Tsar's Campaign of 1654–1655 also known as Tsar Alexei's campaign of 1654–1655 was a campaign of the Muscovite army against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as part of the Russo-Polish "Thirteen Years" War. Army of the Tsardom of Russia fought with the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (mainly Lithuanian) on a vast territory during the so-called "deluge". As a result, the Muscovites were able to return and seize significant lands, including the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius.
In May 1654, the Russian army entered the territory of the Commonwealth, concentrating on capturing Smolensk. After a long siege, the city fell in October 1654. A further Russian offensive included the seizure of other strongholds in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, including Vitebsk, Polotsk and Mogilev. Fighting took place both in the form of sieges and field battles against the troops of Lithuanian Grand Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł. In 1655, the campaign intensified, with the Russian army, supported by Cossacks, taking Minsk, Grodno and Vilnius, which was looted and burned. In Ukraine, the Tsar's army interacted with Cossack troops, waging hostilities against the Crown and Lithuanian armies. The Russians took control of Kyiv and their offensive expanded westwards. The military situation was complicated by the Swedish invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1655, which drew back some of the Polish-Lithuanian forces and allowed the Tsarist army to continue its march. The warfare involved numerous sieges, the destruction of cities.
Genesis
In 1648, the Khmelnytsky uprising broke out in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It quickly spread across the whole of Ukraine. At that time, the Crown forces suffered a number of defeats, including at Zhovti Vody, followed by Korsun. This revealed the deep crisis facing the Commonwealth. In the following year, 1649, two battles were fought at Zboriv and Zbarazh, at which time the Polish side was forced to sign an unfavourable treaty.Despite their alliance with the Cossacks, the Tartars allowed the Crown troops out of the siege without their consent. For the Tatars, the annihilation of the entire Polish army was not an option. It would have seriously upset the balance of power. In 1650, these defeats gave the Tsar's court various reasons to put forward various demands from the Polish-Lithuanian side which were not accepted. Khmelnitsky got into a state of "dizziness from success," sending delegations to Moscow not to accept citizenship, but rather to put pressure on Warsaw. A year later, the situation had changed dramatically and the Cossack forces were completely defeated in Battle of Berestechko. This defeat, subsequent looting of Kiev and the humiliating treaty of Bila Tserkva had a strong impact on Khmelnitsky's personality and his goals. Now his task was to show Alexis the determination of the Cossacks to become part of the Russia.
In 1652, hostilities resumed again where, however, the Cossacks annihilated the Polish forces at the battle of Batih. The following year, fighting continued alternately until the siege of Zhvanets. The biggest winner was not either side, but the Tatars, who, at the cost of betraying the Cossacks, made a deal with John Casimir.The Tatars again, as at Zbarazh, betrayed the Cossacks and signed a settlement with the Poles The Cossack Hetman knew that, having such an untrustworthy ally, he could not count on him. After the battle itself, the Russian land council granted permission for the Cossacks to be incorporated into Russia. Tsar himself doubted this for a long time, especially after Berestechko, but by February 1653 he had made a decision. On March 19, a decree was issued on the beginning of mobilization in Russia. On the basis of the Pereiaslav Agreement, the entire sicha was incorporated into Russia. At the Sejm in Warsaw, news of Khmelnytsky's deed was learned, but the deputies did not take quick steps to prepare for war. On the contrary, the Sejm was broken up and the country had no funds for defence. This was a huge logjam that was to be revealed to the Lithuanians later. At that time, the tsarist forces were already concentrating for the offensive.
Invasion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: 1654 Army sizes Russian forces were clearly significant, some Lithuanian Narrative sources speak of 200,000, which is disputed by modern science. Working with the documents of the provides the following information about the number of Russian military formations, some documents were lost, so it is impossible to determine the absolute size of the army, however, almost complete information about the composition of the army units has been established: p. 13 Russian army Central Army Northwestern Army Southwestern Army Cossack Corps Pskov regiment Generals Tsar Alexis Aleksey Trubetskoy Ivan Zolotarenko Lev Saltykov Numbers 13,146 1,147 According to modern estimates, soldiers engaged in Lithuania in the initial period in order to counteract the Russians.
Summer campaign of 1654 and Russian advances and the Lithuanian-Moscow struggle
In May and June 1654, Russian forces invaded the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The aim of the campaign was to capture the vast lands of Lithuania. The Moscow offensive quickly surprised the unprepared fortresses and Lithuanian army. The first fortress to capitulate after a three-day siege was Polotsk. The fall of such a large fortress caused shock in Lithuania. Later fortresses fell one after another. On 22 July, the Tsar's army captured Roslavl. Also Dorogobuzh in central Belarus fell. Then Cossack forces under the command of Ivan Zlotarenko attempted to capture Gomel; after a fierce defence of the fort, the Lithuanian garrison finally surrendered it to Zlotarenko.
News of the Russian invasion reached the Sejm as early as 9 June. Initially, the problem of the Russian invasion was downplayed, but the news of the large advances of the Moscow army energised the szlachta, who passed high taxes. This money, due to the underdeveloped financial apparatus, was to arrive a year later. This put the Lithuanians in the unfortunate position of being deprived of any assistance from the Crown army. Meanwhile, in Rzeczpospolita things were going very badly in the country, and a magnate coalition headed by the Lithuanian field hetman Janusz Radziwiłł was forming against John Casimir. It came to the point where Janusz Radziwiłł summoned Prince George II of Rákóczi, Duke Rákóczi, to try to take the Polish throne by force of arms. The Radziwiłłs were supported by the Lubomirski and Opaliński families.
There was also a mobilisation of Lithuanian forces, They attacked the Russians in the Battle of Nowa Woda. Here a Lithuanian detachment of 2,000 defeated a Russian force of 6,000, who retreated after losing 300 men. The battle had no effect on the course of the campaign. Trubetsky also captured Mstislav at this time, After this he carried out the so-called . Janusz Radziwiłł, who eventually became commander of the Lithuanian forces, decided to fight a battle with . Yakov was leading an army of 20,000 with him, but engaged only 12,000. Radziwiłł blocked his way on the river near Shklow with 8,000, where he decided to defend the crossing against his superior forces. A final charge by Lithuanian cavalry paralysed the Muscovites. It forced them into a panicky retreat. According to Lithuanian estimates, muscovites casualties were 7,000, and according to Konrad Bobiatyński calculations, 3,500. Such data is not reflected in Russian documents, for example, the regiments of the central position lost 9 killed and 17 wounded during the battle, which indicates small losses in the battle, they probably amounted to several hundred. Battle ended with Lithuanian tactical victory or indecisive, according to the latest Russian research. This action was bought with heavy losses however for Lithuanians. This was followed by another clash, this time at Shepeleviche. Trubetsky, surprising the Lithuanians, hit them with twice as many men. The defeat of the Lithuanians was total. The Lithuanians lost from 1,000 to 3,000 killed and several hundred more prisoners. In addition, the Lithuanian forces lost their fighting capacity for several weeks.
Smolensk collapse and Lithuanian forces disaster
After the Smolensk War, the walls of the Smolensk fortress were not properly cared for and were in a terrible state. In 1653 Filip Kazimierz Obuchowicz was nominated as the commander of the Smolensk fortress. There were also a lot of absurdities at the time, including attempts to keep Obuchowicz out of the city. A huge force of 3,500 men was assembled to defend the fortress. Tsar Alexis arrived at Smolensk with his main forces on 6 July 1654. He began a regular siege. The first major fighting took place on 26 August, when the Russians launched a huge assault on the Smolensk walls. However, due to a lack of coordination, the Tsar's forces were eventually repulsed. This saved the city crew from complete defeat, for the Lithuanians in whom defeatism had set in. It was then that the news of the defeat at Shepeleviche shook the morale of the garrison. This contributed to the surrender of Lithuanian forces. Those in charge of the defence of Smolensk, such as Jan Miładowski, revealed the problems faced by the crew. The defenders agreed to Moscow's conditions. This is how Smolensk fell into Russian hands.
The defeats suffered during the various battles put pressure on the Lithuanian command, rebuilding the army. The situation became more complicated after Bohdan Khmelnytsky launched an offensive in the south of Belarus. Meanwhile, fresh reinforcements from all over the country were reaching the Lithuanians. However, the good news was the arrival of the Crown army. The mood soon changed again, in view of the dispatch of the Crown army to Ukraine. Radziwiłł now had to rely on infantry and dragoons. In the autumn and before, the Lithuanian Sejm appointed Pospolite ruszenie. Often the nobles who turned up for the summons immediately left the Lithuanian camp due to lack of pay, these factors and others meant that the Lithuanian army assembled only 2,000 men. Even Paweł Sapiecha himself came to join Radziwiłł's army. Volunteer units were formed which, instead of supporting the Lithuanian army, plundered their own country. A total force of 15,000 was gathered near Minsk. The total mobilisation took a huge effort, as it was possible to field an army of as many as 18,000 in Lithuania.
Conflicts between Gosiewski and Radziwiłł
In Lithuania, Wincenty Gosiewski was nominated as Lithuanian field hetman. This was a blow dealt by John Casimir to Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł. Lithuanian received the news strongly antagonistic, remaining in conflict with the king. The first conflicts in the dower had already occurred in Minsk. A bizarre situation occurred near Rakov, where the Lithuanian forces supporting Gosiewski did not want to submit to Radziwiłł, so they camped there. There were clashes and incidents involving loyalists of both hetmans. Another dispute was over the supremacy of the Crown army in Lithuania. Due to increasing tensions, John Casimir set off for Lithuania. In Grodno, he accused Radziwiłł of the defeats he had suffered. Radziwiłł immediately addressed all the issues in a manifesto. In the end, the interest of further war with Moscow tipped the scales, in favour of a temporary reconciliation between the hetmans. Radziwiłł countered with a comprehensive plan to fight the Moscow invaders. In this, he undertook very risky plans like trying to tear the Cossacks from the tsar's yoke. The Lithuanian deliberations also began, with Gosiewski and Radziwiłł alternately accusing each other, including even falsifying army statistics and money. In the end, the dispute was settled by the Minsk priest Zawisza. The final verdicts of the debates met with huge criticism from the nobility.