Battle of Vilnius (1655)
| Battle of Wilno | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | Tsardom of Russia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Janusz Radziwiłł Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski | Alexis of Russia | ||||||
The Battle of Vilnius,[1] battle of Wilno,[2] or battle of Vilna[3] was an attack by Russian and Cossack forces of Vilnius (Wilno), the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, that occurred between 7 and 9 August 1655 (sources vary: Davies states 28 July,[4] Frost 8 August,[2] Black 9 August[3]), during the Russo-Polish War (1654–67). The Polish–Lithuanian forces under the leadership of hetman Janusz Radziwiłł were defeated by the Russian army of Alexis of Russia.
It was the first time that a foreign power managed to capture the Vilnius Castle Complex.[5] Invading forces plundered the city for several days, and a fire consumed part of the city; in particular the Jewish quarter was burned by the Cossacks and many Jews were killed.[6] Davies gives an estimate of 20,000 inhabitants killed in "an indiscriminate slaughter".[4] Some scholars have suggested that certain relics, as well as the body of Vytautas the Great, were lost during the plundering of Vilnius Cathedral.[7] The six year Muscovite occupation that followed resulted in a major depopulation and a decline of the town for many years to come.[8]
Defeat at the battle of Vilnius was one of the reasons Janusz Radziwiłł and several other Lithuanian magnates surrendered the Grand Duchy to Sweden at the Union of Kėdainiai.[2]
References
- ^ David R. Stone. A military history of Russia. 2006 p.37 ISBN 0-275-98502-4
- ^ a b c Robert I. Frost, After the Deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-54402-5, Google Print, p.48
- ^ a b Jeremy Black, European warfare, 1494-1660, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-27531-8, Google Print, p.160
- ^ a b Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland, Columbia University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-231-05351-7, Google Print, p.467
- ^ Šapoka, Adolfas (1989). Lietuvos istorija (in Lithuanian). Vilnius. p. 326. ISBN 5-420-00631-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Abraham P. Bloch, One a day: an anthology of Jewish historical anniversaries for every day of the year, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1987, ISBN 0-88125-108-9, Google Print, p.213
- ^ Vilnius istorijos vingiuose. Retrieved on 2009-04-09
- ^ Ochmański, Jerzy (1990). Historia Litwy (in Polish). Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. p. 153. ISBN 83-04-03107-8.