The Battle of Ashmiany was a battle fought on 8 December 1432 at

Ashmiany Ashmyany ( be, Ашмя́ны; Łacinka: ''Ašmiany''; russian: Ошмя́ны; lt, Ašmena; pl, Oszmiana; yi, אָשמענע, ''Oshmene'') is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus, located at 50 km from Vilnius. The town is Ashmyany District's ...

between the armies of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis, two pretenders to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Civil War (1432–1438).

Battle

Švitrigaila with several thousand troops (estimated to total about 40,000) marched out of Polatsk, where he was staying, and took Minsk, Kreva,

, and was preparing to attack Vilnius. Sigismund Kęstutaitis' Lithuanian and Samogitian army supported by Masurians from

Drahichyn Drahichyn (Belarusian language, Belarusian: Драгічын, uk, Дорогичин, russian: Дрогичин, pl, Drohiczyn, yi, דראהיטשין ''Drohichin'', lt, Drohičinas) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus. It the administrati ...

(estimated to total about 20,000) attacked Švitrigaila's Lithuanian and Russian troops supported by Tatars, led by Khan Sayid Ahmad I. Švitrigaila's

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...

allies did not arrive in time for the battle. The battle lasted from morning until evening. At first Sigismund's army was pushed by Švitrigaila's forces about towards Vilna, but Sigismund Kęstutaitis towards the evening beat and struck back at Švitrigailos forces. Both sides suffered heavy losses. According to the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, about 10,000 of Švitrigaila's men were killed and 4,000 were captured. Švitrigaila escaped to Polatsk. Former voivode of Vilnius Jonas Manvydas, Jurgis Lengvenaitis ruler of Mstsislaw, Duke

Jurgis Gedgaudas Jurgis Gedgaudas (died ) was a noble and diplomat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He used the Leliwa coat of arms. He was active in political life from 1401 to 1435, serving Grand Dukes Vytautas and Švitrigaila as voivode and diplomat. His repr ...

and other commanders of his army were taken into captivity.

Aftermath

Although Sigismund Kęstutaitis won the battle, his army was also weakened and he could not pursue Švitrigaila and end the civil war. The Lithuanian civil war ended with the 1435 Battle of Wilkomierz when Švitrigaila's army was dealt a final defeat.Bronius Dundulis. Ašmenos mūšis. Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija, T. II (Arktis-Beketas). – Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2002. 113 psl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Ashmiany 1432 in Europe 15th century in Lithuania

Conflicts in 1432 Military history of Belarus