The siege of Ozerische fortress (Ezerische) is an episode of the Livonian war , during which the Russian army took the strategically important Lithuanian border fortress Ozerische on the second attempt.
| Siege of the Lake | |||
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| Main conflict: Russian-Lithuanian war of 1561-1570 (part of the Livonian war ) | |||
 The siege of the fortress Ozerische. Thumbnail from the Front Annalistic Arch | |||
| date | July and November 1564 | ||
| A place | Ezerische , now Vitebsk region | ||
| Total | victory of Russian troops | ||
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Events on the eve of the siege
After the Russian state defeated Livonia , its master Gotthard Ketler, according to the Vilnius Union, recognized himself as a vassal of the Polish-Lithuanian monarch Sigismund II Augustus and concluded a military-political alliance with him. Between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Russian state in 1563 hostilities began, soon the troops of Ivan the Terrible , who marched from the Great Onions , took Polotsk . In the "rear", east of Polotsk, the foreign fortress of Ozerische remained, in which there was a large Lithuanian garrison.
Capture of the Ozerische Fortress
The fortress was located on the shores of the lake of the same name , 56 miles north of Vitebsk . On July 22, a 13-thousand-strong Russian army led by Nevel governors Yuri Tokmakov and Fedor Cheglokov approached Ozerisch on boats along the river. According to the annals, the army consisted of equestrians and pedestrians, however, it only had a “good outfit” (field artillery, there was no siege). During the first days of the siege, it was not possible to destroy the walls with field tools, of course. Waiting for the approach of the Lithuanian army from Vitebsk, the governor Tokmakov ordered the construction of barriers on the roads, but they could not prevent the early appearance of the 12 thousandth Lithuanian army led by Stanislav Pats .
Tokmakov decided to lift the siege and send an outfit along the river to Nevel, while the cavalry and archers were sent to attack the Lithuanians. The Russians managed to crush the advanced Lithuanian detachment and capture 50 enemy soldiers. With the main forces of Pats, however, they did not enter the battle and left, having interrupted the prisoners. The main goal of the campaign, which was the capture of a strategically important fortress, remained unfulfilled.
Nevertheless, a retreat in this situation was the right step. The Lithuanian detachment headed for Polotsk, where he joined the futile siege of the city, led by Grigory Khodkevich . And after his departure, another detachment of troops of the Russian state came to Ozerishch, led by Vasily Serebryany-Obolensky , Simeon Kasaevich and Ivan Pronsky , about which the chronicle reports that he “took the town with fire” on November 6. During the assault, Captain Martyn Ostrovetsky was captured, captured by the boyar’s son, a certain Karp Zherebyatichev. Many noblemen and military people died, including the captains Derzhinsky and Progalinsky. It is reported that the posad and fortress of Ozerishchi burnt to the ground, and of those who locked themselves in them, no one was saved.
Consequences
Tokmakov was appointed governor of the Ozerische, and Cheglokov and Karamyshev were sent with their heads to him. They immediately set about rebuilding the strategic fortress. In subsequent years, to consolidate the gains in Lithuania, a number of new fortresses were erected by decree of Ivan the Terrible. However, in 1579 , Ozerische and the surrounding lands were again conquered by Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Stefan Batory .
Literature
- Volkov, V. A. The feats of arms of Ancient Russia. Eksmo Publishing House. M., 2010 ISBN 978-5-699-48722-6