Battle of Torzhok

Sent by Tsar Vasily Shuisky besieged in Moscow, Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky concluded a Russian-Swedish alliance in the north of Russia, attracted an army of Swedish mercenaries to the side of Russia, and also gathered a Russian army. After the advance detachment, led by Fedor Chulkov and Evert Gorn, defeated the intervention detachment, led by Jan Kernozitsky, at the Battle of Toropets , the Russian and Swedish armies marched from Novgorod and moved to Torzhok . The strategically important city itself was "deposited" from the impostor, and its wooden fortress was occupied by the 4,000-strong Russian-Swedish detachment Kornila Cheglokov, Klaus Boy and Otto Gelmer who had been sent in advance. Later, 1000 warriors Semyon Golovin and Evert Gorn joined them.

The 13-thousand army of interventionists, pulled together under Torzhok in order to prevent the advance of Skopin-Shuisky’s army to Moscow, consisted of an 8-thousand detachment of Kernozitsky (2 thousand Polish hussars , as well as 6 thousand Zaporizhzhya Cossacks and Tushino), two thousand Polish lancers Zborowski, one thousand cavalry under the command of the Tushino governor Grigory Shakhovsky , as well as two thousand warriors from other Polish regiments. However, by the time of the battle near Torzhok, the interventionists managed to bring less than half of their troops to the city.

Zborovsky, who led the army of interventionists, tried to immediately take the city, but failed to do this because of the resistance of the garrison. The fire that arose in the wooden Kremlin was put out. To help Torzhok’s garrison, a detachment of Golovin and Gorn arrived. After that, the troops lined up against each other in battle formations. Zborowski began the battle with a massive attack of three companies of heavy armored cavalry. Two of them came across a deep phalanx of German infantrymen, bristling with long spears, and were forced to retreat, suffering heavy losses. However, the third company of attackers managed to crush the Russian and Swedish cavalry on the flank and drive it to the city walls. But the timely sortie from the city of governor Kornila Cheglokov helped restore the situation and allowed the retreating Russian-Swedish cavalry, together with the ripened forces, to launch a counterattack. The interventionists were forced to leave the battlefield. Having learned from the prisoners about the advance of a large army of Skopin-Shuisky, Zborovsky decided to retreat to Tver .

Despite Jan Pyotr Sapieha ’s victorious reports about the large Russian-Swedish losses, the tactical situation spoke of the defeat of the interventionists. Having retreated to Tver, Zborovsky did not fulfill the task assigned to him - the capture of Torzhok and consolidation in it in order to block the way to the main forces of Skopin-Shuisky. Polish losses were unexpectedly large. It also became clear that the heavily organized cavalry was opposed by a well-organized and armed army, capable of repelling its attacks in field battles. Large military formations were sent to help Zborovsky near Tver, which indicated great concern in the camp of the interventionists.

In Torzhok, meanwhile, the main army of Skopin-Shuisky and Delagardi gradually gathered. From Smolensk came Prince Yakov Baryatinsky, sent by the governor Mikhail Shein, with four thousand warriors. Having formed a regiment from the Russian-Swedish army, Skopin-Shuisky after some time marched in the direction of Tver, under the walls of which the Tver battle took place .

• Trekking Delagardi

• Kargalov V.V. Moscow governors of the 16th – 17th centuries - M .: LLC "TID" Russian Word — RS ", 2002 - S. 105
• Leontyev Y. V. The battle of Prince Skopin-Shuisky on Tver land // Land of Toropetskaya: ancient and modern. Materials of local history readings. 2003-2010. - The seventh letter of the Tver, 2011. - S. 219–230.