Siege of Pskov
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(оборона Пскова in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) took place between August of 1581 and February of 1582, when the army of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory
Stefan Batory
Stephen Báthory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was a member of the Somlyó branch of the noble Hungarian Báthory family...
laid an unsuccessful siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
and successful blockade of the city of 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:...
during the final stage of the Livonian War of 1558-1583
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...
.
The first detachments of the Polish-Lithuanian
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
army, which in the previous two years captured Połock (1579) and Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki is a town on the meandering Lovat River in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is the second largest town in Pskov Oblast; population: The town is served by the Velikiye Luki Airport....
(1580), appeared at the walls of 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:...
on August 18, 1581. This action completely cut off Russian forces from the territory of Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
. The main invading force (31,000 menhttp://www.jasinski.co.uk/wojna/conflicts/conf03.htm) laid siege to the city on August 24-26. Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Vasili Skopin-Shuisky was nominally in charge of the defense of Pskov, but Prince Ivan Shuisky was the one to actually implement it. The latter had up to 4,000 dvoryane, streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
and Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s and some 12,000 armed citizens of Pskov and its surroundings at his disposal.
After a two-day shelling of Pskov, the Polish army attacked for the first time on September 8. The Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
repelled the assault, which resulted in heavy Polish losses. Attempts to blow up the fortifications with mines and a general attack on November 2 also turned out to be fruitless. In November some Polish forces attacked the Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery
Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery
Pskov-Caves Monastery or The Pskovo-Pechersky Dormition Monastery or Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery is a Russian Orthodox male monastery, located in Pechory, Pskov Oblast in Russia, just a few kilometers from the Estonian border....
, but to no avail.
King Stefan Batory then ordered a passive siege, and the battle became a blockade. On December 1 the king left the siege together with most of the Lithuanian army, volunteers and German mercenaries. Command of the remaining forces was given to Jan Zamojski. At the same time, during the siege in 1581, Polish cavalry raids devastated many regions of Russia, reaching Volga and Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...
Lake. The regular cavalry was the best unit of the Polish forces. During the harsh winter of 1581-2 the rest of the besieging army would have mutinied but for the iron will of Chancellor Zamojski. The Chancellor held the blockade, although Russian partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
s had been active in the Pskov area, attacking enemy forager
Forager
A forager is one who forages, i.e. looks for forage.Forager may refer to:*A hunter-gatherer*Forager , a fictional superhero published by DC Comics*Foraging theory, a branch of behavioral ecology...
s and communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s.
The Pskovian garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
undertook frequent sallies
Sally
-Military:*Sally , an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force*Sally, the Allied reporting name during World War II for the Imperial Japanese Armys Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber-Names:...
(approximately 46http://www.pskov.ru/en/about_region), mostly in November and December of 1581. There were 31 attacks by Polish troops during the five-month siegehttp://www.nortfort.ru/pskov/index_e.html. The siege dragged on, with neither side able to end it; in the meantime diplomatic negotiations, in which Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
became involved, led to the end of hostilities.
Stefan Batory and Ivan IV finally signed the Treaty of Jam Zapolski on January 15; Russia renounced its claims to Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
and Polotsk and in exchange the Commonwealth returned Russian territories its armies had captured. On February 4, 1582, the last detachments of the Polish-Lithuanian army left the outskirts of Pskov.