The Battle of Ashmyany or Ašmena () was fought on 8 December 1432 at

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

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 (, ; 136520 March 1440) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was the son of Grand Duke Kęstutis and his wife Birutė. Aft ...

, two pretenders to the throne of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

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 () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it ...

, where he was staying, and took

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Kreva,

, and was preparing to attack

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. Sigismund Kęstutaitis' Lithuanian and

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

army supported by

Masurians The Masurians or Mazurs (; ; Masurian dialects, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ''), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish language, Polish: ''Mazurzy pruscy''), are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian- ...

from

Drahichyn Drahichyn or Drogichin is a town in Brest Region, in south-western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Drahichyn District. As of 2025, it has a population of 14,743. History The settlement was first mentioned as ''Dowieczorowic ...

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

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

, led by Khan

Sayid Ahmad I Sayid Ahmad I (Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: سید احمد خان) was 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 ...

. 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 thei ...

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 histo ...

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

voivode of Vilnius The Voivode of Vilnius (, ) was a high-ranking Voivode#Commonwealth of Poland–Lithuania, 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 Co ...

Jonas Manvydas Jonas "Ivaška" Manvydas (; 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 he affixed his seal to the Treat ...

, Jurgis Lengvenaitis ruler of

Mstsislaw Mstislaw or Mstislavl is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District. In 2009, its population was 10,804. As of 2024, it has a population of 10,019. History Mstislavl was first mentioned in the ...

, 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 sp he could not pursue Švitrigaila and end the civil war. The

Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435) Lithuanian Civil War may refer to: * Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), a war between Jogaila and his uncle Kęstutis with son Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), a war between Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1432 ...

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 c ...

during which 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 Ashmyany 1432 in Europe 15th century in Lithuania

Conflicts in 1432 Military history of Belarus