The Battle of the Vikhra River ( lt, Vichros mūšis, russian: Битва на реке Вихре, be, Мсціслаўская бітва) took place on 29 April 1386 on the Vikhra River, tributary of the

Sozh River The Sozh, or Sož ( be, Сож, ; russian: Сож, uk, Сож) is an international river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus. T ...

, near

Mstislavl 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 ...

between 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 Lit ...

and the

Principality of Smolensk The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princi ...

. The Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory and Smolensk was forced to accept being a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of Lithuania.

Andrei of Polotsk Andrei of Polotsk ( be, Андрэй Альгердавіч, lt, Andrius Algirdaitis, pl, Andrzej Olgierdowic, ca. 1325 – 12 August 1399, in the Battle of the Vorskla River) was the eldest son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and ...

fought with his younger half-brother Jogaila for the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Andrei allied with the Livonian Order and Prince Svyatoslav II of Smolensk, who wanted to reconquer the Principality of Mstislavl. In February 1386, when Jogaila and his allies celebrated his wedding to

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Grea ...

and coronation as Polish king in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, the Order invaded Lithuania, almost reaching

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 ...

. In March, the army of Smolensk besieged

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...

and

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

, but could not take them. Svyatoslav devastated many lands on the Lithuanian border and besieged Mstislavl, which was defended by

Karigaila Karigaila ( pl, Korygiełło, died on 16 September 1390 in Vilnius) was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver. He became the ruler of Mstsislaw after he captured it from the Principality of Smolensk. He is s ...

, son of Algirdas. Upon hearing the news of the invasion, Jogaila sent a great army under the command of his brother

Skirgaila Skirgaila ( la, Schirgalo; be, Скіргайла; pl, Skirgiełło, also known as Ivan/Iwan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev (Kyiv); baptized 1383/1384 as ''Casimir'') was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his broth ...

. The army also included

Kaributas Kaributas (''Koribut'', ''Korybut'', baptized ''Dmitry''; after 1350 – after 1404) was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and reigned in Severian Novgorod until 1393. Kaributas was born some time after 1350 (exact date is unknown) ...

, Lengvenis, and

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

. Mstislavl withstood ten days of siege before the Lithuanian army reached it and engaged the Smolensk army. The result of the battle was a complete defeat of the Smolensk troops and the deaths of Svyatoslav and his nephew Ivan. Two of Svyatoslav's sons, Gleb Svyatoslavich and

Yury of Smolensk Yury Svyatoslavich or Georgy Svyatoslavovich (russian: Юрий Святославович or Георгий Святославович) was the last sovereign ruler of the Principality of Smolensk and Bryansk (1386–95, 1401–04) whose life was ...

, were seriously wounded and taken prisoners. Skirgaila's army approached Smolensk, but did not lay siege. Yuri, who according to the ''

Bychowiec Chronicle The Bychowiec Chronicle (also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most extensive ...

'' was married to a niece of Skirgaila and Jogaila, was installed as the

Prince of Smolensk The Prince of Smolensk was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Smolensk, a lordship based on the city of Smolensk. It passed between different groups of descendants of Grand Prince Iaroslav I of Kiev until 1125, when ...

and as a vassal to Lithuania. Gleb Svyatoslavich was taken as a hostage to Lithuania. Eventually, Gleb returned to Smolensk and challenged Yuri for the throne. That provided Grand Duke

with an opportunity to seize Smolensk in 1395.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vikhra River the Vikhra River 1386 in Europe 14th century in Lithuania Vikhra Vikhra Military history of Belarus