Introduction 3
1.Causes of the Livonian War 4
2.Stages of war 6
3. Results and consequences of the war 14
Conclusion 15
References 16
Introduction.
The relevance of research. The Livonian War is a significant stage in Russian history. Long and grueling, it brought Russia many losses. It is very important and relevant to consider this event, because any military actions changed the geopolitical map of our country and had a significant impact on its further socio-economic development. This directly applies to the Livonian War. It will also be interesting to reveal the variety of points of view on the causes of this collision, the opinions of historians on this matter. After all, pluralism of opinions indicates that there are many contradictions in views. Consequently, the topic has not been sufficiently studied and is relevant for further consideration.
Purpose This work is to reveal the essence of the Livonian War. To achieve the goal, it is necessary to consistently solve a number of tasks :
Identify the causes of the Livonian War
Analyze its stages
Consider the results and consequences of the war
1.Causes of the Livonian War
After the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates to the Russian state, the threat of invasion from the east and southeast was eliminated. Ivan the Terrible is faced with new tasks - to return the Russian lands once captured by the Livonian Order, Lithuania and Sweden.
In general, it is possible to clearly identify the causes of the Livonian War. However, Russian historians interpret them differently.
So, for example, N.M. Karamzin connects the beginning of the war with ill will Livonian Order. Karamzin fully approves of Ivan the Terrible’s aspirations to reach the Baltic Sea, calling them “beneficent intentions for Russia.”
N.I. Kostomarov believes that on the eve of the war, Ivan the Terrible was faced with an alternative - either to deal with Crimea or to take possession of Livonia. The historian explains Ivan IV’s counterintuitive decision to fight on two fronts by “discord” between his advisers.
S.M. Soloviev explains the Livonian War by Russia’s need to “assimilate the fruits of European civilization,” the bearers of which were not allowed into Rus' by the Livonians, who owned the main Baltic ports.
IN. Klyuchevsky practically does not consider the Livonian War at all, since he analyzes external position state only from the point of view of its influence on the development of socio-economic relations within the country.
S.F. Platonov believes that Russia was simply drawn into the Livonian War. The historian believes that Russia could not evade what was happening on its western borders, could not come to terms with unfavorable terms of trade.
M.N. Pokrovsky believes that Ivan the Terrible started the war on the recommendations of certain “advisers” from among the army.
According to R.Yu. Vipper, “The Livonian War was prepared and planned for quite a long time by the leaders of the Elected Rada.”
R.G. Skrynnikov connects the start of the war with Russia’s first success - the victory in the war with the Swedes (1554-1557), under the influence of which plans were put forward to conquer Livonia and establish itself in the Baltic states. The historian also notes that “the Livonian War turned the Eastern Baltic into an arena of struggle between states seeking dominance in the Baltic Sea.”
V.B. Kobrin pays attention to the personality of Adashev and notes his key role in the outbreak of the Livonian War.
In general, formal reasons were found for the start of the war. The real reasons were Russia’s geopolitical need to gain access to the Baltic Sea, as the most convenient for direct connections with the centers of European civilizations, as well as the desire to take an active part in the division of the territory of the Livonian Order, the progressive collapse of which was becoming obvious, but which, unwilling strengthening Russia, hindered its external contacts. For example, the Livonian authorities did not allow more than a hundred specialists from Europe invited by Ivan IV to pass through their lands. Some of them were imprisoned and executed.
The formal reason for the start of the Livonian War was the question of the “Yuriev tribute” (Yuriev, later called Dorpat (Tartu), was founded by Yaroslav the Wise). According to the treaty of 1503, an annual tribute had to be paid for it and the surrounding territory, which, however, was not done. In addition, the Order concluded a military alliance with the Lithuanian-Polish king in 1557.
2. Stages of the war.
The Livonian War can be roughly divided into 4 stages. The first (1558-1561) is directly related to the Russian-Livonian war. The second (1562-1569) involved primarily the Russian-Lithuanian war. The third (1570-1576) was distinguished by the resumption of the Russian struggle for Livonia, where they, together with the Danish prince Magnus, fought against the Swedes. The fourth (1577-1583) is associated primarily with the Russian-Polish war. During this period, the Russian-Swedish war continued.
Let's look at each of the stages in more detail.
First stage. In January 1558, Ivan the Terrible moved his troops to Livonia. The beginning of the war brought him victories: Narva and Yuriev were taken. In the summer and autumn of 1558 and at the beginning of 1559, Russian troops marched throughout Livonia (as far as Revel and Riga) and advanced in Courland to the borders of East Prussia and Lithuania. However, in 1559, under the influence of political figures grouped around A.F. Adashev, who prevented the expansion of the scope of the military conflict, Ivan the Terrible was forced to conclude a truce. In March 1559 it was concluded for a period of six months.
The feudal lords took advantage of the truce to conclude an agreement with the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus in 1559, according to which the order, lands and possessions of the Archbishop of Riga came under the protectorate of the Polish crown. In an atmosphere of acute political disagreements in the leadership of the Livonian Order, its master W. Fürstenberg was removed and G. Ketler, who adhered to a pro-Polish orientation, became the new master. In the same year, Denmark took possession of the island of Ösel (Saaremaa).
The military operations that began in 1560 brought new defeats to the Order: the large fortresses of Marienburg and Fellin were taken, the order army blocking the path to Viljandi was defeated near Ermes, and the Master of the Order Fürstenberg himself was captured. The successes of the Russian army were facilitated by the peasant uprisings that broke out in the country against the German feudal lords. The result of the campaign of 1560 was the virtual defeat of the Livonian Order as a state. The German feudal lords of Northern Estonia became Swedish citizens. According to the Treaty of Vilna of 1561, the possessions of the Livonian Order came under the authority of Poland, Denmark and Sweden, and its last master, Ketler, received only Courland, and even then it was dependent on Poland. Thus, instead of weak Livonia, Russia now had three strong opponents.
Second phase. While Sweden and Denmark were at war with each other, Ivan IV led successful actions against Sigismund II Augustus. In 1563, the Russian army took Plock, a fortress that opened the way to the capital of Lithuania, Vilna, and Riga. But already at the beginning of 1564, the Russians suffered a series of defeats on the Ulla River and near Orsha; in the same year, a boyar and a major military leader, Prince A.M., fled to Lithuania. Kurbsky.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and escapes to Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565, the oprichnina was introduced. Ivan IV tried to restore the Livonian Order, but under the protectorate of Russia, and negotiated with Poland. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation existing at that time. The Zemstvo Sobor, convened at that time, supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states until the capture of Riga: “It is unsuitable for our sovereign to give up those cities of Livonia, which the king took for protection, but it is better for the sovereign to stand for those cities.” The council's decision also emphasized that abandoning Livonia would harm trade interests.
Third stage. Since 1569 the war becomes protracted. This year, at the Sejm in Lublin, the unification of Lithuania and Poland took place into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with which in 1570 Russia managed to conclude a truce for three years.
Since Lithuania and Poland in 1570 could not quickly concentrate forces against the Moscow state, because were exhausted by the war, Ivan IV began in May 1570 to negotiate a truce with Poland and Lithuania. At the same time, he creates, having neutralized Poland, an anti-Swedish coalition, realizing his long-standing idea of forming a vassal state from Russia in the Baltics.
The Danish Duke Magnus accepted Ivan the Terrible’s offer to become his vassal (“gold-holder”) and in the same May 1570, upon his arrival in Moscow, was proclaimed “King of Livonia.” The Russian government pledged to provide the new state, settled on the island of Ezel, with its military assistance and material resources so that it could expand its territory at the expense of the Swedish and Lithuanian-Polish possessions in Livonia. The parties intended to seal the allied relations between Russia and the “kingdom” of Magnus with the marriage of Magnus to the niece of the king, the daughter of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky - Maria.
The proclamation of the Livonian Kingdom was supposed, according to the calculations of Ivan IV, to provide Russia with the support of the Livonian feudal lords, i.e. all German knighthood and nobility in Estland, Livonia and Courland, and therefore not only an alliance with Denmark (through Magnus), but also, most importantly, alliance and support for the Habsburg Empire. With this new combination in Russian foreign policy, the Tsar intended to create a vice on two fronts for an overly aggressive and restless Poland, which had grown due to the inclusion of Lithuania. Like Vasily IV, Ivan the Terrible also expressed the idea of the possibility and necessity of dividing Poland between the German and Russian states. On a more immediate level, the tsar was concerned about the possibility of creating a Polish-Swedish coalition on his western borders, which he tried with all his might to prevent. All this speaks of the tsar’s correct, strategically deep understanding of the balance of power in Europe and his accurate vision of the problems of Russian foreign policy in the near and long term. That is why his military tactics were correct: he sought to defeat Sweden alone as quickly as possible, until it came to a united Polish-Swedish aggression against Russia.
Only after doing all this difficult diplomatic training, the king began direct military action against Sweden. In July - August 1570, Russian troops in Livonia approached Revel, the capital of the Swedish Baltic region, and on August 21 began its siege. If Revel had been captured, then the entire coastline to Riga would have passed into the hands of Russian troops. But after a 30-week siege, Russian troops were forced to retreat on March 16, 1571. The failure was explained by the fact that the Danish king Fredrick II did not provide any support to Magnus, who was nominally at the head of the Russian troops, and, in addition, in the midst of the siege, he did the Swedes a favor: he concluded the Peace of Stettin with them on December 13, 1570, thereby allowing them to free naval forces and send them to the besieged Revel.
Thus, the failure of Ivan IV was that for the second time in two or three years he was let down by allies who could not be relied upon: first Eric XIV, then Fredrick II. Thus, the entire carefully thought-out and timely diplomatic operation collapsed: the Russian-Danish alliance did not take place.
Crimean aggression also played a significant role in disrupting the Russian offensive in the Baltic states: the main Russian forces, especially artillery, were thrown onto the Crimean, southern front, since the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey with his 120,000-strong army reached the very walls of the Kremlin. The uprising of the Tatars and Mari in the Volga region further worsened the situation in the country. Under these conditions, Ivan IV was no longer in the mood for active actions in the distant Baltic states. The Tsar had to agree to establish, at least briefly, a truce with the Swedes.
Since none of the points of the treaty Protocol (Record) on the truce of 1572 signed by the Swedish commissioners was fulfilled before July, Russian troops resumed military operations in Livonia. During the entire period 1572-1576. military operations in Livonia were not of a serious nature. There were no major battles. The matter was limited to the siege of cities in Northern Estonia. In 1572, during the siege of Weissenstein (Paide), Malyuta Skuratov, the favorite of Ivan the Terrible, was killed.
In 1573-1575 More than military actions, Russian diplomacy intensified in the Livonian War. Ivan the Terrible concluded his long-planned alliance with Emperor Maximilian II and an agreement on the possible division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Russia was supposed to receive Lithuania and Livonia, and the Austrian Empire - Poland to the Bug and Poznan.
At the same time, in 1573, Ivan IV entered into negotiations with Sweden about peace, which Johan III did not want to agree to, refusing personal meetings with Ivan the Terrible. Then Ivan the Terrible agreed to send an embassy to the border, to the Sestra River. The negotiations were conducted by: from Russia - Prince Sitsky, from Sweden - Admiral Flemming. The Russian conditions were that Sweden renounce its part of Livonia in favor of Moscow and provide a detachment of Landsknechts to the Tsar to fight the Crimea (2000 people). In this case, the tsar gave Sweden the right to communicate with Moscow directly, and not through the governor in Novgorod. But the Swedes did not accept these conditions. Since at this time Poland was actively preparing to re-enter the Livonian War against Russia, Ivan the Terrible made concessions to Sweden, just to get a brief respite and prepare to face new enemy pressure. The treaty did not formally relate to peace in Livonia, although the tsar hoped that the cessation of hostilities on the part of the Swedes would affect all three fronts: Karelian, Ingrian and Livonian.
In 1573, the Russians stormed Paide, a Swedish stronghold in the Baltic states. In 1575, the Saga fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov to the Russians. In January 1577, a 50,000-strong army under the command of boyar I.V. Sheremetev the Less approached Ieglekht (21 km from Revel) and besieged it, standing without lifting the siege until mid-February 1577. Only on March 10, Sheremetev turned from Northern Estonia to Southern Estonia, going to join the 100,000-strong army moving from Russia, where the Tsar himself was located. This army launched a broad offensive in the Dvina direction in June - July 1577, capturing Marienburg, Lucin, Rezhitsa, and Dinaburg. At the same time, Magnus also began to advance from Courland, going to join the Russian army. The united forces captured the fortresses of Wenden (Kes, Cesis), Volmar (Valmiera) and were a day and a half march from Riga when Ivan IV stopped the offensive, turned to Dorpat, Pskov and returned to his Alexander Sloboda. In fact, all of Livonia north of the Western Dvina (Vidzeme) was in the hands of the Russians, except for Riga, which, as a Hanseatic city, Ivan IV decided to spare.
However, military successes did not lead to a victorious conclusion to the Livonian War: a purely diplomatic victory still had to be achieved, and this time it turned out to be beyond the power of the tsar - neither the Polish nor the Swedish sides wanted to sign a peace treaty. The fact is that Russia by this time had lost the diplomatic support that it had at the beginning of the Swedish stage of the Livonian War. Firstly, Emperor Maximilian II died in October 1576, and hopes of capturing Poland and dividing it disappeared. Secondly, a new king came to power in Poland - Stefan Batory, former prince Semigradsky, one of the best commanders of his time, who was a supporter of an active Polish-Swedish alliance against Russia. Thirdly, Denmark disappeared completely as an ally and, finally, in 1578-1579. Stefan Batory managed to persuade Duke Magnus to betray the king.
Fourth stage. In 1575, the period of “kinglessness” (1572-1575) ended in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Stefan Batory was elected king. Stefan Batory, Prince of Semigrad, was supported by the Turkish Sultan Murad III. After the flight of King Henry of Valois from Poland in 1574, the Sultan sent a letter to the Polish lords demanding that the Poles not choose Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II as king, but choose one of the Polish nobles, for example Jan Kostka, or, if the king is from others powers, then Bathory or the Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa. Ivan the Terrible, in a letter to Stefan Batory, more than once hinted that he was a vassal of the Turkish Sultan, which caused a sharp response from Batory: “How dare you remind us so often of the lack of antimony, you, who prevented your blood from being with us, whose venerable mare’s milk, what had sunk into the manes of the Tatar scales was licked...” The election of Stefan Batory as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth meant the resumption of the war with Poland. However, back in 1577, Russian troops occupied almost all of Livonia, except for Riga and Revel, which were besieged in 1576-1577. But this year was last year Russia's successes in the Livonian War.
In 1579, Batory began a war against Russia. In 1579, Sweden also resumed hostilities, and Batory returned Polotsk and took Velikiye Luki, and in 1581 he besieged Pskov, intending, if successful, to go to Novgorod the Great and Moscow. The Pskovites swore “to fight Lithuania to the death for the city of Pskov without any cunning.” They kept their oath, fighting off 31 attacks. After five months of unsuccessful attempts, the Poles were forced to lift the siege of Pskov. Heroic defense of Pskov in 1581 -1582. garrison and population of the city determined a more favorable outcome of the Livonian War for Russia: the failure near Pskov forced Stefan Batory to enter into peace negotiations.
Taking advantage of the fact that Batory had actually cut off Livonia from Russia, the Swedish commander Baron Pontus Delagardie launched an operation to destroy isolated Russian garrisons in Livonia. By the end of 1581, the Swedes, having crossed the frozen Gulf of Finland on ice, captured the entire coast of Northern Estonia, Narva, Wesenberg (Rakovor, Rakvere), and then moved to Riga, along the way taking Haapsalu, Pärnu, and then the entire Southern (Russian) ) Estonia - Fellin (Viljandi), Dorpat (Tartu). In total, Swedish troops in a relatively short period captured 9 cities in Livonia and 4 in Novgorod land, nullifying all the many years of conquest of the Russian state in the Baltic states. In Ingermanland Ivan-Gorod, Yam, Koporye were taken, and in the Ladoga region - Korela.
3. Results and consequences of the war.
In January 1582, a ten-year truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky (near Pskov). Under this agreement, Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border Russian lands seized by the Polish king during hostilities were returned to her.
The defeat of the Russian troops in the simultaneous war with Poland, where the tsar was faced with the need to decide even to cede Pskov if the city was taken by storm, forced Ivan IV and his diplomats to negotiate with Sweden on the conclusion of the Treaty of Plus, humiliating for the Russian state. . Negotiations at Plus took place from May to August 1583. Under this agreement:
1. Russian state lost all its acquisitions in Livonia. It retained only a narrow section of access to the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Finland.
2. Ivan-gorod, Yam, Koporye passed to the Swedes.
3. Also, the Kexholm fortress in Karelia, along with a vast county and the coast of Lake Ladoga, went to the Swedes.
4. Russian state It turned out to be cut off from the sea, ruined and devastated. Russia lost a significant part of its territory.
Thus, the Livonian War had very difficult consequences for the Russian state, and defeat in it greatly affected its further development. However, one can agree with N.M. Karamzin, who noted that the Livonian War was “unfortunate, but not inglorious for Russia.”
Conclusion.
Thus, after analyzing this topic, you can do the following conclusions:
1. The purpose of the Livonian War was to give Russia access to the Baltic Sea in order to break the blockade from Livonia, the Polish-Lithuanian state and Sweden and establish direct communication with European countries. The immediate reason for the start of the Livonian War was the issue of the “Yuriev tribute.”
2. The Livonian War can be divided into 4 stages. The first (1558-1561) is directly related to the Russian-Livonian war. The second (1562-1569) involved primarily the Russian-Lithuanian war. The third (1570-1576) was distinguished by the resumption of the Russian struggle for Livonia, where they, together with the Danish prince Magnus, fought against the Swedes. The fourth (1577-1583) is associated primarily with the Russian-Polish war. During this period, the Russian-Swedish war continued.
3. In January 1582, a ten-year truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was concluded in Yama-Zapolsky (near Pskov). Under this agreement, Russia renounced Livonia and Belarusian lands, but some border Russian lands seized by the Polish king during hostilities were returned to her. The Treaty of Plus was concluded with Sweden. The Russian state lost all its acquisitions in Livonia.
List of used literature:
1. Vipper R.Yu. Ivan the Terrible. - M-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1944.
2. Volkov V.A. Wars and troops of the Moscow state. - M.: “Eksmo”, 2004.
3. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State, T.9. - M.: “Eksmo”, 2000..
4. Korolyuk V.D. Livonian War. - USSR Academy of Sciences, 1954.
5. Skrynnikov R. G. Ivan the Terrible. - M.: AST Publishing House LLC, 2006.
6. Solovyov S. M. History of Russia since ancient times, T.6. - M., 2001.
After the conquest of Kazan, Russia turned its gaze to the Baltic and put forward plans to capture Livonia. For Russia, the main goal of the Livonian War was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The struggle for supremacy at sea was between Lithuania and Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
The reason for the start of the war was the failure of the Livonian Order to pay tribute, which they were obliged to pay under the peace treaty of 1554. In 1558, Russian troops invaded Livonia.
At the first stage of the war (1558-1561), several cities and castles were taken, including such significant ones as Narva, Dorpat, Yuryev.
Instead of continuing the successfully launched offensive, the Moscow government granted the Order a truce and at the same time equipped an expedition against the Crimea. Taking advantage of the respite, the Livonian knights gathered military forces and, a month before the end of the truce, defeated the Russian troops.
Russia did not achieve results in the war against the Crimean Khanate and missed favorable opportunities for victory in Livonia. Moscow made peace with Crimea and concentrated all its forces in Livonia.
The second stage of the war (1562-1578) for Russia passed with varying degrees of success.
Russia's highest achievement in the Livonian War was the capture of Polotsk in February 1563, after which military failures followed
In 1566, Lithuanian ambassadors came to Moscow with a proposal for a truce and so that Polotsk and part of Livonia would remain with Moscow. Ivan the Terrible demanded all of Livonia. Such demands were rejected, and the Lithuanian king Sigismund Augustus resumed the war with Russia. In 1568, Sweden dissolved its previously concluded alliance with Russia. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united into a single state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572, Stefan Batory took the throne.
The third stage of the Livonian War (1679-1583) began with the invasion of Russia by the Polish king Stefan Batory. At the same time, Russia had to fight with Sweden. On September 9, 1581, Sweden captured Narva, and after that the continuation of the struggle for Livonia lost its meaning for Grozny. Realizing the impossibility of waging war against two opponents at once, the tsar began negotiations with Batory on a truce in order to concentrate all forces on the reconquest of Narva. But plans to attack Narva remained unfulfilled.
The result of the Livonian War was the conclusion of two treaties that were unfavorable for Russia.
On January 15, 1582, the Yam Zapolsky Treaty on a 10-year truce was signed. Russia ceded all its possessions in Livonia to Poland, and Batory returned to Russia the fortresses and cities he had conquered, but retained Polotsk.
In August 1583, Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Plus on a three-year truce. The Swedes retained all the captured Russian cities. Russia has retained a section of the coast of the Gulf of Finland with the mouth of the Neva.
The end of the Livonian War did not give Russia access to the Baltic Sea.
By Russian troops (1577), the troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth returned Polotsk and unsuccessfully besieged Pskov. The Swedes took Narva and unsuccessfully besieged Oreshek.
The war ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky (1582) and Plyussky (1583) truces. Russia lost all the conquests made as a result of the war, as well as lands on the border with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the coastal Baltic cities (Koporye, Yama, Ivangorod). The territory of the former Livonian Confederation was divided between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden and Denmark.
In Russian historical science, since the 19th century, the idea of war as Russia’s struggle for access to the Baltic Sea has been established. A number of modern scientists name other reasons for the conflict.
The Livonian War had a huge impact on events in Eastern Europe and the internal affairs of the states involved. As a result, the Livonian Order ended its existence, the war contributed to the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire led to economic decline.
The disunity and military weakness of Livonia (according to some estimates, the Order could field no more than 10 thousand soldiers in open battle), the weakening of the once powerful Hansa, the expansionist aspirations of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, Sweden, Denmark and Russia led to a situation in which the existence of the Livonian Confederation was threatened .
Proponents of another approach believe that Ivan IV did not plan to start a large-scale war in Livonia, and the military campaign of early 1558 was nothing more than a show of force in order to push the Livonians to pay the promised tribute, supported by the fact that the Russian army was originally planned to be used on Crimean direction. Thus, according to historian Alexander Filyushkin, on the Russian side, the war did not have the character of a “struggle for the sea,” and not a single Russian contemporary events the document does not contain information about the need to break into the sea.
Also important is the fact that in 1557 the Livonian Confederation and the Polish-Lithuanian Union concluded the Pozvol Treaty, which grossly violated the Russian-Livonian treaties of 1554 and included an article on a defensive-offensive alliance directed against Moscow. In historiography, both contemporaries of those events (I. Renner) and later researchers have the opinion that it was that treaty that provoked Ivan IV into decisive military action in January 1558, in order to prevent time for the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to mobilize their forces to secure their Livonia.
However, a number of other historians believe that the Pozvolsky Treaty had little influence on the development of the situation in 1558 around Livonia. According to V. E. Popov and A. I. Filyushkin, the question of whether the Pozvolsky Treaty was case belli for Moscow is controversial, since it has not yet been substantiated by legislative material, and the military alliance against Moscow at that time was postponed for 12 years. According to E. Tiberg, Moscow at that time did not know at all about the existence of this agreement. V.V. Penskoy believes that in this matter it is not so important whether the fact of concluding the Pozvolsky Treaty case belli for Moscow, which, as the cause of the Livonian War, went in conjunction with others, such as the open intervention of Poland and Lithuania in Livonian affairs, the non-payment of the “Yuriev tribute” by the Livonians, the strengthening of the blockade of the Russian state, and so on, which inevitably led to war.
By the beginning of the war, the Livonian Order was further weakened by defeat in the conflict with the Archbishop of Riga and Sigismund II Augustus, who supported him. On the other hand, Russia gained strength after the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, Bashkiria, the Great Nogai Horde, the Cossacks and Kabarda.
The Russian kingdom began the war on January 17, 1558. The invasion of Russian troops in January-February 1558 into the Livonian lands was a reconnaissance raid. 40 thousand people took part in it under the command of Khan Shig-Aley (Shah-Ali), governor M.V. Glinsky and D.R. Zakharyin-Yuryev. They walked through the eastern part of Estonia and returned back by the beginning of March [ ] . The Russian side motivated this campaign solely by the desire to receive due tribute from Livonia. The Livonian Landtag decided to collect 60 thousand thalers for settlements with Moscow in order to end the war that had begun. However, by May only half of the declared amount had been collected. In addition, the Narva garrison fired at the Ivangorod fortress, thereby violating the armistice agreement.
This time a more powerful army moved to Livonia. The Livonian Confederation at that time could put no more than 10 thousand people in the field, not counting the fortress garrisons. Thus, its main military asset was the powerful stone walls of the fortresses, which by this time could no longer effectively withstand the power of heavy siege weapons.
Voivodes Alexey Basmanov and Danila Adashev arrived in Ivangorod. In April 1558, Russian troops besieged Narva. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the command of the knight Focht Schnellenberg. On May 11, a fire broke out in the city, accompanied by a storm (according to the Nikon Chronicle, the fire occurred due to the fact that drunken Livonians threw an Orthodox icon of the Mother of God into the fire). Taking advantage of the fact that the guards had left the city walls, the Russians rushed to storm.
“Very vile, terrible, hitherto unheard of, true new news, what atrocities the Muscovites commit with captive Christians from Livonia, men and women, virgins and children, and what harm they cause them daily in their country. Along the way, it is shown what the great danger and need of the Livonians lies. “Written from Livonia and printed for all Christians to warn and improve their sinful lives,” Georg Breslein, Nuremberg, "Flying Leaf", 1561
They broke through the gates and took possession of the lower city. Having captured the guns located there, the warriors turned them around and opened fire on the upper castle, preparing the stairs for the attack. However, by the evening the defenders of the castle themselves surrendered on the condition of free exit from the city.
The defense of the Neuhausen fortress was particularly tenacious. It was defended by several hundred warriors led by the knight von Padenorm, who repelled the onslaught of the governor Peter Shuisky for almost a month. On June 30, 1558, after the destruction of the fortress walls and towers by Russian artillery, the Germans retreated to the upper castle. Von Padenorm expressed a desire to hold the defense here too, but the surviving defenders of the fortress refused to continue their pointless resistance. As a sign of respect for their courage, Pyotr Shuisky allowed them to leave the fortress with honor.
In 1560, the Russians resumed hostilities and won a number of victories: Marienburg (now Aluksne in Latvia) was taken; German forces were defeated at Ermes, after which Fellin (now Viljandi in Estonia) was taken. The Livonian Confederation collapsed. During the capture of Fellin, the former Livonian landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Wilhelm von Furstenberg, was captured. In 1575, he sent his brother a letter from Yaroslavl, where the former landmaster had been granted land. He told a relative that he “has no reason to complain about his fate.” Sweden and Lithuania, who acquired the Livonian lands, demanded that Moscow remove troops from their territory. Ivan the Terrible refused, and Russia found itself in conflict with the coalition of Lithuania and Sweden.
In the autumn of 1561, the Union of Vilna was concluded on the formation of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia on the territory of Livonia and the transfer of other lands to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
On November 26, 1561, the German Emperor Ferdinand I banned supplies to the Russians through the port of Narva. Eric XIV, King of Sweden, blockaded the port of Narva and sent Swedish privateers to intercept merchant ships sailing to Narva.
In 1562, there was a raid by Lithuanian troops on the Smolensk and Velizh regions. In the summer of the same year, the situation on the southern borders of the Russian kingdom worsened [com 4], which moved the timing of the Russian offensive in Livonia to the fall. In 1562, in the battle of Nevel, Prince Andrei Kurbsky failed to defeat the Lithuanian detachment that invaded the Pskov region. On August 7, a peace treaty was signed between Russia and Denmark, according to which the Tsar agreed with the Danish annexation of the island of Oesel.
The prophecy of the Russian saint, the wonderworker Peter Metropolitan, about the city of Moscow, that his hands would rise up against the shoulders of his enemies, was fulfilled: God poured out untold mercy on us unworthy, our patrimony, the city of Polotsk, was given to us into our handsIn response to the proposal of the German Emperor Ferdinand to conclude an alliance and join forces in the fight against the Turks, the Tsar declared that he was fighting in Livonia practically for his own interests, against the Lutherans [ ] . The Tsar knew what place the idea of the Catholic Counter-Reformation occupied in Habsburg policy. By speaking out against “Luther’s teaching,” Ivan the Terrible touched a very sensitive chord in Habsburg politics.
After the capture of Polotsk, there was a decline in Russia's successes in the Livonian War. Already the Russians suffered a number of defeats (Battle of Chashniki). A boyar and a major military leader, who actually commanded the Russian troops in the West, Prince A. M. Kurbsky, went over to the side of Lithuania; he betrayed the king’s agents in the Baltic states to the king and participated in the Lithuanian raid on Velikiye Luki.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible responded to military failures and the reluctance of eminent boyars to fight against Lithuania with repressions against the boyars. In 1565, the oprichnina was introduced. In 1566, a Lithuanian embassy arrived in Moscow, proposing to divide Livonia on the basis of the situation existing at that time. The Zemsky Sobor, convened at this time, supported the intention of the government of Ivan the Terrible to fight in the Baltic states until the capture of Riga.
A difficult situation has developed in the north of Russia, where relations with Sweden have again become strained, and in the south (the campaign of the Turkish army near Astrakhan in 1569 and the war with the Crimea, during which the army of Devlet I Giray burned Moscow in 1571 and devastated the southern Russian lands). However, the onset of a long-term “kinglessness” in the Republic of Both Nations and the creation in Livonia of the vassal kingdom of Magnus, which at first had an attractive force in the eyes of the population of Livonia, again made it possible to tip the scales in favor of Russia. [ ]
In order to interrupt the growing trade turnover of Narva, which was under Russian control, Poland, followed by Sweden, launched active privateering activities in the Baltic Sea. In 1570, measures were taken to protect Russian trade on the Baltic Sea. Ivan the Terrible issued a “royal letter of marque” (patent of marque) to the Dane Carsten Rohde. Despite the short period of activity, Rode's actions were quite effective, reducing Swedish and Polish trade in the Baltic, forcing Sweden and Poland to equip special squadrons to capture Rode. [ ]
In 1575, the Sage fortress surrendered to the army of Magnus, and Pernov (now Pärnu in Estonia) surrendered to the Russians. After the campaign of 1576, Russia captured the entire coast except Riga and Revel.
However, the unfavorable international situation, the distribution of land in the Baltic states to Russian nobles, which alienated the local peasant population from Russia, and serious internal difficulties (economic ruin looming over the country) negatively influenced the further course of the war for Russia. [ ]
The Tsar's ambassador John Kobenzel testified about the complex relations between the Moscow state and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1575: [ ]
“Only the Poles are proud of their disrespect for him; but he also laughs at them, saying that he took more than two hundred miles of land from them, and they did not make a single courageous effort to return what was lost. He receives their ambassadors poorly. As if regretting me, the Poles predicted exactly the same reception for me and foreshadowed many troubles; meanwhile, this great Sovereign received me with such honors that if His Tsar Majesty had decided to send me to Rome or Spain, then I could not have expected a better reception there either.”Poles on a dark night
Before the very Intercession,
With a hired squad
They sit in front of the fire.
Filled with courage
The Poles are twirling their mustaches,
They came in a band
To destroy Holy Rus'.
On January 23, 1577, a 50,000-strong Russian army again besieged Revel, but failed to take the fortress. In February 1578, Nuncio Vincent Laureo reported with alarm to Rome: “The Muscovite divided his army into two parts: one is expected near Riga, the other near Vitebsk.” By this time, all of Livonia along the Dvina, with the exception of only two cities - Revel and Riga, was in the hands of the Russians [ ] . At the end of the 70s, Ivan IV began building his military fleet in Vologda and tried to transfer it to the Baltic, but the plan was not implemented.
The king takes on a difficult task; the strength of the Muscovites is great, and, with the exception of my master, there is no more powerful Sovereign on earthIn 1578, a Russian army under the command of Prince Dmitry Khvorostinin took the city of Oberpalen, occupied by a strong Swedish garrison after the flight of King Magnus. In 1579, the royal messenger Wenceslaus Lopatinsky brought the king a letter from Batory declaring war. Already in August Polish army surrounded Polotsk. The garrison defended itself for three weeks, and its bravery was noted by Batory himself. In the end, the fortress surrendered (August 30), and the garrison was released. Stephen's secretary Bathory Heidenstein writes about the prisoners:
According to the institutions of their religion, they consider loyalty to the Sovereign to be as obligatory as loyalty to God; they extol with praise the firmness of those who kept their oath to their prince until their last breath, and say that their souls, having parted with their bodies, immediately move to heaven. [ ]
However, “many archers and other Moscow people” went over to Batory’s side and were settled by him in the Grodno region. Following this, Batory moved to Velikiye Luki and took them.
At the same time, direct peace negotiations were underway with Poland. Ivan the Terrible proposed giving Poland all of Livonia, with the exception of four cities. Batory did not agree to this and demanded all Livonian cities, in addition Sebezh, and payment of 400,000 Hungarian gold for military costs. This infuriated Grozny, and he responded with a sharp letter.
Polish and Lithuanian troops ravaged the Smolensk region, the Seversk land, the Ryazan region, the southwest of the Novgorod region, and plundered Russian lands right up to the upper reaches of the Volga. The Lithuanian voivode Philon Kmita from Orsha burned 2,000 villages in the western Russian lands and captured a huge [ ] . Lithuanian magnates Ostrozhsky and Vishnevetsky, with the help of light cavalry units, plundered
Ivan the Terrible, no matter how terrible he was, was still an outstanding ruler. In particular, he waged successful wars - for example, with Kazan and Astrakhan. But he also had an unsuccessful campaign. It cannot be said that the Livonian War ended in a real defeat for the Muscovite kingdom, but many years of battles, expenses and losses ended in the actual restoration of the original position.
Window to Europe
Peter the Great was not the first to understand well the importance of the Baltic Sea for Russian, and not only Russian, trade. There is no clear indication in written sources that, when starting the war, his goal was precisely to provide his country with access to the Baltic. But the first king was an educated man, he was interested in foreign experience, ordered specialists from abroad and even wooed the Queen of England. Consequently, his actions had so much in common with Peter’s policies (Peter, by the way, was very formidable), that one can reasonably assume that the war that began in 1558 had a “naval” purpose. The king did not need a layer between his state and foreign merchants and craftsmen.
In addition, the support of a number of states for the weak and unauthoritative Livonian Confederation proves the same point: they fought not for Livonia, but against the strengthening of Russia’s trade position.
We conclude: the reasons for the Livonian War boil down to the struggle for the possibilities of Baltic trade and dominance in this matter.
With varied success
It is quite difficult to name the sides of the war. Russia had no allies in it, and its opponents were the Livonian Confederation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland (after the Union of Lublin in 15696), Sweden, and Denmark. At different stages, Russia fought with different opponents in different numbers.
The first stage of the war (1558-1561) against the weak Livonian Confederation was successful for the Moscow army. The Russians took Narva, Neuhausen, Dorpat and many other fortresses and marched through Courland. But the Livonians, taking advantage of the proposed truce, recognized themselves as vassals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1561, and this large state entered the war.
The course of the war with Lithuania (until 1570) showed its “maritime” essence - Germany and Sweden declared a blockade of Narva, preventing the Russians from gaining a foothold in the Baltic trade. Lithuania fought not only for the Baltic, but also for the lands on its border with Russia, where Polotsk was captured by the Russians in 1564. But further success was on the side of Lithuania, and there were two reasons for this: greed and treason. Many boyars preferred to fight with the Crimea, hoping to profit from the southern black soil. There were many direct traitors, the most famous of whom was Andrei Kurbsky.
At the third stage, Russia fought on two sides: with Sweden (1570-1583) and Denmark (1575-1578) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1577-1582). Important for this period was the fact that fighting most often they were carried out on previously devastated lands, where the population, due to the duration of the war, had a negative attitude towards the Russians. Russia itself was also weakened, both by prolonged hostilities and by the oprichnina. Polish-Lithuanian detachments successfully reached quite far into the Russian rear (as far as Yaroslavl). As a result, Lithuania received Polotsk back, and the Swedes captured not only Narva, but also Ivangorod and Koporye.
During this period, funny episodes also occurred. So, the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stefan Batory did not find anything better than to send Ivan... a challenge to a personal duel! The Tsar ignored this stupidity, worthy of a petty quarrelsome nobleman, and did the right thing.
Modest results
The war ended with the signing of the Yam-Zapolsky truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1582, and in 1583 - the Plyussky truce with Sweden. Russia's territorial losses were insignificant: Ivangorod, Yam, Koporye, a small part of the western lands. Basically, Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth divided the former Livonia (the current Baltic states and Finland).
For Rus', the main result of the Livonian War was something else. It turned out that for 20 years, with interruptions, Russia fought in vain. Its northwestern regions are depopulated and resources are depleted. Crimean raids on its territory became more devastating. Failures in the Livonian War actually turned Ivan 4 into the Terrible - numerous real betrayals became one of the reasons that, however, the right punished more than the guilty. Military ruin was the first step towards the future Time of Troubles.
The Livonian War became one of the largest military conflicts of the 16th century, engulfing Russia and northeastern Europe. The armies of the Livonian Confederation, Moscow, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Swedish and Danish kingdoms fought on the territory of modern Estonia, Latvia and Belarus. Following the interests of the state, Ivan IV the Terrible, who became famous as an ambitious and capricious monarch, decided to take part in the upcoming redistribution of Europe in connection with the extinction of the once strong Livonian Order. As a result, the protracted conflict was not crowned with success for Moscow.
First, you should briefly talk about the participants in this war and find out the strengths of the parties.
Livonian Confederation
The Livonian Order, or the Brotherhood of the Knights of Christ of Livonia, is a military-religious organization of crusading knights based in northeastern Europe back in the 13th century. Relations between the Livonians and the Russian principalities did not work out from the very beginning; in 1242, the knights who were still part of the Teutonic Order took part in the campaign against Pskov and Novgorod, but were defeated in a battle known as Battle on the Ice. By the 15th century, the order had weakened, and Livonia was a confederation of the Order and four princely bishoprics that competed fiercely with each other.
Map of the Livonian Confederation
By the 16th century, the internal political situation only worsened, social and political disunity in the order lands increased to a critical limit. Therefore, it is not surprising that Livonia’s non-peaceful neighbors, namely Sweden, Denmark and Russia, circled like vultures over the Baltic states, expecting quick prey. One of the predecessors of Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duke Ivan III, at the beginning of the 16th century, concluded a peace treaty with the Order, according to which the Livonians paid an annual tribute to Pskov. Subsequently, Ivan the Terrible tightened the terms of the treaty, additionally demanding the abandonment of military alliances with Lithuania and Sweden. The Livonians refused to comply with such demands, and in 1557 the Order signed a treaty of vassalage with Poland. In 1558, a war began, which put an end to the Livonian Confederation.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
A vast state, located on the territory of modern Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, was formed in the 13th century, and since the 16th century it existed as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the XV-XVI centuries Principality of Lithuania was Moscow's main rival for dominance over the territories from Smolensk to the Bug and from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Therefore, the active participation of the Litvins in the Livonian War is not at all surprising.
Russian kingdom
As we have already mentioned, the initiator of the Livonian War was Ivan the Terrible, one of the most famous Russian sovereigns. From his father Vasily III he inherited a strong state, albeit one that had been waging incessant wars for the expansion of territory since the beginning of the 16th century. One of the goals of the active tsar was the Baltic states, since the Livonian Order, falling into insignificance, could not provide significant resistance to Russia. The entire strength of the Livonians lay in their medieval heritage - many fortified castles that formed a powerful defensive line capable of for a long time bind the enemy's forces.
Ivan the Terrible (Parsun of the late XVI century)
The basis of Ivan the Terrible's army were the archers - the first regular Russian army, recruited from urban and rural residents, armed with cannons and arquebuses. Seemingly impregnable medieval castles could not protect their owners from rapidly developing and improving artillery. Shortly before the start of the war, in 1557, the tsar gathered an army of forty thousand in Novgorod for the upcoming campaign and was confident of the impending success.
Initial period of the war
The war began on January 17, 1558 with a reconnaissance raid of Russian troops on Livonian territory, which was led by the Kazan Khan Shah-Ali and the governors Glinsky and Zakharyev-Yuryev. The diplomatic justification for the campaign was an attempt to obtain the tribute due to Pskov from the Livonians, but the Order had no chance of collecting the required amount of 60 thousand thalers.
Narva was a strong border fortress of the Livonian Order, founded by the Danes in the 13th century. On the other side of the border, to protect against a possible invasion, the Ivangorod Fortress was erected at the end of the 15th century. The distance between the fortifications was about two kilometers, which, after the outbreak of hostilities, allowed the garrison of Narva, commanded by knight Focht Schnellenberg, to open fire on Ivangorod, provoking a long artillery firefight. By April 1558, Russian troops led by governors Daniil Adashev, Alexei Basmanov and Ivan Buturlin approached Narva. The siege began.
On May 11, the fortress was engulfed in fire, which grew due to strong wind. The defenders of Narva had to leave the walls and rush into an unequal battle with a more powerful enemy - the raging flame. Taking advantage of the panic in the city, Ivan the Terrible's troops launched an assault and broke through the gates without hindrance. Having quickly captured the lower city along with enemy artillery, they opened fire on the upper city and the citadel. The besieged quickly accepted their inevitable defeat and surrendered on the terms of free exit from the city. Narva was taken.
Along with the fortress, Ivan the Terrible received a harbor with access to the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea - it became the cradle of the Russian fleet.
In addition to the quick capture of Narva with little bloodshed, 1558 was crowned with a number of equally successful operations of the Russian army. At the end of June, despite the heroic defense, Neuhausen Castle fell, whose garrison was led by the knight Uexküll von Padenorm - the fortress successfully fought back for a whole month, but truly knightly courage was powerless against the artillery of the governor Peter Shuisky. In July, Shuisky captured Dorpat (modern Tartu) - for seven days artillery destroyed the fortifications almost point-blank, after which the besieged could only negotiate surrender.
Gotthard von Ketler (portrait of the last third of the 16th century)
As a result, during the spring-autumn period of 1558, the Streltsy army captured two dozen fortresses, including those that voluntarily came under the authority of the Russian Tsar. By the end of the year, the situation changed - the Livonians decided to launch a counterattack. By 1559, Gotthard von Kettler became the new head of the Order, becoming the last in history to hold the title of Landmaster of the Teutonic Order in Livonia...
Campaign of 1559
At the end of the year, when the Russian troops retreated to winter quarters, leaving garrisons in the captured fortresses, the new landmaster, with some difficulty, managed to gather an army of ten thousand and approached the fortress of Ringen, guarded by only a few hundred archers. The defenders, doomed to defeat, heroically defended themselves for five weeks. Voivode Repnin came to the aid of Ringen, but his detachment of two thousand people was defeated by Ketler’s army. When the archers ran out of gunpowder, the Livonians were able to capture the fortress. All its defenders were destroyed. However, the capture of Ringen can hardly be called a success for the Livonians - after spending more than a month and losing a fifth of his army during the siege, Ketler was unable to continue the offensive and retreated to Riga.
After the capture of Ringen by the Livonians, Tsar Ivan the Terrible decided to give the Order an adequate response. At the beginning of 1559, the archers, led by governor Vasily Semenovich Serebryany-Obolensky, crossed the Livonian border and on January 17 met with the army of the knight Friedrich von Felkersam near the city of Tirzen (now Tirza in Latvia). The battle ended in a crushing defeat for the Livonians - Frederick himself and 400 knights (not counting ordinary soldiers) died, the rest were captured or fled. Taking advantage of the success, Russian troops marched through the Livonian lands through Riga to the Prussian border, capturing 11 more cities.
This operation caused the complete collapse of the Livonian army, whose combat effectiveness decreased to a catastrophic level. By the spring of 1559, all the neighbors of the Order had significantly revived, since not only Moscow had views of the lands of Livonia. Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Denmark demanded that Ivan the Terrible stop the campaign, threatening to take the side of the Livonian Confederation.
An equally important factor was the concern of European monarchs about the strengthening of Moscow. Thus, the Lithuanian Prince Sigismund II, not without notes of panic, reported in a dispatch to Queen Elizabeth of England:
“The Moscow sovereign daily increases his power by acquiring goods that are brought to Narva, because, among other things, weapons are brought here that are still unknown to him... military specialists arrive, through whom he acquires the means to defeat everyone...”
Another difficulty was disagreements in Moscow itself. The lack of a common military strategy, when some of the boyars considered access to the Baltic the highest priority, and the other advocated the rapid liquidation of the Crimean Khanate, caused heated debate among the tsar's associates. If the emergence of Moscow-controlled Baltic ports redrew the geopolitical and commercial map of Europe, significantly tilting the scales in favor of Ivan the Terrible, then a successful southern campaign would have ensured the protection of the borders from constant raids and enriched the governors and boyars with new land acquisitions.
Sigismund II Augustus, Grand Duke of Lithuania (portrait by Lucas Cranach, 1553)
As a result, the king made concessions and agreed to give the Livonians a truce from March to November 1559. The Order used the resulting respite to its maximum benefit. Unable to cope with the tsar alone, the Livonians decided to invite more participants to the gambling table, drawing Poland and Sweden into the conflict with Ivan the Terrible. However, this intrigue did not help them much. Gotthard von Ketler concluded an agreement with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II, according to which the lands of the Order and the Archbishop of Riga fell under the protectorate of Lithuania. Later, Revel went to the king of Sweden, and the island of Ezel (Saaremaa) to the brother of the Danish king, Duke Magnus.
Having received external help, in the early autumn of 1559 the Livonians violated the truce and, with an unexpected attack, defeated the detachment of governor Pleshcheev near Dorpat. However, by the time they reached the fortress, the head of the garrison, Voivode Katyrev-Rostovsky, had time to prepare for defense. 10 days of siege and mutual artillery salvos did not produce results, and Ketler was forced to retreat.
On the way back, Ketler undertook a siege of the Lais fortress, which the Streltsy leader Koshkarov, together with a garrison of 400 people, bravely defended for two days, until the Livonians retreated again. The Order's autumn campaign not only failed to produce any results, but also provoked Moscow into resuming hostilities.
1560 Campaign
In the summer of 1560, Ivan the Terrible sent an army of sixty thousand with 40 siege and 50 field guns under the command of Ivan Mstislavsky and Pyotr Shuisky to Dorpat. The target of the subsequent attack was to be Fellin (modern Viljandi), the most powerful fortress of the Order in eastern Livonia.
According to intelligence, the Livonians were transporting a rich treasury to Gapsal (Haapsalu in northwestern Estonia), and the Russian vanguard of twelve thousand horsemen was in a hurry to block the road from Fellin to the sea. By August 2, the horsemen had set up camp a few kilometers from Ermes Castle (now Ergeme in Latvia). Meanwhile, Livonian troops, led by Landmarshal Philipp von Boell, “the last hope of Livonia,” gathered at Trikata Castle to repel the enemy. Also on August 2, three dozen knights went for forage, where they encountered numerous enemy patrols.
Both sides opened fire, one Russian was killed, the rest chose to retreat to the camp. The knights split up: 18 turned for reinforcements, 12 rushed after the retreating ones. When the first detachment returned to the camp, Belle ordered 300 horsemen to be deployed against the Russians, since he had no idea about the number of the enemy, and the arriving knights saw only a small detachment. The Livonian horsemen who set out were quickly surrounded, and when the battle began, many of them fled. As a result, more than 250 knights died, many were captured. Among them was Philip von Bell - the “last hope” did not justify itself, and the road to Fellin was now open.
Siege of Fellin (engraving from the book of Leonhard Fronsperger, 16th century)
The army of Mstislavsky and Shuisky reached Fellin in August of the same year. The siege began. The fortress was defended by a garrison under the leadership of the former master Firstenberg. For three weeks, Russian artillery continuously shelled the walls of the old but strong castle. Attempts by the Livonian troops to lift the siege were successfully repulsed by the archers. When the outer fortifications fell and a fire started in the city, Firstenberg, not wanting to negotiate and surrender, ordered defense in an impregnable castle inside the fortress. However, the garrison, which had not received pay for several months, was not ready for such heroism and refused to carry out the order. On August 21, Fellin capitulated.
The defenders received the right to free exit from the city, important prisoners were sent to Moscow, and the garrison soldiers who reached Riga were hanged by the Livonians for treason. The fall of Fellin practically put an end to the existence of the Livonian Order. In 1561, von Kettler finally transferred his lands to Polish-Lithuanian ownership, which was what the neighbors were counting on. According to the Treaty of Vilna of November 1561, the Order officially ceased to exist, and Ketler received the Duchy of Courland. The division of rich spoils began: Revel (Tallinn) recognized Swedish citizenship, Denmark laid claims to the islands of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. Thus, instead of one weakened Order, several European states stood in the way of Moscow, despite the fact that the tsar’s army lost the initiative, not having time to capture the ports of Riga and Revel and gain access to the sea.
But Ivan the Terrible refused to retreat. The real war was just beginning.
To be continued
