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' ...

between the armies of

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

and

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was ...

, two pretenders to the throne of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

during the

Lithuanian Civil War (1432–1438) The Lithuanian Civil War of 1432–1438 was a war of succession to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, after Vytautas the Great died in 1430 without leaving an heir. The war was fought on the one side by Švitrigaila, allied with the Te ...

Battle

Švitrigaila with several thousand troops (estimated to total about 40,000) marched out of

Polatsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

, where he was staying, and took

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Kreva Kreva ( be, Крэва, ; lt, Krėva or Krẽvas; pl, Krewo; russian: Крéво) is a township in the Smarhon District of Grodno Region, Belarus. The first mention dates to the 13th century. The toponym is derived from the name of the Krivi ...

, and was preparing to attack

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. Sigismund Kęstutaitis' Lithuanian and

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

n army supported by

Masurians The Masurians or Mazurs ( pl, Mazurzy; german: Masuren; Masurian: ''Mazurÿ''), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish: ''Mazurzy pruscy''), is an ethnographic group of Polish people, that originate from the region of Masuria, ...

from Drahichyn (estimated to total about 20,000) attacked Švitrigaila's Lithuanian and Russian troops supported by

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, led by Khan

Sayid Ahmad I Sayid Ahmad I ( fa, ) was a khan of the Golden Horde from 1427 or 1433 until 1455. Unlike the last five of six khans, Ahmad was a younger son of Tokhtamysh. Breakup of the Horde While he died before the Horde dissolved, historians believe that ...

. 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 Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

, about 10,000 of Švitrigaila's men were killed and 4,000 were captured. Švitrigaila escaped to Polatsk. Former

voivode of Vilnius The Voivode of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus vaivada, pl, wojewoda wileński) was a high-ranking officer in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who governed the Vilnius Voivodeship from 1413. He was considered as the most influential member of the Lithuanian Cou ...

Jonas Manvydas Jonas "Ivaška" Manvydas ( pl, Jan (Iwaszko) Moniwidowicz; died 1458) was a Lithuanian noble. A member of the Manvydas family, he was Voivode of Trakai from 1443 to 1458. Biography Manvydas was first recorded in written sources in May 1423 when h ...

, Jurgis Lengvenaitis ruler of

Mstsislaw Mstislaw or Mstislavl ( be, Мсціслаў, [], russian: Мстиславль [msʲtʲɪˈslavlʲ], pl, Mścisław, lt, Mstislavlis) is a town in the Mogilev Region, Eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District ...

, Duke Jurgis Gedgaudas 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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

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