The Battle of Novgorod-Seversky was the first major battle of

False Dmitry I False Dmitry I ( rus, Лжедмитрий I, Lzhedmitriy I) (or Pseudo-Demetrius I) reigned as the Tsar of Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович). A ...

against

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

Prelude

crossed the border of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

in winter of 1604 commanding a mercenary army of Polish-Lithuanian noblemen. Many residents of southern Russian lands flocked to his banner, and the fortified cities of

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...

and

Putyvl Putyvl′Frank SysynBetween Poland and the Ukraine: The Dilemma of Adam Kysil, 1600-1653 - P. 25. (, ) or Putivl′ ( rus, Пути́вль, p=pʊˈtʲivlʲ) is a city in north-east Ukraine, in Sumy Oblast. The city served as the administrative c ...

accepted him as their "rightful sovereign".

Siege of Novgorod Seversky

Novgorod Seversky was the only city that resisted False Dmitry's troops, defended by

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

Peter Basmanov and Nikita Trubetskoi with 1,500 men and several heavy cannon. The siege began on November 21, but two major assaults were successfully repulsed.

Battle

Nevertheless, the army of the impostor continued to grow to about 15.000, as new towns and cities recognized his authority. To help Basmanov, Tsar

sent some 25.000 servicemen (probably 40.000 including armed serfs) under Prince Fyodor Mstislavsky. But

took the initiative and attacked the larger Russian army on December 31, 1604, on the outskirts of the city.

Polish Hussars The Polish hussars (; pl, husaria ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which ...

, led personally by the impostor, routed the right wing of the Russian army, put the center in a disarray, and wounded Prince Mstislavsky himself. The Prince was saved by a counter-attack of

Streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...

under Mikhail Shein, and the Russian army retreated to their fortified camp.

Aftermath

The Tsar's army quickly recovered and defeated the usurper in the

Battle of Dobrynichi The Battle of Dobrynichi took place on 21 January 1605 between the armies of False Dmitry I and ''Fyodor Mstislavsky'' near the village of Dobrynichi (today's Bryansk Oblast in Russia). Prelude Fyodor Mstislavsky commanded an army of some 20, ...

in January 1605.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novhorod-Siverskyi, Battle of 1604 in Europe Novhorod Conflicts in 1604 History of Chernihiv Oblast 1604 in Russia