Battle of Vilnius
Russian offensive
After the unsuccessful siege of Mogilev by the army of the Lithuanian hetman Janusz Radziwill, the situation changed radically in favor of the tsarist army (The heroic defense of Mogilev). Russian troops were mobilized and concentrated for the summer campaign. Three main strike groups were assembled, as in the 1654 campaign (excluding the Little Russian front). The northern and central groups under Sheremetev and Cherkassky were aimed at Vilnius, while the southern group under Prince Trubetskoy was to march on Brest, to meet Khmelnitsky's Cossacks advancing from the south.
In the brutal winter and spring battles of 1655, the Polish-Lithuanian armies of Hetmans Potocki and Radziwill suffered serious losses, with many sick and exhausted from marches and sieges. The gentry, forced to fight and suffer losses instead of victories and plunder, began to flee to their homes.
Locally, the "kholops" rebelled, and Orthodox peasants impaled their lords. Some of the banners had to be used as punitive units to maintain order and avoid the loss of more lands where the peasants wanted to join the Orthodox tsar.
Fresh tsarist regiments resumed their offensive in May 1655. On May 22, Prince Yakov Cherkassky's field army set out from Smolensk. Cossacks of the acting hetman ("Seversky hetman") Ivan Zolotarenko captured Babruisk, Kazimir (Korolevskaya Sloboda), and Glusk. On June 11, a detachment under Stolnik Zamyatnya Leontyev recaptured Orsha, followed by Dubrovna and Kopys. In June, Cossacks of the Chernigov Regiment, under the command of Colonel Popovich, captured the fortresses of Svisloch, where "they put all the enemies there to the sword, and burned the place and the castle with fire," and Kaidany.
It's worth remembering that warfare of this kind was not an outlier back then, but rather commonplace. Tatars, Russian "Lithuanians," Poles, Swedes (and other "enlightened Europeans"), and the Tsar's regiments burned, slaughtered, and sacked enemy villages and towns. People were either "put to the sword" or taken prisoner. The Russians resettled them in their devastated lands, while the Crimeans herded them into slavery. The Tsar's troops made an exception for those cities and towns that surrendered without a fight and swore allegiance to the Tsar.
The humanism and pacifism of today were still a long way off. Although, in fact, they are rapidly disappearing in the modern world when it comes to war. For example, Ukrainian troops (the Ukrainian Armed Forces) have repeatedly been implicated in war crimes, torture, murder, rape, abuse of prisoners, and so on. And in modern Syria and Iraq, the warring sides are slaughtering opponents of other nations and faiths.
I believe that if we do a little bit of informational work on "civilized" Europeans in the vein of nationalism and fascism (which is what they're doing now, preparing a new crusade against Russia), they too will quickly recall the experience of their brave ancestors—the Spaniards, the Dutch, the English, and the French, who, when necessary, slaughtered each other and destroyed entire civilizations, cultures, peoples, and tribes in America, Africa, Asia, and various islands.
Colonel Korsunsky (1652), Nizhynsky and "of the entire north" (1653-1655) and acting hetman of the Zaporizhian Host ("Northern hetman") Ivan Nikiforovich Zolotarenko. Portrait by an unknown artist of the 18th century.
Siege of Old Bykhov
In May 1655, Zolotarenko's Zaporizhian Cossacks again besieged Stary Bykhov, which they had already unsuccessfully attempted to capture in 1654. The "Seversky Hetman" offered the townspeople surrender, but they refused.
The city's owner, Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor Kazimierz Lew Sapieha, managed to renovate the fortifications before the war began. The earthen ramparts and bastions were reinforced. The earthen ramparts were 7–8 meters high and 30 meters wide at their base. There were also 11 bastions and a ravelin. Three gates led into the city. From the east, the city was protected by the Dnieper and a stone castle. artillery: 4 heavy and 26 field guns. A large amount of ammunition and provisions were also collected in the city, which allowed the city to withstand the siege.
Before the second siege, Sapieha recruited 1200 soldiers and strengthened the garrison. The Polish King, Jan Casimir, promised the townspeople a 20-year tax exemption for their steadfastness.
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, who, as during the first siege, lacked siege artillery and were unprepared to storm a strong fortress, limited themselves to a blockade. Khmelnytsky ordered Zolotarenko to isolate the fortress with a ditch, set up barriers, and not waste his forces on an assault.
Soon, the mobile Cossack detachments were sent to other tasks. They were replaced by soldier regiments of Prince Alexei Trubetskoy's southwestern army. The prince also had no mission to take the city by storm. On behalf of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Trubetskoy himself, the townspeople were repeatedly offered to surrender, but they consistently refused. In August, the siege was gradually lifted.
In the fall, Zolotarenko's Cossacks returned to the city, but the third siege was also unsuccessful. The stubborn city held out. On October 17, Hetman Zolotarenko died. The Cossacks, tired of the war, rebelled and returned to the Hetmanate (Little Russia).
The city was left with only the regiment of Ivan Nechai (Khmelnitsky's son-in-law), who proclaimed himself "Colonel of Chausy and Novobykhov." Khmelnitsky then appointed him colonel of the Belarusian Cossack Regiment, previously led by Colonel Poklonsky, who defected to the Polish king during the siege of Mogilev.
Panorama of Old Bykhov
Battle of Vilnius
On June 19, the advance regiment of governors Khitrovo and Khvorostinin (over 5 fighters) cleared Borisov of the enemy, secured the crossing of the Berezina, and rushed toward Minsk. The Lithuanians took up defensive positions on the approaches to the city but were repulsed. The enemy failed to destroy the crossings over the Svisloch River, but they were not successful.
On July 3, the Tsar's warriors, supported by the enemy, stormed into Minsk. The Lithuanians attempted a counterattack, repelling the small Russian vanguard, but were unable to recapture Minsk. Zolotarenko's Cossack regiments and Prince Cherkassky's main force (the Grand Regiment) were already on their way to help.
The combined forces of Cherkassky and Zolotarenko (over 30 men) advanced on Vilnius. However, the original plan was disrupted. Sheremetev's northern group became bogged down besieging Velizh and Ozerishche and was unable to reach Vilnius. The Russian command decided that the main army's forces were sufficient.
The Tsar's army was confronted by 20 troops under Hetmans Janusz Radziwiłł and Vincent Korwin Gąsiewski—a Polish-Lithuanian noble militia, and Polish and German infantry. But Vilna was unprepared for defense. No one thought the main forces of the Tsar's army would reach it.
The townspeople were frightened. Unrest broke out. G. Petrov, who had escaped from captivity, reported that "the townspeople of Vilnius were urging... the surrender of the city and the meeting of the sovereign's boyars and governors with icons and bread, 10 versts from the city, because they could not remain in the city against the sovereign's people."
The Lithuanian hetman understood that the city could not withstand a siege. The only option was to take to the field and give battle. He chose a good position on the left bank of the Viliya River and built a fortified camp there. He requested reinforcements from Poland and simultaneously began negotiations with the Swedes in Riga.
However, the Russians were advancing too quickly. Radziwill didn't receive any reinforcements. Cossack patrols and boyar children were already prowling around the Lithuanian camp, engaging in skirmishes and capturing "tongues." The main body of the Tsar's army followed. The Lithuanians tried to stall for time. The Bishop of Vilnius opened negotiations. But it was obvious this was just a ruse.
On July 29, 1655, the Russian army attacked the Lithuanian camp. At first, the Lithuanians, Poles, and Germans defended staunchly, repelling attack after attack. The battle lasted until nightfall. But the onslaught did not subside. After retreating, the Tsar's soldiers smashed the enemy's defenses with cannon fire, then attacked again. Eventually, they broke through the enemy's defenses. The Lithuanian army, covered by German infantry, began to retreat across the bridge to the other bank of the Viliya. Almost all of the infantry perished, but they saved the remnants of the army. The bridge was burned, and the hetman was able to escape.
A small garrison under the command of Kazimierz Żeromski holed up in the Upper Castle of Vilnius. Radziwiłł, with 5 remaining soldiers, fled to Kėdanyi, under the protection of the Swedes, with whom he negotiated the secession of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and an alliance with Sweden.
Vilnius offered no resistance and opened its gates. On July 31, the Upper Castle was captured in a fierce battle.
On August 4, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich made a ceremonial entry into conquered Vilna and assumed the title of "Sovereign of Polotsk and Mstislav", and after the capture of other Lithuanian cities - "Grand Duke of Lithuania, White Russia, Volyn and Podolsk".
According to various sources, the city was subjected to significant devastation during the capture. As a result of fires, epidemics, and looting by Russian troops, the city was virtually destroyed, and a significant portion of its population perished. The Zaporozhian Cossacks were particularly distinguished, sacking churches and the palaces of local magnates.
The Russian pre-revolutionary historian Flavian Dobryansky wrote:
Everything holy and beautiful, both inside and outside the city, was consigned to flames; the rest was destroyed, not only the roofs but the tombs themselves. Indeed, documentary sources indicate that during the Russian invasion, the Jesuit Church of St. Casimir on the Market (now St. Nicholas Cathedral) suffered greatly, with even the tombstones of the Gąsiewski family not being spared. At the Bernardine Church of St. Michael, abandoned by its nuns, the opulent tombs of the church's founder and builder, the renowned Lew Sapieha, and his family were destroyed; the corpses themselves were tossed from the tombs. The church treasures of the Cathedral of St. Stanislaus fell into the hands of the Cossacks…
The Russian army, continuing its offensive, captured Kovno on August 8, and Grodno three weeks later. Zaporozhian detachments crossed the Neman and were active near Brest.
Vilnius Castle Complex in 1600, with the Upper Castle (listed as 7th), Lower Castle (6th), and Cathedral (5th). Artist: Tomasz Makowski
Trubetskoy's offensive
To the south, Alexei Trubetskoy's army was advancing. Having blocked Stary Bykhov with barriers, the voivode led his troops further west, toward Slutsk. Slutsk Governor Peterson, taking advantage of the siege of Stary Bykhov and gathering his troops, led them to meet the Russians on August 28. But he was overwhelmed, "killing many of those Lithuanians and Germans and slaughtering them all the way to the city."
Peterson was able to take refuge in Slutsk. The fortress was strong, and Trubetskoy did not commit himself to a siege. The city was surrounded by outposts and barriers, and the army advanced on Kletsk. A large detachment was sent to Peterson's aid. On August 29, Trubetskoy's regiments intercepted him from the Tinkovichi and destroyed him.
The main forces of all the nearby towns were concentrated in Slutsk, which was left undefended. In early September, Prince Trubetskoy's army occupied Kletsk, Myshch, Lyakhovichi, Stolbovichi, Mirgorodok, and Slonim with virtually no resistance, devastating the entire surrounding area.
Thus, the Russian army achieved its main objective in the central sector. Radziwill's Lithuanian army was routed and, essentially, ceased to exist. Vast lands of Western White (Lithuanian) Rus' were liberated.
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