Battle of Orsha

Battle of Orsha
Part of Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1512-1522)

Battle of Orsha painting attributed to Hans Krell
Date8 September 1514
Location
Orsha, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, present-day Belarus
54°30′N 30°23′E / 54.500°N 30.383°E / 54.500; 30.383
Result Polish–Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Kingdom of Poland		 Grand Duchy of Moscow
Commanders and leaders
 Ivan Chelyadnin  (POW)
Strength
12,000 to 35,000[a] 12,000 to 40,000[b]
Casualties and losses
500[citation needed] 13,000–40,000 dead and wounded (?)
At least 5,000 captured[citation needed]
Battle of Orsha is located in Belarus
Battle of Orsha
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Location within Belarus

The Battle of Orsha (Polish: Bitwa pod Orszą, Lithuanian: Oršos mūšis), was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Lithuanian Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski; and the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Bulgakov-Golitsa. The Battle of Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Muscovite rulers striving to gather all the former Kievan Rus' lands under their rule.

According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein, the primary source for information on the battle, the much smaller army of Lithuania–Poland (under 30,000 men) defeated a force of 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. These numbers and proportions have been disputed by some modern historians.

  1. ^ Лобин А. Н. К вопросу о численности и составе польско-литовской армии в битве под Оршей в 1514 г. // Праблемы інтэграцыі і iнкарпарацыі ў развіцці Цэнтральнай і Усходняй Еўропы ў перыяд ранняга Новага часу. Мінск, 2010. С. 18–42
  2. ^ a b Podhorodecki, Leszek (1997). Sławne bitwy Polaków. MADA. pp. 105–106. ISBN 8386170247.
  3. ^ a b Spieralski, Zdzisław (1965). Wojskowość polska w okresie odrodzenia [w:] Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej do roku 1864, t. I, pod red. Janusza Sikorskiego. p. 331.
  4. ^ a b Wojciechowski, Zygmunt (1946). Zygmunt Stary (1506–1548). p. 50.
  5. ^ Лобин А. Н. К вопросу о численности вооружённых сил Российского государства в XVI в.//Studia Slavica et Balcanica Petropolitana 2009 Nr 1–2. p. 66


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