The siege and assault of Vitebsk
The Siege of Dubrovna
The Russians developed an offensive along the entire front (Russian army attacks). One of the important tasks of the Russian army during the campaign of 1654 was to capture the upper reaches of the Dnieper in order to interrupt the main communication between Lithuania and Little Russia. The task was successfully accomplished by the Russian army.
The capitulation of Mogilev, the largest trading center in the eastern part of the Grand Duchy, was a major success. The city had serious fortifications: a castle (Upper Town), an old town and a rampart; the part of the city behind the Dnieper was separately fortified and could offer long-term resistance. However, the Polish-Lithuanian command did not prepare the city for defense; there was no permanent garrison. The townspeople, not wanting a siege and destruction, opened the gates to Russian troops on August 26 (September 5). For this, the tsar retained the city's previous rights and liberties: self-government, freedom of religion and Magdeburg rights, exemption from military service.
Then Trubetskoy's troops took Shklov on August 31 (September 10), 1654, and Gory on September 28 (October 8). And they moved towards the last Lithuanian fortress in the Dnieper region - Dubrovna.
It was a small fortress belonging to the elder Jerzy Glebovich. The fortress garrison consisted of 100 mercenary infantry and several hundred armed townspeople and nobles.
In August, a detachment of the voivode F. Karakin approached Dubrovna. Having no siege artillery, the Russians limited themselves to a blockade. After the threat from Hetman Radziwill's troops was eliminated, Prince Cherkassky led the siege.
At this time, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the commanders to avoid assaults and unnecessary losses, forcing the enemy to surrender by siege. The garrison was stubborn, rejecting offers to surrender. However, the situation for the Lithuanians worsened. In October, Trubetskoy's regiments came to replace Cherkassky, and artillery was transferred from Smolensk, including large "Golan pishchals".
The Lithuanian garrison tried to prevent the installation of siege guns and made a sortie. The regiments of the Cherkasy enemy were thrown back and driven back into the fortress. The bombardment began. Under cover of fire, the tsarist troops dug trenches, bringing them closer to the walls.
On October 22 the garrison resigned. weaponThe long siege caused great discontent among the Russian Tsar, who refused the defenders an honorable capitulation and ordered the city to be destroyed and the inhabitants to be resettled:
“... select the best gentry and send them to the sovereign, and order the rest of the gentry to be sent to Tula, and distribute the townspeople and district people to the military men with their families, and burn down the city of Dubrovna.”
At the end of October the city was burned down.
Russian Streltsy of the 17th century. Source: Historical Description of clothing and weapons of Russian troops, edited by A. V. Viskovatov, Part 1. - St. Petersburg: Military type., 1841-1862.
The Siege of Vitebsk
Sheremetev's Northern Army laid siege to Vitebsk on August 14 (24), 1654. Along with Polotsk, Vitebsk was the most important fortress in the northeast of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and a major economic center.
The city had serious stone fortifications, including three castles. The Upper Castle was wooden with 7 towers (2 of them with gates) and a small fort, built on the stone foundation of the former fortress. It was badly damaged during the fires of 1614 and 1626 and was in poor condition by the beginning of the siege. The Lower Castle was a stone castle with 14 wooden towers covering the trading quarter, 922 m along the perimeter of the walls. The Hill Castle was a wooden castle with 11 towers, 1800 m along the perimeter of the walls.
True, the fortifications were outdated by the mid-100th century, especially the lack of bastions and the weakness of the artillery. Most of the cannons were taken to Smolensk during the Smolensk War. In addition, the garrison of such an important fortress was weak: one dragoon company (about 800 people). At the beginning of the war, it was reinforced by 42 local militiamen and XNUMX gunners. The local gentry also flocked to the city. Ammunition and provisions were small.
Sheremetev's forces at Vitebsk numbered more than 3 infantry. He surrounded the city with outposts and offered an honorable capitulation. The defenders refused to surrender. The remaining forces and Sheremetev's cavalry took other fortresses and controlled the surrounding areas. Thus, during the siege, the regiment of the voivode Semyon Streshnev took Ozerishche, Usvyat and Sebezh. Russian troops also raided the Vilno region twice, devastating the surrounding areas and scattering the detachments of the Lithuanian gentry.
In September, a Zaporozhian detachment arrived, but was then recalled to Smolensk. In its place, two soldier regiments were transferred from Smolensk. The number of besieging troops now amounted to more than 4 thousand infantry. After the capitulation of Smolensk, reinforcements with artillery were transferred to the Vitebsk fortress.
Plan of Vitebsk in 1664
Storming and surrender of the fortress
On August 18, the tsar's troops attempted to take the city on the move, but the assault was repelled. Impressed by the heavy losses suffered during the assault on Smolensk in early September, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich forbade the assault. Sheremetev reported to the sovereign:
"It is forbidden to plot, undermine, or set fire to Vitepsk, so that your sovereign's military men would not be harmed; and according to your sovereign's decree, we, your slaves, have sent many times to the Vitepsk serfs about the plot, so that they would petition you, sovereign, and surrender the city, and the Vitepsk serfs, sovereign, have refused to surrender the city to us, your slaves, and we dare not proceed without your sovereign's decree."
The siege dragged on: the garrison did not want to surrender and made sorties. The besieging forces were insufficient. Sheremetev constantly asked the supreme command for reinforcements, artillery and military engineers. All the main and best forces of the army were concentrated near Smolensk. The prolongation of the siege threatened that the Lithuanians would send reinforcements. The situation was saved by the fact that Trubetskoy's regiments defeated the army of the Lithuanian hetman Radziwill.
Winter was approaching. On October 29 (November 8), Sheremetev received permission from the sovereign to take any action, and in case of failure to retreat:
“You have been ordered to carry out all sorts of customs in Vitepsk, and the men will sit in Vitepsk for a long time... and they will not surrender the city of Vitepsk, and for you... the time will come to retreat from Vitepsk.”
On November 17 (27), 1654, Russian regiments launched a decisive assault. It was successful. The troops took part of the fortifications, and the townspeople, tired of the siege, surrendered two castles without a fight. The remnants of the garrison took refuge in the Upper Castle and surrendered on November 22 (December 2). A week later, Komorowski's Polish-Lithuanian detachment arrived, but was unable to recapture the fortress.
As a result, the Russian army captured strategic fortresses in the northwest of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – Polotsk and Vitebsk. The enemy lost the opportunity to attack the central Russian army in the Smolensk direction from the northern flank. Communications along the Western Dvina were secured.
At the same time, the Pskov detachment of the governors Saltykov and Elagin, operating separately from Sheremetev's army, was sent to the Polish part of Livonia and on October 8 (18) besieged Lucin (Lusa). Based in the siege camp near Lucin, the governors sent a detachment to Rezica (Rositten), which capitulated on October 12 (22). The siege of Lucin lasted until the end of November. The Russians blew up part of the wall, and the garrison laid down its arms.
Old Bykhov
The siege of Stary Bykhov on the southern flank was practically the only failure of the Russian army during the offensive of 1654.
The city, which belonged to the Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor Kazimierz Lev Sapieha, was better prepared for defense than others. The city had a large rampart 7-8 m high and 30 m wide at the foot, reinforced by 11 bastions and ravelins. Three gates led into the city. From the east, the city was covered by the Dnieper and a stone castle. The fortress was well supplied with provisions and ammunition for more than a year of defense. The garrison was strong - more than 4 thousand people (including up to 1 thousand mercenaries and professional soldiers) with 30 cannons.
Therefore, the Cossack corps of Zolotarenko, which successively captured the cities of Rechitsa, Zhlobin, Streshin, Rogachev, Gomel (after a two-month siege), Chechersk, Propoisk and Novy Bykhov, was unable to take Stary Bykhov.
The Cossacks, half of whom were raiding enemy territory or had already returned home with loot, and without siege artillery, besieged the fortress. But the garrison, which was not in need of supplies, was not going to surrender.
At the end of November, the Cossacks lifted the siege and retreated to "winter quarters" in Novy Bykhov, where their main base was. As a result, the Russian army was unable to capture all communications along the Dnieper.
It is worth noting that the Little Russian Cossacks of Zolotarenko and the tsarist command had friction over the "behavior" of the Cossacks. They behaved traditionally, as if on enemy territory. In those days, troops were fed from the land, the local population. Killing "Poles and Jews" was the order of the day. They plundered and robbed towns, settlements and estates. At the same time, many Western Russian cities (Lithuanian, White Rus'), the gentry and townspeople surrendered without a fight, swore an oath to the tsar. The tsar guaranteed them safety, inviolability of rights and property.
The gentry and townspeople complained to the tsar about the dashing Cossacks. In some places they created self-defense units. The Tsar ordered the governors to maintain order. Guards were posted in villages and towns "to protect the people." Zolotarenko was angry and asked: "What will we eat if we don't get bread, cows, and horses?"
Results
The campaign of 1654 was very successful. They took 33 cities! Including the most important economic centers, the fortress cities in the north - Polotsk and Vitebsk, in the center - Smolensk, Orsha, Gomel, in the south - Gomel, Novy Bykhov and Mogilev.
The Russian army occupied the most important crossings on the Western Dvina, Berezina and Dnieper. The Lithuanian army was routed and lost its main fortresses in the east. The Russians opened the way to Vilnius. The Polish offensive in Little Russia was repelled.
Meanwhile, a terrible plague continued in Russia, which took away up to a tenth of the country's population. Moscow suffered especially badly, losing more than half of its population. But most of the population was saved. Some fled through the forests and fields, dug dugouts, built temporary shelters. Others locked themselves in their houses and sat it out. Rus' was reviving. The authorities returned to Moscow and restored order.
In winter, they preferred not to fight, and withdrew their regiments to "winter quarters." The troops suffered such losses from illness, bad weather, and lack of food that no battle could compare to them. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered garrisons to be placed in the cities, and the remaining troops were withdrawn home. Nobles and boyar children were allowed to disperse to their estates until spring.
In the winter of 1654–1655, the Lithuanian hetman Radziwill, having assembled a new army in Minsk, launched a counteroffensive. He was able to occupy several small towns, including the ashes of Dubrovna. He besieged Novy Bykhov, but Zolotarenko’s Cossacks fought back. Then the Lithuanians besieged Mogilev in February 1655, but the garrison of voivode Andrei Voeikov repelled several assaults. In early May, the Lithuanians retreated. A new Russian offensive began.
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