Battle of Molodi
Battle of Molodi | |||||||
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Part of the Russo-Turkish wars | |||||||
Molodi village. A foundation stone to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Molodi in 1572. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Tsardom of Russia |
Crimean Khanate Ottoman Empire[1] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mikhail Vorotynsky (army commander) Dmitry Khvorostinin (key figure) | Devlet I Giray | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
20,000[3]–70,000 men[a] | 60,000[1]–120,000[4] men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Heavy[b] |
The Battle of Molodi (
Background
While the
Battle
The Russian forces, variously estimated at between 20,000
Aftermath
After the battle, only 20,000 Tatar horsemen returned to the Crimea,[4] while the khan left his tent and banner on the battlefield and barely managed to escape alive. The battle claimed the lives of his sons and a grandson.
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Moscow streltsy
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Ivan IV is presented with trophies taken from Devlet Giray by Vorotynsky after the battle. By Boris Chorikov
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Crimean Tatar horseman. Engraving by Abraham de Bruyn (1575)
Order of Battle
Based on contemporary documents, the Russian forces were as follows:[7]
Group | Composition | Number |
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Main: |
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Total: 8,255 | ||
Right Hand: |
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Total: 3,590 | ||
Forward: |
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Total: 4,475 | ||
Guard: |
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Total: 4,670 | ||
Total: 20,034 and Mikhail Cherkashenin's Cossacks (3,000—5,000) |
Contemporary chronicles give very large and unreliable figures when talking about the Tatar army. The Novgorod Second Chronicle gives its strength as 120,000 and the Moscow Chronicle about 150,000. According to modern Russian historians, the khan's army most likely numbered 40,000–60,000, of which two-thirds were the Crimean army proper, and the rest Nogai, Circassians and janissaries sent by the Ottoman Sultan.[1]
Notes
- ^ "Just beyond the Oka, the horde encounters 60,000–70,000 Russians, commanded by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky…"[4]
- ^ When retreating, the remnants of Devlet Giray's army were attacked by Zaporozhian Cossacks, and only a small part of the army returned to Crimea (20,000[4]).[5] However, it is not only the battle casualties.
References
- ^ ISSN 2308-4286.
- ^ Robert Payne and Nikita Romanoff, Ivan the Terrible, (Cooper Square Press, 2002), 329.
- ^ a b "Документы о сражении при Молодях" // Исторический архив, № 4. 1959 — P. 167
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tucker 2010, p. 531.
- ^ Стороженко А. В. Стефан Баторий и днепровские козаки. Kiev, 1904. P. 34
- ^ Карамзин. История государства российского[page needed]
- ^ Документы о сражении при Молодях // Исторический архив, № 4. 1959 — P. 174–177
Sources
- Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2010). "July 30-August 2, 1572: Eastern Europe: Russia: Battle of Molodi". A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol. II. ABC-CLIO.
External links
- (in Russian) http://www.hrono.ru/sobyt/1500sob/molod.html
- (in Russian) http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/HISTORY/ANDREEW_A_R/krym_history.txt#45
- (in Russian) http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/history/karamzin/kar09_03.htm Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Russian) http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Russ/XVI/1560-1580/Schlacht_Molodi/text.htm
- (in English) http://www.xenophon-mil.org/rushistory/battles/ivanbook.htm