Battle of Klushino, 1610 ⚔️ Polish invasion of Russia ⚔️ DOCUMENTARY

In March 1604, an unknown young man came to the court of King Sigismund III in Krakow. He met with the Polish king and introduced himself as Dmitri Ivanovich, the son of the deceased Tsar of Russia Ivan the Terrible, and the brother of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor I Ivanovich. This meant that he was the legitimate heir to the Russian throne and the entire Tsardom, which was going through a difficult period of crisis due to the extinction of the ruling Rurik dynasty. In addition to rebellions and battles for the throne, Russia was hit by a huge famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died. This period is known as the Time of Troubles. Until then, it was believed Tsar Dmitri Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, had died 13 years earlier under mysterious circumstances. So it was a minor miracle when he arrived in Krakow to ask Sigismund and Polish nobles for support in overthrowing the usurper of the Russian throne, Boris Godunov. Privately, many Polish and Lithuanian magnates doubted Dmitri's aristocratic origins. But they stayed silent on the matter, for their ambition was to take advantage of the vast Russian territories. To garner support with the Polish king, Dmitri converted to Catholicism and promised territorial concessions if he became Russian Tsar. Sigismund saw this as an opportunity to expand his influence towards Russia, while the proponents of Catholicism wanted to use this to spread their religion to the east. In addition, the idea for the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian-Moscovite Commonwealth was again at the top of the agenda. However, with his armies busy on other fronts, the Polish king could not officially support this enterprise. But he gave a handsome sum of money to this young man, who claimed to be Dmitri, to hire mercenary troops, while some of the nobles of the Commonwealth provided the majority of the army in support of this campaign. Soon, news that Tsarevich Dmitri Ivanovich was coming with an army reached Moscow. Alarmed, Tsar Boris Godunov went public and spread the story that the man who pretended to be Dmitri Ivanovich was actually a runaway monk, Yuri Otrapiev, and that the real Dmitri died 13 years ago, in 1591. But despite Godunov's declarations, his popularity sharply declined, as he lost support of an ever larger number of nobles. By the fall of 1604, Dmitri had gathered around 1,600 soldiers from Poland, 2,000 Cossacks from Ukraine, and some mercenaries. And then, in October, he invaded Russia. But before we continue, I want to shout out today's sponsor, Established Titles. Established Titles is a project based on a historic Scottish custom, where landowners are referred to as lairds, lords, and ladies. What Established Titles does, is give you one square foot of land, so you can call yourself a lord or a lady, and provides you with an official certificate with a crest. 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Go to establishedtitles.com slash marshten to get your gifts now, and help support the channel. Early on Dmitri had the advantage and conquered certain cities without encountering much resistance, but soon he suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of Dobrinichi. As fortune would have it, he overcame this difficult situation exclusively due to the sudden death of Tsar Boris Godunov in April 1605. Boris' son Fyodor II Godunov ascended the throne, but both he and his mother were killed soon after. In June, the man claiming to be Dmitri triumphantly entered Moscow and was crowned Russian Tsar. To strengthen his alliance with Poland, he married a Polish noblewoman Marina Monisha, who became the Russian Tsarina in May 1606. But the situation quickly deteriorated from there for the new Tsar. Russian boyars were quick to notice that Dmitri was surrounded by foreigners at his court, primarily Poles. The strong influence of the Catholic Church at the palace was also a source of irritation. The last straw was that the new Tsarina Marina did not convert to Orthodoxy, which was a tradition in Russia. Fearing westernization of Russia, the boyars plotted an attack on the Kremlin. False Dmitri was killed, cremated, and his ashes fired from a cannon in the direction of Poland. Vasily IV Shchuski, a leading Russian boyar with distant origins from the Rurik dynasty, was proclaimed Tsar of Russia. Further unrest followed, Moscow itself besieged, however, the rebellion ultimately died down. Stranger still, in the summer of 1607, another Dmitri Ivanovich appeared, claiming he had survived the attack on the Kremlin, and then started a rebellion against Vasily IV. It was lost on no one that this man was an imposter of an imposter. Yet the new Dmitri garnered support from the magnates who supported the previous Dmitri, whose charred remains were fired from a cannon. Even Marina Manisech, the wife of the previous imposter, confirmed that this new Dmitri was her husband. In the ensuing turmoil, Dmitri was able to gather a strong army and took control over a large territory in Russia. The Crimean Tatars and the Nogai Horde used the upheaval to ravage unprotected Russian lands, which created complete chaos. Vasily, realising that he was in a very difficult position, in February 1609 made an alliance with the Swedish king, Charles IX, to defeat Dmitri, and in return handed over the Kurela fortress to Sweden. In March, the Swedish army under the command of General Jacob de la Gardie went to the aid of the Russians. In Novgorod, it united with a part of the Russian army and headed for Moscow, which was under siege. Seeing Sweden's interference in the Russian civil war, King Sigismund III immediately prepared for the campaign, not allowing Sweden, of which he was once king, to expand its influence. Since the Zevzhidovsky rebellion in Poland ended at this time, Sigismund rallied support of the Pope and raised a strong army. The Polish-Lithuanian host of about 22,000 soldiers, under the command of King Sigismund III himself, invaded Russia in September and besieged Smolensk. The imposing fortress of Smolensk was of great strategic importance at this time, the one who controlled it could easily break through towards Moscow. However, the city was well fortified and the siege dragged on. On the other hand, Sigismund's campaign negatively affected Dmitry's position, because most of the Polish troops serving under him now deserted and joined the army of the Polish king. In addition, Sigismund's ambitions grew, and he no longer wanted to appoint Dmitry as Tsar of Russia, but wanted the whole of Russia for himself. Allied Russian-Swedish forces, under the command of Shuski, inflicted several defeats on Dmitry, and then gathered a large army and set out to deal with the greatest threat – the Poles. Learning of the movement of the Russian army, Hetman Stanislav Jokiecki led a small part of the army, primarily cavalry, to intercept the enemy, while most of the Poles remained near Smolensk. At the end of June 1610, Jokiecki defeated a Russian vanguard of about 5,000 men near Zarjevo-Zaimyshe, and then surrounded and besieged their camp. Realizing that the rest of the Russian army was nearby, he left some of his men to watch on the besieged enemy soldiers, and with the rest he went to the Russian main army. After a long night march, Polish soldiers appeared in front of the encamped Russian army before dawn, on July 4th, 1610. As Russian commander Dmitry Shuski was not even aware that the enemy was in their vicinity, Stanislav Jokiecki wanted to carry out a surprise attack, but as he waited for all the soldiers from the long marching column to arrive, such an attack was impossible to carry out. Dmitry Shuski's army was deployed in two camps, in one camp were the Swedish mercenaries, gathered from all over Europe, and numbered about 3,300 soldiers, in the second camp were Russian forces, numbering about 20,000 troops. In addition to this, they also had 11 cannons. On the other hand, Jokiecki had only 2,500 cavalry under his command, mostly winged Hussars, then 400 Cossack and 200 Polish infantry, and two cannons. The infantry and cannons were late, and they were still far from the battlefield. Before the battle itself, Stanislav Jokiecki ordered the surrounding villages to be burned, so that enemy infantry could not use them for defensive purposes. The fence and obstacles that served to slow down the onslaught of cavalry were also partially destroyed. Russian forces were soon also deployed, but because they were located between the Vdovka and Gzhat rivers, they could not be spread to take advantage of their numerical superiority. Their troops took up positions behind the damaged fence. Behind the left wing of their army was a strong group of Russian soldiers, mostly composed of mobilized men, and they served as a reserve, because it was not possible to deploy them on such a terrain. It is noticeable that Jokiecki concentrated his main forces on his right wing. At about four o'clock in the morning, Polish trumpets and drums gave the signal to the Hussars, and marked the beginning of the battle. Alexander Zborowski's heavy cavalry attacked the center. At first they advanced slowly, but when they approached, a fierce charge was launched towards the enemy, in order to collide at the highest speed. The first contact was disastrous for the front lines of the Russian army. Although the Polish Hussars could only pass through the gaps in the fence that they had partially destroyed before the battle, they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. Russian battle formations gradually started to disintegrate, and were forced into a slow withdrawal. The Hussars, having lost momentum, quickly reorganized their formations and launched a new attack on the second Russian line. In response to this, the Russian cavalry from the second row set out to meet them. A new bloody showdown ensued. However, the Polish riders lost most of their long lances in the previous attack, limiting the shock of their charge. A fight with swords and sabers occurred, yet the Poles continued to advance into the depths of the Russian army formation. And again, as they lost momentum and became threatened from the flanks and rear, they withdrew in formation to the starting positions. During that time, the Polish left wing, under the command of Mikolaj Struch, had difficulties with the Swedish mercenaries. Since the fence on this part of the front was only slightly destroyed, the cavalry charges were less effective. Although the Swedish mercenaries were unmotivated to fight, because they did not receive their salary on time, their discipline, training and equipment successfully matched the Poles. The Poles found themselves in a very difficult position here. Enemy musketeers, protected by the fence, fired at cavalry from close range, while pikemen did not allow the Poles to break through the lines. Meanwhile, a new charge on the Polish right wing occurred, with fresh Polish units. The Hussars again dealt a heavy blow to the enemy's front line. They began to break through the mass of Russian soldiers and gradually advanced north. However, when they broke through, the Poles were again left without most of their lances, and the second Russian line stopped them again. Threatened from the flanks, these units started to retreat, while a third wave of fresh Polish Hussars started to advance. The less numerous Polish left wing could not make similar breakthroughs. Swedish mercenary pikemen and musketeers proved a solid defensive combination, and musket fire also had an important psychological effect on humans and horses. After a long fight, the first line of cavalry started retreating here as well. When the first line successfully left the battle, troops from the Polish second line of the left wing rushed forward. Here the Poles carried out attacks by expanding their ranks, in order to be a harder target for the musketeers. The charge was no more effective than the previous one. Although the Poles tried to widen the gaps in the fences, which was a dangerous obstacle for them, they were not successful. Enemy musketeers, although inaccurate, opened fire on the Hussars again and again. After a Polish horseman was left without his lance, he was forced to fight with a saber, which made the battle easier for the Swedish pikemen. The situation on this part of the front improved, after the Polish infantry and two cannons finally arrived on the battlefield. They opened fire from a distance, in support of the Hussars. Meanwhile, the right wing was almost completely left without fresh units. It seemed that, despite strong charges and deep breakthroughs, they could not break the enemy formations. Because of this, Stanislaw Żółkowski gradually sent reinforcements from the army reserve to his right wing. But despite this, most Hussars were still left without their lances, and were by now tired and demoralized. Nevertheless, the Hussars continued to carry out their orders, and launched a new attack on their opponent. As the front lines of the Russian left wing were by now weakened by the intense fighting, the Russian cavalry set out to meet the Hussars, in order to slow down the Polish attack, and give their comrades time to regroup. Soon the two armies clashed, and a real cavalry battle ensued. The very beginning of the fight was uncertain, but soon the skill and discipline of the Hussars prevailed, and gave results. The Russians set out on a total retreat north, followed by Polish cavalry. However, the Russian cavalry managed to fulfill its task, and slow down the opponent, and the Poles, realizing that they had lost momentum again, retreated to their starting positions. Shortly after this retreat, the Russian ranks spread and opened the way for a new cavalry detachment that set out to attack. These were the reiter detachments, cavalry that carried firearms in addition to their swords. The Polish troops, which had been resting and preparing for the next attack so far, reacted quickly, and set out to meet the enemy. When the Poles came within range, the reiter detachments abruptly turned and opened fire. They then wheeled about, and galloped back towards their own army. The Poles remained steadfast and continued to advance, but the second line of reiter detachments appeared in front of them, and also performed the same maneuver. This time, the Hussars proved their mettle by accelerating into the hail of bullets, catching up with their opponent. A new cavalry battle occurred. The clashing of steel and the screams of men pierced the air, as the highly trained reiters and Hussars stood toe to toe. The Polish advance slogged forward, but it seemed that this was another attack that would end with only limited success. But the stubborn Poles refused to back down, and at one point the reiter detachments reached their breaking point and started fleeing towards their comrades. Seeing the mass of their own cavalry and Polish horsemen rushing towards them, the whole Russian left wing collapsed in panic. The first ranks began fleeing, and their escape provoked a chain reaction, in which the entire Russian left wing set out in an unorganized retreat towards their camp. Fleeing the Polish cavalry, many were cut down, while they continued their retreat much further than the camp. During that time, the Russian right wing was still stable, but was soon exposed to new attacks. An important role was also played by Polish infantry, who first shot at the enemy, then drew their swords and also launched a charge. Probably the greatest impact on the breakdown of the Russian right wing was the attack on their left flank, which was now fully exposed. After a long battle, it was clear that the Swedish mercenaries could not win, and they started to retreat. Unlike the left wing, the Russian right wing withdrew in an organized manner, and here some of the reiter units played a major role, covering the retreat of the infantry. After more than three hours of heavy fighting, the Battle of Klushino ended. Although Stanislav Zhelkevsky managed to defeat his more numerous opponent, two enemy camps full of soldiers posed a major threat. However, Zhelkevsky offered the mercenaries to side with him, and a good deal of them did, probably disappointed because they did not receive their payment on time from the Russians. Those who refused to accept this offer were permitted to leave the camp peacefully, and head back to Sweden. Dmitry Shchuski then initiated the withdrawal of the remainder of the Russian army. The Poles took advantage of this and rushed towards his camp, to plunder it as soon as possible. After the battle, the Russian soldiers, surrounded near Zaryovo-Zaimyshe, heard about the defeat of their army, and decided to surrender, with some of them joining the Polish army. Reinforced by additional troops, Zhelkevsky continued with his army to the east, and soon entered the Russian capital of Moscow on October 8th, 1610. He captured the Russian Tsar Vasily Shchuski, as well as the defeated commander Dmitry Shchuski. This marked the beginning of the Polish occupation of the Russian capital, which lasted for two years. Or you can support us by subscribing to our channel and leaving a comment as a sacrifice to the algorithm. As always, we'll see you in the next one.