an ancient city and the administrative center of Kolomensky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, southeast of Moscow. The area of the city is about . The city was founded in 1177...
, Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
and Starodub
Starodub
Starodub is a town and the administrative center of Starodubsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Babinets River , southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 .-History:...
. Based on the data of the well-documented Polotsk campaign of 1563 the author gives following numbers: 400–500 Tatars, 200 boyar sons of the sovereign's regiment, 3,000 Novgorodian and Pskovians, and about 3,600 representatives of other towns, altogether about 7,200 noblemen. Complemented with servants the overall number of the Russian army could be 13,000-15,000 men. Considering the losses during the campaign, the abandonment of service which is documented in the sources and the number of soldiers left as garrison in Smolensk the number of Russian troops present at Orsha could be about 12,000 men.
The suggested calculation method was backed by such historians as Brian Davies (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA), N. Smirnov, A. Pankov, O. Kurbatov,, М. Krom, and V. Penskoy.
Battle
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
. The initial attack failed, and the Russians withdrew toward their starting positions. Chelyadnin was still confident that the almost 3:1 odds in his favor would give him the victory. However, preoccupied with his own wing of the Russian forces, he lost track of the other sectors and failed to coordinate a defense against the counterattack by the Lithuanian light and Polish heavy cavalry, which until then had been kept in reserve.
The Lithuanian and Polish light horse
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
and tartars attacked the overstretched center of the Russian lines in an attempt to split them. At the crucial moment the cavalry of the Grand Duchy seemed to waver, then went into retreat. The Russians pursued with all their cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
reserves. The Lithuanian tartars and Polish cavalry, after retreating for several minutes, chased by the Russians, suddenly turned to the sides. The Russian cavalry now found themselves confronted by artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
concealed in the forest. From both sides, Polish and Lithuanian forces appeared and proceeded to surround the Russians. Ivan Chelyadnin sounded retreat
Withdrawal (military)
A withdrawal is a type of military operation, generally meaning retreating forces back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a general retreat, to consolidate forces, to occupy ground that is more easily defended, or to lead the enemy into an ambush...
, which soon became somewhat panicky. The Russian forces were pursued by the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
for five kilometers.
The Russian defeat is often attributed to repeated failures by Ivan Chelyadnin and Golitsa
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
to coordinate their operations.
Sigismund von Herberstein
Sigismund von Herberstein
Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, , was an Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council...
reported that 40,000 Russians were killed. According to accounts in Polish chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
s, at the Battle of Orsha 30,000 Russians were killed and an additional 3,000 were taken captive, including Ivan Chelyadnin and eight other commanders. The forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland seized the Russian camp
Military camp
A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...
and all 300 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s. Upset at word of the massive defeat, Grand Prince Vasili III
Vasili III of Russia
Vasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil...
allegedly remarked that "the prisoners [were] as useful as the dead".
Aftermath
Ostrogski's forces continued their pursuit of the routed Russian army and retook most of the previously captured strongholds, including Mstislavl and Krychev, and the advancement of the Russians was stopped for four years. However, the Lithuanian and Polish forces were too exhausted to besiege SmolenskSmolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
before the winter. Also Ostrogski did not reach the gates of Smolensk until late September, giving Vasili III enough time to prepare defense.
In December 1514, Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Ostrogski
Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski was a Lithuanian duke of slavonic origin and a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since September 11, 1497, until his death. As a speaker of the Ruthenian language he is considered to be one of the precursors of the Belarusian language and a national hero in Belarus.He...
triumphantly entered Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. To commemorate the victory, two Orthodox churches were erected: the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Church of Saint Nicholas
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Vilnius
St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Vilnius, Lithuania.According to a popular legend, the first wooden Orthodox chapel located on the place of today's St. Nicholas church was built around 1340. Seven years later, the Vilnius martyrs were supposedly buried there...
, which remain among the most impressive examples of Orthodox Church architecture in Lithuania. Immediately after the victory, the Polish–Lithuanian state started to exploit the fact for its propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
in Europe, aimed at improving the image of Poland-Lithuania abroad. Several panegyrical accounts of the battle were sent to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. "The Polish message was similar to Bomhover's: the Muscovites are not Christians; they are cruel and barbaric; they are Asians and not Europeans; they are in league with Turks and the Tatars to destroy Christendom".
Impressed by the scope of the Lithuanian and Polish victory, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, started peace negotiations with the Jagiellons
Jagiellon dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century...
in Vienna. On 22 July 1515, final agreements on peace were made and the broad coalition against Lithuania and Poland ceased.
The war between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
and Grand Duchy of Moscow
Grand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow or Grand Principality of Moscow, also known in English simply as Muscovy , was a late medieval Rus' principality centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia....
lasted until 1520. In 1522 a peace was signed, under the terms of which Lithuania was forced to cede to Moscow about a quarter of its possessions within the lands of the former Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
, including Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
. The latter city was not retaken until almost a century later, in 1611. After the peace agreement of 1522, Grand Duchy of Lithuania tried to attack Russia one more time, but major military conflicts were settled for around 40 years.
Modern times
The battle is regarded by BelarusiansBelarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
as a symbol of national revival, but its significance is being suppressed by state authorities. In September 2005, by order of President Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
, four members of the Belarusian National Front opposition were each fined almost 4 millions roubles (roughly 1500 Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
) for celebrating the 491st anniversary of the battle.