It was the early morning of September 8,
1514. A Muscovite army numbering tens of thousands of horsemen, commanded by
Ivan Chelyadnin, was deployed nearby two bridges crossing the Dnieper river.
They were ready to ambush the Polish-Lithuanian army, which would cross the bridge any minute now.
Then, suddenly, a scout galloped towards Chelyadnin. He relayed how the Polish-Lithuanian
army built two pontoon bridges much farther to the north and was already deployed in battle
formation. Chelyadnin had to change his plans as the battle of Orsha was about to break out.
[Towards Orsha]
King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund the Old,
had been on the throne for six years. The initial years of his reign were marked by
chaos and turmoil. His two brothers, John Albert and Alexander preceded him as King of Poland.
Their untimely deaths led to his ascension to the throne. But the rapid succession played in favour
of the enemies of Sigismund's family and position. To his west, the Grand Master of the Teutonic
Order, Frederick of Saxony, refused to give any of the brothers a vassal pledge. Their deaths allowed
him not to do so continuously. When Frederick passed away and was succeeded by Albrecht,
he also refused to pledge vassalage. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, supported this disobedience.
Anything to weaken that emerging power to his east.
But Sigismund faced more setbacks during his initial reign. In 1508 a group of nobles,
led by Prince Mikhail Glinski, launched an open rebellion in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Glinski and his supporters looked to the east,
where the Grand Duchy of Moscow was making a name for itself as a regional powerhouse.
In 1504 Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow ruled the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
He radically expanded the duchy's territory during his reign through cunning power politics. In 1480
he defeated the Great Horde, restoring Moscow's, and Rus's independence since nearly 2.5 centuries.
He was known as Ivan the Great for his exploits. When he died in 1505, after a 43-year-long reign,
his son, Vasili III, succeeded him. The new Grand Prince was dead-set on following in his father's
footsteps and continuing the expansion of Moscow's influence, status and territory.
Within a few years, he annexed the autonomous Pskov and Volokolamsk. But more than that,
the instability to the west did not go unnoticed. When he learned the rebellious Khan Menli I Giray
of the Crimean Khanate received subsidies from Sigismund, goading him into battle against
Moscow, he decided to take advantage of it. By late 1512, the Grand Duchy of Moscow launched
a campaign against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It aimed to seize the Ruthenian lands. Their
main objective was to capture Smolensk, the most critical border post. His forces laid siege to it.
Heavily outnumbered, the defenders of the stronghold held out bravely.
Meanwhile, several skirmishes in the Severia region saw Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski
ravage and defeat the Muscovites. Vasili required help. He approached Glinski and
promised to support his insurrection. Supplying him with artillery and troops,
the Muscovite forces ended up seizing Smolensk in 1514. After 110 years of Lithuanian control,
and six sieges, the Muscovites finally captured it. Vasili had all gold, silver and ornaments
shipped to Moscow. A large Muscovite force under Kniaz Ivan Chelyadnin roamed around
the region to keep things under control. Things were looking good for the Muscovites.
They capitalised on their success, seizing Krichev, Mstislavl and Dubrovna right after.
News spread across European courts: had Moscow become a power to be reckoned with?
News of the fall of Smolensk unnerved Sigismund significantly.
Already recruiting a sizeable army, he now doubled his efforts. By August, his army numbered 30.000.
About half of them Lithuanians, the other half Poles. Especially the famous heavy cavalry would
make up for his numerical inferiority, he figured. Hetmans commanded the Lithuanian detachments.
Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski and Field Hetman Jerzy “Herkules” Radziwill commanded
the Lithuanians. When the army reached the village of Borisov,
Sigismund set up his base there. He did not plan on leading his army into battle and stayed behind
with 5000 troops. He handed supreme command to Ostrogski, continuing the march towards Smolensk.
News of the approach reached Chelyadnin. Throughout the next few days,
skirmishes occurred around several river crossings. But no decisive battle occurred.
The skirmishes led Chelyadnin to believe Ostrogski's forces had to cross
either of the bridges over the Dnieper under his control. So near the village of Orsha,
the last line of defence before Smolensk, he deployed his army awaiting his enemy's arrival.
[Battle formations]
Scouts relayed to Chelyadnin that the hostile army was much larger than expected,
between 25- and 35.000 troops.
According to primary sources, the Muscovite army numbered between 40- and 80.000 troops,
with 40.000 being the more realistic estimate. Chelyadnin's army deployed a few kilometres
removed from the river bank, near the road from Orsha to Dubrovna. Ostrogski would
have to cross the bridges they faced, and once he did, his army would be trapped by the Muscovites.
On the night of September 6, Ostrogski's forces reached Orsha. But after the locals warned him,
he understood the danger and took his army north. Several detachments of Lithuanian horse archers
galloped south to mislead the Muscovites into thinking the army remained at Orsha.
His army constructed two pontoon bridges to the north using barrels and beam rafts.
Sources detail how the knights wearing up to 30kg of armour and lances had to make the crossing.
When one of the pontoon bridges collapsed, the knights had to swim ashore with their heavy kits.
Surprisingly, they lost only one soldier during the crossing.
By 9 AM, the army had finished crossing the bridges. They immediately began preparing
for the imminent battle. Their army numbered under 35.000 soldiers. 15.000 Lithuanian landed service,
14.000 regular cavalries and 3000 infantry, mainly wielding arquebuses. The number of
artillery, although numerous, remains unknown. Ostrogski deployed in front of Pszyno. Most of
his cavalry was on his right flank. On his left, three lines of cavalry, one heavy, two light,
would attack in a staggered pattern. The centre was split into two parts, Lithuanian cavalry on
the left and Polish on the right. To the rear stood the Polish and Lithuanian reserve cavalry.
Ostrogski personally led the Lithuanian vanguard. When Chelyadnin realised what
was happening, he moved north to attack Ostrogski. They advanced in a traditional formation. 12.000
cavalry on the right flank, commanded by Prince Mikhail Golitsa, 7000 in the vanguard, and 10.000
on the left. The rearguard consisted of another 10.000. The central regiment, commanded by him,
numbered some 20.000 troops. It consisted of the "bravest of the brave", according to chronicles.
[Battle sequence]
It wasn't until 2 PM that Chelyadnin finished deploying. He then sounded the attack. The right
flank under Golitsa charged ahead, in a wide arch, trying to outflank the enemy. Meanwhile,
the vanguard advanced, intending to attack the Lithuanians in their rear once they
responded to the outflanking manoeuvre. But the vanguard's movement did not go unnoticed,
and both sides exchanged volleys of arrows. Ostrogski deemed it too big a risk to have the
light cavalry respond to the flanking manoeuvre. Instead, he ordered the Polish heavy lancers to
charge. Picking up speed and making clever use of the slopey terrain, the Polish heavy
cavalry crashed into Golitsa's flank. Heavy combat broke out, and initially,
it appeared the Poles had the upper hand. But they lacked the numbers,
and after recovering from the initial shock, the Muscovite cavalry put up a spirited defence.
Part of the advancing vanguard decided to swerve to their aid. They attacked the Poles in their
rear. "In some places, it was not two against one like Ostrogski expected, but six against one".
Meanwhile, the left launched a charge against the other flank. Outnumbering his enemy 3 to 1,
the Muscovites crashed into their lines. Savage combat broke out on this flank as well.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the outnumbered Poles were in trouble. Ostrogski decided to
come to his aid and personally led the charge. Some 3000 heavy cavalry crashed into the melee.
On a relatively small surface area, 20.000 mounted men were now engaged in savage combat.
The arrival of Ostrogski appeared to make a difference. Heavy fighting continued,
but the Muscovites were pushed towards the bank of the Dnieper. Despite outnumbering their foe,
they retreated to the main line before too long. The other side of the battlefield saw a different
story. The Poles were struggling. Until this point, Chelyadnin had not yet ordered the
grand regiment to launch an attack. But when he noticed the light infantry retreat towards
the woods in the forest, he figured it was time to deliver the decisive blow. He mainly wanted
to seize the bridge across the Dnieper before the entire army could escape.
Ostrogski ordered the right wing to retreat along a ravine. The Muscovite cavalry seized the moment
and launched a pursuit. The Polish-Lithuanian cavalry fled towards woods close by,
with the Muscovite cavalry in hot pursuit. Then, suddenly, the cavalry swerved to the
left and right. Suddenly, concealed infantry and artillery hidden in the woods emerged.
Thousands of arquebuses and dozens of artillery opened fire. The Muscovites were sitting ducks.
The barrage of fire was deafening, and other parts of the Muscovite army could do nothing
but watch their comrades get slaughtered. Casualties mounted,
and both commanders were killed. Meanwhile, the Poles and Lithuanians turned around and followed
the artillery barrage with a charge against both Muscovite flanks. The Muscovites didn't stand
a chance. Their left side was obliterated. Seizing the momentum, Ostrogski launched an
all-out attack against the Muscovite centre and battered right flank. The Muscovite morale
plummeted. The few survivors of the left flank escaped but ran into the grand regiment. Seeing
their panicked and fleeing comrades, most of the army wavered. Chelyadnin sounded the retreat.
The Polish and Lithuanian cavalry pursued them for several hours. They captured Chelyadnin and
several other boyars and princes. The infantry seized the abandoned Muscovite camp, including 300
cannons and ample booty. Contemporary sources about the casualty figures differ wildly. A
contemporary diplomat and writer of the Holy Roman Empire mentions 40.000 dead Muscovites.
Polish chronicles mention 30.000 dead, with another 3000 captured, including Chelyadnin.
[Aftermath]
In the battle's aftermath, Ostrogski used momentum. He seized several strongholds,
but the season was too far advanced, and his army was too tired to lay siege to Smolensk.
King Sigismund used the victory to increase the standing of his Kingdom and Grand Duchy
among other European powers. He sent letters to the Pope, the King of Hungary, Venice,
Transylvania, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order.
The aim was to garner support from Christian powers against the Muscovites. Successfully so,
and one year later, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I established an alliance with the King.
Ostrogski's army returned to Vilnius in December. Two churches were erected to
commemorate the victory. The war between Lithuania and Moscow lasted for another five years. However,
the subsequent battles were minor in scope, with the Lithuanians repelling Moscovite incursions
and vice versa. By 1522, the peace was signed, resulting in four decades of relative peace.
Thank you for watching this video.