Battle of Ula

Coordinates: 54°53′51″N 29°09′18″E / 54.89750°N 29.15500°E / 54.89750; 29.15500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the 1564 battle. For the 1812 battle during the French invasion of Russia, see Battle of Chashniki.
Battle of Ula
Part of the Livonian War
Date26 January 1564
Location
North of Chashniki (modern Belarus)
54°53′51″N 29°09′18″E / 54.89750°N 29.15500°E / 54.89750; 29.15500
Result Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Grand Duchy of Lithuania Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł Pyotr Shuysky [ru] †
Strength
4,000–6,000[1] or 10,000[2] 17,000[3][4]−24,000[1]
Casualties and losses
20 dead, 700 injured[5] Russian chronicles: 150–700[6]
Lithuanian claims:9,000,[7] 20,000[2]
Battle of Ula is located in Belarus
Battle of Ula
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Location within Belarus
Battle of Ula is located in European Russia
Battle of Ula
Battle of Ula (European Russia)

The Battle of Ula or Battle of Chashniki was fought during the

Daugava River) north of Chashniki in the Vitebsk Region.[1]
The Russian troops, unarmed and moving in a loose formation, were taken by complete surprise and defeated, losing their large wagon train.

Background

During the

Battle of Ergeme in 1560, the weakened Livonian Order was dissolved, and the Duchy of Livonia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia were ceded to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania according to the Treaty of Vilnius (1561). Russia then launched a campaign against Lithuania, capturing Polotsk in February 1563 and threatening further invasion against Vilnius, the capital city. The Lithuanians attempted to negotiate a truce, but the talks failed in November 1563.[7]

Battle

Two large Russian armies from Polotsk and

Roman Sanguszko, future Livonian hetman Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz, and others.[5]

The details of the battle vary based on source. There are at least 15 contemporary sources, including three official reports written within days after the battle and four artistic works glorifying the winners, but they all provide different and often conflicting details and statistics.[8] Radziwiłł attacked Shuysky's army while it marched from Polotsk to Drutsk. Two main versions of the battle can be identified. The first version claims that the Russians were either carelessly marching in a loose order or making preparations for the night rest and were unarmed at the time of the attack.[2] A small Lithuanian detachment engaged the vanguard units, while the main forces attacked the unprepared Russian troops.[1] The second, Lithuanian version claims that Shuysky positioned his army for an attack in an open field and was ready to attack the Lithuanians as soon as they emerged from the woods. However, perhaps overconfident in his numbers, he delayed the initial attack and allowed the Lithuanians enough time to position their troops.[5]

All sources agree that the Lithuanians achieved a complete victory and that Russian commander Prince Pyotr Shuysky was killed in action.[8] There are several versions of Shuysky's death. The most popular version claims that he was injured and retreated from the battlefield and was later axed to death by a local peasant.[5] Another version has it that he was found in a well with a bullet hole in his head.[8] Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł claimed that it was his client Kasparas Šveikovskis who killed Shuysky.[8] His body was transported to Vilnius and buried with full honors in an Orthodox church.[5] It was claimed that many other boyars were killed or taken prisoners.[7] The exact number of Russian casualties sustained in this battle varies from 150 to 700 men in Russian chronicles;[6] the first estimate is regarded as incomplete.[2] The Lithuanians claimed to have defeated 9,000 or even 20,000, a figure that is considered as heavily exaggerated.[2] The large Russian wagon train was lost and, according to a witness, so much loot was taken that soldiers gave away bread for free and armor was sold for one Hungarian gold coin.[5]

Aftermath

Upon learning of the defeat of Shuysky and the loss of the much-needed wagon train, the army of Prince Serebryany-Obolensky safely retreated to Russian territory, bringing significant damage to the enemy by devastating and sacking a large swathe of Lithuanian territory in passing, defeating Lithuanian squads, and taking numerous prisoners.[2] It was attacked by Filon Kmita and Jurgis Astikas near Orsha and, believing that they were attacked by the main Lithuanian forces, hastily retreated further.[9] These two victories averted the Russian invasion and restored the power balance in the Livonian War. The Lithuanians devastated a wide area around Sebezh, but, expecting the Tatars to assist them in waging war on the Russian realm,[2] did not have enough momentum to recapture Polotsk during a three-week siege.[7][2]

Although the battle slowed down one of the Russian offensives in January, it did not change the course of the ongoing border war which was not much in favour of the Lithuanians.

Mstislavl, and Chechersk, reaching as far as the border of Vilnius and the Berezina River.[2] In August 1564, a Russian squad of Boyars' Sons from Pskov, led by V. Veshnyakov, defeated a Lithuanian force at Krasny Gorodok. At the end of the same month, Russian Tatars from Kazan and Astrakhan, commanded by V. Buturlin, arrived and waged war on Lithuania. In October, the Russians captured the town of Ozerische. In 1565, both sides continued their struggle against each other, though with a lower intensity. This time the Lithuanians tried in vain to take the city of Krasny in October and sacked some Russian volosts, whereas Russian Cossacks responded with sacking numerous villages on Lithuanian territory.[2]

The Lithuanians used their victory at Ula to derail negotiations for the Union of Lublin, which were initiated in hopes to obtain Polish military support in the war with Russia.[10] Some authors believe that defeats in the Livonian War might have contributed to the deterioration of Ivan IV's mental state, leading to the establishment of oprichnina in 1565.[7][11]

References

  1. ^
    LCCN 86232954
    .
  2. ^
    ISSN 2308-4286. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ISBN 5-900829-07-3. Archived
    from the original on 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  4. ISBN 5-88590-528-2
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-9986-827-05-4
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-5-91791-027-7
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-9955-699-59-0
    .
  8. ^ a b c d Ragauskienė, Raimonda (2011). "Penkiolika 1564 m. Ūlos mūšio versijų". Orbis Lituaniae. Vilnius University. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  9. LCCN 86232954
    .
  10. ISBN 0-88033-009-0
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-300-11973-2
    .

External links
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