Battle of Moscow (1612)

Battle of Moscow

Date	1 and 3 September 1612
Location	Moscow
Result	Tactical Russian victory

Belligerents

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Tsardom of Russia

Commanders and leaders

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz

Dmitry Pozharsky

Strength

10000

Casualties and losses

1500

Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18)

Novhorod-Siverskyi Bely Dobrynichi Kozelsk Bolkhov Khodynka Zaraysk Medvezhiy Brod Rakhmantsevo Trinity Monastery Smolensk Tsaryovo-Zaymishche Klushino Mozhaysk Moscow

Polish–Russian Wars

Muscovite/Lithuanian Livonian 1605–18 (Dymitriads) Smolensk 1654–67 War of the Polish Succession War of the Bar Confederation 1792 Kościuszko Uprising Napoleon's Invasion of Russia November Uprising January Uprising Polish–Soviet 1939

Polish cavalry armour from the 16th or 17th century

Russian Behterets from the first half of the 17th century

The Battle of Moscow was a series of two battles, which took place in Moscow, on September 1 and 3, 1612, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18). Forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were commanded by Field Hetman of Lithuania, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, while Russians were led by Dmitry Pozharsky. The battles ended in tactical Russian victory.

First Battle

On September 1, 1612, Polish-Lithuanian forces unsuccessfully tried to break the siege of the Moscow Kremlin, and rescue the Commonwealth garrison under Mikolaj Strus, which was kept there. To achieve this, they attacked from west, towards the suburbs of Moscow. Polish hussars, backed by Polish, Hungarian and German infantry, managed to break Russian lines. At the same time, however, right wing of the Commonwealth forces was exposed, which was immediately noticed by Don Cossacks (allied with the Russians) of Dmitry Trubetsky. Their cavalry attacked, managing to disperse Polish-Lithuanian forces. At the same time, Commonwealth units in the Kremlin tried to attack Russian positions, but also failed. On this day, both sides lost some 1000 men.

Second Battle

On September 3 Chodkiewicz decided to attack Moscow via its southern suburb, the Zamoskvorechye District. Some 600 Hungarians infantrymen managed to reach the walls of the Kremlin. They were followed by main Commonwealth units, which however were halted in the narrow streets of the district. After a Russian counterattack, Chodkiewicz ordered a retreat, losing several hundred men.

Outcome

Both battles ended in tactical victory of the Russians. They managed to repel the Commonwealth army, and the garrison of the Kremlin, which had run out of supplies, capitulated on November 7, 1612. News of the capitulation reached Polish King Sigismund III on December 8 at Volokolamsk, less than 30 kilometers away. Upon finding out about this, the king, who was on his way to help the garrison, decided to halt the march and head back to Poland.

Sources

Andrzej Andrusiewicz, Dzieje Dymitriad 1602- 1614, t. I, II, Warszawa 1990
Tomasz Bohun Moskwa 1612, Wydawnictwo Bellona 2005 ISBN 83-11-10644-4

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