The siege of Polotsk (russian: Осада Полоцка, pl, Oblężenie Połocka) was a siege by forces of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
under
Stefan Bathory
Stefan may refer to:
* Stefan (given name)
* Stefan (surname)
* Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname
* Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname
* Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
* Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
on the Russian-held city of
Polotsk. Polotsk had been captured and heavily fortified by the Russians under Ivan the Terrible in 1563 because the river Dwina, which led to the key city of Riga, flowed through it. Hungarian soldiers, led by Caspar Bekes, Polish soldiers, led by Mikolaj Mielecki, and Lithuanian soldiers, led by Mikolaj Radziwill, converged at the
Dzisna
Dzisna ( be, Дзісна, russian: Дисна, lt, Dysna, pl, Dzisna) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Daugava River, near the confluence of Dysna.
It has 1,500 inhabitants (2017 estimate) wh ...
fortress, joined Bathory's men, and moved on to Polotsk, with a total force of about 42,000. Polotsk had three fortresses: the central one, nearby Strelec fortress, and the walled town of Zapolochie. The primary focus was on the central fortress: first with artillery, which failed because it only punctured the wooden walls, then with cannons, and eventually with fire. The Russians defended Polotsk with trenches and artillery, but after the Hungarian contingent captured Zapolochie, the Russians surrendered. After taking the city, Bathory's forces then moved to
besiege Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-П ...
.
Citations
References
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* {{cite journal , last1=Szabo , first1=Bela , title=The first campaign against Ivan, the Terrible by Stephen Báthory in 1579 , journal=AARMS , date=2009, volume=8 , issue=4 , url=http://www.zmne.hu/aarms/docs/Volume8/Issue4/pdf/14.pdf , accessdate=January 13, 2017
Polotsk
Polotsk
Polotsk (1579)
Polotsk
1579 in Europe
16th century in Belarus
Military history of Belarus
Polotsk