Everything about The Smolensk War totally explained
The
Smolensk War (1632–1634) was a conflict fought between the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and
Russia.
Hostilities began in October 1632 when
Tsarist forces tried to recapture the city of
Smolensk, a former Russian possession. Small military engagements produced mixed results for both sides, but the surrender of the main Russian force in February 1634 led to the
Treaty of Polyanovka. Russia accepted Polish control, which lasted for another 20 years, over the Smolensk region.
Background
In 1632,
Sigismund III Vasa, the
king of Poland, died. Although
the Commonwealth nobility quickly
elected Sigismund's son
Władysław IV Vasa as their new king, Poland's neighbours, expecting delays in the electoral process, tested the Commonwealth's perceived weakness.
The Commonwealth wasn't ready for war. In 1631, the
royal army numbered barely 3,000 men; the Smolensk garrison was about 500 strong, and most garrisons in the border area were composed not of regular or mercenary soldiers but of 100 to 200 local volunteers. Aware that Russia was preparing for war, in the spring of 1632 the
Sejm (Polish-Lithuanian parliament) increased the army by recruiting an additional 4,500 men; by mid-1632 the deputy
voivode (
podwojewoda) of
Smolensk,
Samuel Drucki-Sokoliński, had about 500 volunteers from
pospolite ruszenie and 2,500 regular army soldiers and
Cossacks.
Russia, having recovered to a certain extent from the
Time of Troubles, agreed with the assessment that the Commonwealth would be weakened by the death of its king, and unilaterally attacked without waiting for the Swedes and the Ottomans. Russia's aim was to gain control of
Smolensk, which it had ceded to the Commonwealth in 1618 at the
Truce of Deulino, ending the
last Russo-Polish War. who represented the anti-Polish camp at court.
Estimates of the size of the Russian forces vary, from 25,000 to 34,500, Dissatisfied with their traditional formations of
musket-equipped infantry (the
streltsy), the Russians looked to foreign officers to update the equipment and training of their troops based on the
Western European model of
regulars,
dragoons, and
reiters.
Despite these difficulties, the city, commanded by Deputy Voivode
Samuel Drucki-Sokoliński, held out throughout 1633 while the Commonwealth, under its newly elected King
Władysław IV, organised a relief force. The
Sejm had been informed about the Russian invasion by
30 October,
1632, and, starting in November, had discussed the possibility of relief. However, the process was delayed until the spring of 1633, when the Sejm officially sanctioned a declaration of war and authorised a large payment (6.5 million
zlotys, the highest tax contribution during Władysław's entire reign) for the raising of a suitable force. The intended relief force would have an effective strength of about 21,500 men and would include: 24
chorągiews of
Winged Hussars (~3,200 horses), 27 chorągiews of light cavalry—also known as Cossack cavalry but not composed of
Cossacks—(3,600 horses), 10 squadrons of
raitars (~1,700 horses), 7 Lithuanian
petyhor regiments (~780 horses), 7 large regiments of
dragoons (~2,250 horses), and ~20 regiments of infantry (~12,000 men). Over 10,000 of the infantry would be organized based on the Western model, previously not common in Commonwealth armies.
By the summer of 1633, the relief force, led personally by the king and numbering about 25,000 By the first days of September, the main body of the relief forces approaching Smolensk numbered around 14,000. The Russian army, recently reinforced, numbered 25,000. Only when Cossack reinforcements, led by
Tymosz (Timofiy) Orendarenko and numbering between 10,000 to 20,000, arrived on
17 September would the Commonwealth army gain numerical superiority.
Władysław's brother,
John II Casimir, commanded one of the regiments in the relief army. King Władysław IV, a great supporter of the modernization of the Commonwealth army, proved to be a good tactician, and his innovations in the use of artillery and fortifications based on Western ideas greatly contributed to the eventual Polish-Lithuanian success.
Shein's army retreated to its main camp, which was in turn surrounded by Commonwealth forces in mid-October. The besieged Russians waited for relief, but none arrived, as Commonwealth and Cossack cavalry had been sent to disrupt the Russian rear.) The
Tatar invasion threatening the south Russian borderlands was a contributory factor, with many soldiers and
boyars from those regions deserting the Russian camp to return to protect their homeland.
Shein began surrender negotiations in January 1634, and by February they were in full swing. The Russians finally signed a surrender treaty on
25 February,
1634,
Other engagements
Several other towns and fortresses in the region were the site of smaller battles. Russian forces captured several significant locations during their advance in 1632, but Nagielski speculates that the delay in the arrival of their main force and artillery at Smolensk caused by this dilution of effort may have cost them the siege and consequently the war. In July 1633, the Russians took the towns of
Polatsk,
Wieliź,
Uświat, and
Ozierzyszcze. However, attacks on
Vitebsk and
Mstsislaw were successfully repulsed. Polish forces laid siege to
Putivl, but due to the desertion of their Cossack allies they were forced to withdraw.
In the autumn of 1633, Commonwealth forces retook
Dorogobuzh, an important Russian supply point after its capture the year before. This setback wrecked Russian plans to send reinforcements to Shein's army, although in any event the Russians didn't begin to gather a 5,000-strong army for that purpose until January 1634. Also that autumn,
Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski defeated an Ottoman incursion in the south of the Commonwealth, freeing his force to lay siege to the Russian town of
Sevsk; although Koniecpolski failed to take the fortress, he tied down large Russians forces, preventing them from moving north towards Smolensk.
After the relief of Smolensk in the spring of 1634, the Commonwealth army moved towards
Bely (Biała), arriving in its vicinity in late March. However, the army's attempt to retake the town was unsuccessful, although it did manage to capture
Vyazma.
Treaty of Polyanovka
By the spring of 1634, the Russians hadn't only lost Shein's army but were threatened by
Tatar raids that ravaged southern Russia. and the Treaty of Polyanovka was signed in May, putting an end to hostilities. The treaty confirmed the
pre-war status quo, with Russia paying a large
war indemnity (20,000
rubles in gold), while Władysław agreed to surrender his claim to the Russian throne and return the royal insignia to Moscow.
Aftermath
Both sides introduced new tactics, units and equipment based on Western models, but the Polish-Lithuanian forces proved more adept with these innovations than the Russians.
In 1634, the Commonwealth scored a victory in the south, ending a
war against the Ottomans.
Together with the Treaty of Polyanovka, these victories ended the almost unbroken series of wars between the Commonwealth and its neighbours that began at the start of the 17th century.
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