Battle of Molodi
{{Short description|Battle in 1572 between Russians and Crimeans}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
| conflict = Battle of Molodi
| image = Molodi - v pam'at' pobedy 1572 goda - 07.jpg
| caption = Molodi village. A foundation stone to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Molodi in 1572.
| partof = the Russo-Crimean Wars and Russo-Turkish wars
| date = 29 July – 2 August 1572
| place = Molodi, 50 km south of Moscow
{{Coord|55|30|N|37|32|E|type:event|display=title}}
| result = Russo-Cossack victoryRobert Payne and Nikita Romanoff, Ivan the Terrible, (Cooper Square Press, 2002), 329.
| territory = Crimean-Ottoman invasion of Russia repulsed
| combatant1 = 20px Tsardom of Russia
{{flagicon image|Flag of Don Cossacks.svg}} Don Cossacks
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Zaporizhian Sich.svg}} Zaporozhian Cossacks
| combatant2 = {{flagdeco|Crimean Khanate}} Crimean Khanate
20px Ottoman EmpireПенской В. В. "Сражение при Молодях 28 июля – 3 августа 1572 г." // История военного дела: исследования и источники. — St. Petersburg, 2012. — Vol. 2. — P. 156. — {{ISSN|2308-4286}}.
| commander1 = 20px Mikhail Vorotynsky
(army commander)
20px {{interlanguage link|Dmitry Khvorostinin|ru|Хворостинин, Дмитрий Иванович}}
(key figure)
{{flagicon image|Flag of Don Cossacks.svg}} {{interlanguage link|Mikhail Cherkashenin|ru|Михаил Черкашенин}}
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Zaporizhian Sich.svg}} Mykhailo Vyshnevetsky
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Crimean Khanate}} Devlet I Giray
| strength1 = 20,000 to 70,000 men{{efn|* 20,000"Документы о сражении при Молодях" // Исторический архив, № 4. 1959 — P. 167
* 35,000See {{slink|#Order of Battle}}
* 70,000{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}}}}
| strength2 = 60,000 to 120,000{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} men
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Heavy{{efn|When retreating, the remnants of Devlet Giray's army were attacked by Zaporozhian Cossacks, and only a small part of the army returned to Crimea (20,000{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}}).Стороженко А. В. Стефан Баторий и днепровские козаки. Kiev, 1904. p. 34 However, it is not only the battle casualties.}}
Modern estimates: 27,000 killed or drowned При отступлении остатки армии хана подверглись нападению запорожских казаков, и в Крым вернулась только малая часть войска. См.: Стороженко А. В. Стефан Баторий и днепровские казаки. — Киев, 1904. — С. 34
Medival estimates: 100,000 dead in battle according to Vorotynsky report {{cite book |last=Penskoi |first=Vitaliy |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Иван Грозный и Девлет-Герей |trans-title=Ivan the Terrible and Devlet-Gerey |date=2012 |publisher=Вече |isbn=978-5-9533-6428-7 }}
}}
{{Campaignbox Russo-Crimean Wars}}
The Battle of Molodi (Russian: Би́тва при Мóлодях) was one of the key battles of Ivan the Terrible's reign. It was fought near the village of Molodi, {{Convert|40|mi}} south of Moscow, in July–August 1572 between the 120,000 horde of Devlet I Giray of Crimea and about 60,000–70,000 Russians led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky.{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} The Crimeans had burned Moscow the previous year, but this time they were thoroughly defeated.
Background
While the Tsardom of Russia was involved in the Livonian War, the Crimean khan hoped to make profit from the weakness of its southern borders. In the course of three expeditions, Devlet I Giray devastated South Russia and even sacked and set Moscow on fire in 1571. On 26 July 1572 the huge horde of the khan, equipped with cannons and reinforced by janissaries, crossed the Oka River near Serpukhov, decimated the Russian vanguard of 200 men, and advanced towards Moscow in order to pillage it once again.{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} Little did they know, however, that the Russians had prepared for the new invasion, setting up innovative fortifications just beyond the Oka.
Battle
The Russian forces, variously estimated at between 20,000Карамзин. История государства российского{{page number|date=March 2024}} and 70,000 men, were placed under the supreme command of Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky.{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} Prince Repnin led the left flank, while the right flank was commanded by Prince Odoevsky. On 30 July the armies clashed near the Lopasnya River without so much as a prior reconnaissance. The fighting continued for several days, reaching its peak on 8 August. The large amount of close-in fighting made the Tatars' famed skill in archery quite useless:{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} The battle was fought principally with sabers and spears. Artillery and arquebuses were also used by the Russians to great effect. The outcome was decided by Prince Khvorostinin who bypassed the horde with his gulyay-gorod (гуляй-город) mobile fortifications and infiltrated into the rear.
Aftermath
After the battle, only 20,000 Tatar horsemen returned to the Crimea,{{sfn|Tucker|2010|p=531}} while the khan left his tent and banner on the battlefield and barely managed to escape alive. The battle claimed the lives of his sons and a grandson.
File:01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg|Moscow streltsy
File:Ivan IV 1572.jpg|Ivan IV is presented with trophies taken from Devlet Giray by Vorotynsky after the battle. By Boris Chorikov
File:Eques Tartarus.jpg|Crimean Tatar horseman. Engraving by Abraham de Bruyn (1575)
[[Order of Battle]]
Based on contemporary documents, the Russian forces were as follows:Документы о сражении при Молодях // Исторический архив, № 4. 1959 — P. 174–177
| class="wikitable" |
| Group
! Composition ! Number |
|---|
| Main:
|
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| Total: 8,255 |
| Right Hand:
|
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| Total: 3,590 |
| Forward:
|
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| Total: 4,475 |
| Guard:
|
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| Total: 4,670 |
| colspan="2" |
| Total: 20,034 |
Contemporary chronicles give very large and unreliable figures when talking about the Tatar army. The Novgorod Second Chronicle gives its strength as 120,000 and the Moscow Chronicle about 150,000. According to modern Russian historians, the khan's army most likely numbered 40,000–60,000, of which two-thirds were the Crimean army proper, and the rest Nogai, Circassians and janissaries sent by the Ottoman Sultan.
The Russian historian Vitaly Pensky estimates the total size of the Moscow army at 35,000, considering that the remaining estimates are overstated.{{rp|212-213}}
Notes
{{noteslist}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite encyclopedia |chapter=July 30-August 2, 1572: Eastern Europe: Russia: Battle of Molodi |encyclopedia=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |volume=II |editor-first=Spencer C. |editor-last=Tucker |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2010 }}
External links
- {{in lang|ru}} https://www.hrono.ru/sobyt/1500sob/molod.html
- {{in lang|ru}} http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/HISTORY/ANDREEW_A_R/krym_history.txt#45
- {{in lang|ru}} http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/history/karamzin/kar09_03.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716184616/http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/history/karamzin/kar09_03.htm |date=2012-07-16 }}
- {{in lang|ru}} https://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Russ/XVI/1560-1580/Schlacht_Molodi/text.htm
- {{in lang|en}} http://www.xenophon-mil.org/rushistory/battles/ivanbook.htm
Category:16th-century military history of Russia