In the footsteps of Monomakh troops ... On the 899 anniversary of the accession to the Grand Duke throne Vladimir Monomakh
Attacks Polovtsy resumed two years later. In the winter of 1105, the Polovtsian Khan Bonyak entered the Russian lands. In the spring of 1107, Bonyak settled near Pereyaslavl. In the summer, the Polovtsy decided to take revenge for the defeat of four years ago and approached the Lubin fortress. Six Russian princes opposed them, including Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, who still adhered to a peaceful policy towards the Polovtsy, which indirectly indicated a weakening of their political influence.
Having made a forced march, the combined Russian army appeared in front of the camp of the Polovtsy 12 of August and, on the move, forced the Sulu river, rushed into the cavalry attack. According to the chronicler, “Polovtsi was terrible. From fear, he didn’t put a banner on him ... ”The Polovtsy was overwhelmed with panic, and they fled. During the chase that began, Khan Bonyak's brother was killed and several Polovtsian leaders were captured.
Like last time, a sudden strike and a quick defeat of the Polovtsy was provided by skillful Russian reconnaissance actions and Polovtsian miscalculations in ensuring reliable camp guard. The Polovtsy commanders got too carried away with robbery and stopped analyzing the situation properly. Being, in fact, on enemy territory, the Polovtsian military leaders did not determine the area where the enemy forces were concentrated, and their outposts overtook a sudden attack on the camp. Thanks to impeccable intelligence, Russian military leaders, on the contrary, were completely in control of the situation.
In the wake of success, the Russians intended to transfer the war to enemy territory. And at the end of 1109, sent by Monomakh, voivod Dmitry Ivorovich, reached the Don, capturing a number of Polovtsian nomads. Thus, the raids planned by the Polovtsy for the next summer were thwarted.
The next Russian march to the Polovtsian steppe was undertaken by Monomakh in the spring of 1111. The hike began in the snow - sleds could be widely used, which in itself was a real breakthrough. The sled allowed to significantly speed up the movement and save power, fodder and provisions. On the fourth week of the campaign the army came to the Donets. Here the warriors wore combat armor. The fact that they did not do this earlier testifies to the complete confidence of the Russian commanders in the inability of the Polovtsy to actively resist them on the march, because, as always, reliable security was in place at the distance of the main forces from the column.
In one of the spring days, the army came to the Polovtsian city-camp called Sharukan. The Polovtsian “city” was a gathering of huts and yurts behind an improvised low wall. Residents came out of the city to meet the Russian army and, bowing to the princes, bestowed fish and wine according to custom. After this, the population surrendered to the Russians everything that was available to him. weapon. Christians who were slaves to the local bais were freed.
Three days later the army came out to another "city" - Sugrov. The garrison resisted and the city was burned. Soon the Russian army moved back, however, the Polovtsy decided to take revenge. 27 March on the bank of the river Degeya "the former concession and the battle of the fortress." Details of the battle, the chroniclers do not report, is known only for its result: the Russian won a complete victory.
The Russian army, surrounded by the Polovtsy, remained in the area of the last battle. Resuming reverse movement would be unwise. The governors did not dare to move for a long time, however, in the morning of Palm Sunday, it was decided to continue the march. A day later the Polovtsians overtook the Russians and blackened out "like a boar of greatness and Tmmy tmy", surrounding the army from all sides.
The march of the Russian army was carried out in several parallel columns, with the setting of side patrol barriers, allowing not only to warn in advance about the attack, but also to keep the wagons intact with the booty and stolen cattle. “And half the people and half of the Russians, and the first one with polkom and cracks, like a thunderstorm, who fought and wrestled bytes between them and the padahu wallpaper. And enter Volodymyr from your own shelves and David from your own shelves. And vozvshe polovtsy, vdash their weave to run ... "
This description translates the intent and the course of the battle briefly and succinctly. The Russian army continued its movement in dense columns. Once the Polovtsi stopped making way and organized for a frontal attack, settling down at the mouth of the Salnitsa river. The frontal collision of the Polovtsian cavalry and the Russian equestrian avant-garde could well be “like thunder”. It is not surprising that “the battle was between the lyut between them” - the Polovtsy, on whose side there was numerical superiority, were not going to retreat. The fate of the Russian avant-garde was unenviable - it had to face a serious test. The situation was broken by the entry into battle of the main forces of the Pereyaslav and Chernigov princes, who began to push the Polovtsy close. The Russians broke through the front line of the encirclement and continued their advance, managing to capture prisoners and herds of cattle.
In terms of strategy, the Battle of Salnitskaya was the first battle in which, in the language of modern military science, the troops, marching and threatened with a frontal attack, lined up in several columns, which allowed to increase pressure on the enemy along the whole front and, ultimately break through the environment.
The commanding genius of Vladimir Monomakh was realized not only in the specifics of building troops on the march, but also in the very plan of the coming battle. The slowed down infantry helped. The encircled cavalry army fenced, like a wall, with infantry shields, forming a battle formation, later called the “city”. The infantry defense, the weakness of the hungry Polovtsian horses and the continuous movement are the three main components of the success of the Russian army. Bounded by spears, the line, among other things, also continuously moved. The Russian army, which ruined all the main Polovtsian wintering centers, went away with impunity, inflicting serious material and moral damage on the enemy.
The Polovtsian campaign of Monomakh was characterized by an unprecedented increase in the role of the clergy in the army. Throughout the campaign, the army maintained a tough discipline, general prayers were made, after which the army became even more united. The pagan Polovtsy wavered under the onslaught of the Orthodox soldiers and were no longer able to seriously threaten the Russian lands. The Polovtsi left Don, migrated beyond the Danube, and even into the Transcaucasus. The Russian peasant was able to breathe a sigh of relief - the nomads no longer took his bread from him.
Based on Yury Sukharev’s publication Don Monomakh's March, Motherland, N 3-4, 1997 year
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