Draft:Lithuanian invasion of Livonia (1657–1658)
 | Draft article not currently submitted for review.
This is a draft Articles for creation (AfC) submission. It is not currently pending review. While there are no deadlines, abandoned drafts may be deleted after six months. To edit the draft click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. To be accepted, a draft should:
It is strongly discouraged to write about yourself, your business or employer. If you do so, you must declare it. Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Last edited by Gvssy (talk | contribs) 3 seconds ago. (Update) |
| Lithuanian invasion of Livonia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Northern War of 1655–1660 | |||||||||
 Map depicting the Swedish Baltic provinces in the 17th century | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |
 Grand Duchy of Lithuania  Tsardom of Russia[a] | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt Magnus De la Gardie Bengt Horn Friedrich von Löwen Fabian von Aderkas Toll |
Wincenty Gosiewski Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Riga garrison Pernau garrison Wolmar garrison |
Wolmar garrison | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 1,200 cavalry | 4,920 infantry cavalry and dragoons | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Placeholder | Placeholder | ||||||||
The Lithuanian invasion of Livonia occurred from October 1657 to early February 1658, when a Lithuanian army under Wincenty Gosiewski invaded Livonia. The Lithuanians occupied large parts of western Livonia and blockaded Riga until being forced to withdraw after a sortie by Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
Background
[edit]In the autumn of 1657, the fighting in the Baltic provinces entered a new phase, a two-front war from the Swedish perspective. This is because the Lithuanians invaded from the south and the Russians intensified their activities in the north during the winter. The Lithuanians, who had earlier crossed the Daugava, and had not gone further, marched into central Livonia in October and occupied a large portion of it.[1]
The Lithuanian invasion and the Russian activity in the north is seen as the backdrop of the changes taking place in the political situation that had occurred in the Autumn of 1657 and the winter of 1658. In the summer of 1657, Charles X Gustav had departed from the Commonwealth to invade Denmark, doing so successfully. The Commonwealth and Brandenburg also joined forces against Sweden in August-September and Lithuanian forces were thus freed for operations in Livonia.[1]
Invasion
[edit].jpg)
At the turn of September and October 1657, Simon Grundel-Helmfelt in Riga received reports that a Lithuanian army under Wincenty Gosiewski was approaching. On 5–6 October. a vanguard of 1,000 men arrived at the Daugava in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on Kobron sconce, which failed. Around the same time, Lithuanian dragoons captured the destroyed and empty Kircholm and the main army subsequently entered Livonia.[1]
Soon after, Helmfelt confirmed that he had received reports from Magnus De la Gardie about the Lithuanian advance. However, De la Gardie received the message from Bengt Horn that the Lithuanians had indeed crossed the Daugava. Therefore, De la Gardie decided to immediately go to Riga by Hapsal and Pernau.[2]
In late October, De la Gardie arrived in Hapsal and remained there for a month, before continuing towards Pernau. The amount of men available for the Swedish defense was consolidated under Lieutenant General Friedrich von Löwen's command and were sent directly to Pernau, from where they would continue towards Rujen and Wolmar. The strength of his army in late October consisted of at most 1,200 cavalry. Some troops had been left to defend Estonia and Ingria, along with smaller groups being sent to reinforce Riga and Pernau. The force also shrunk due to many of the cavalrymen defecting to the Lithuanians.[3]
In the beginning of the attack, cooperation began between Gosiewsky and Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, the commander of Russian-occupied Kokenhusen. However, the rapid Lithuanian successs along with the souring Polish-Russian relations had the consequence of this cooperation not developing further. Several detailed estimates by Helmfelt of the size of the Lithuanian army survive today, with the size being estmated at some 4,920 men, cavalry, and dragoons, divided into 82 companies.[3]
During the first weeks after the Lithuanian crossing of the Daugava, the Lithuanians attempted to organize blockades at Kobron and Riga, and sent demands for Swedish capitulation, which were ignored. On 29 October, Gosiewski departed with the main force and headed northwards, and the conquest of Livonia had already begun. Ronneburg and Wenden were captured with ease, and Lithuanian garrisons were put into the unmanned Burtneck and Mojan.[3]
For the defense of southern Livonia, Magnus De la Gardie had sent a force under Generalmajor Fabian von Aderkas and Överste Toll. When confronted with Gosiewski's troops, they retreated, arriving at Wolmar on 17 October. The Swedish commander at Wolmar refused to house the troops and they instead continued towards Pernau. On 18 October, the Lithuanians arrived at Wolmar, and the next day, they besieged it. Wolmar had a garrison of some 150 men, which capitulated on 25 October after a week-long siege.[3]
Aftermath
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ The Lithuanians coordinated activities with Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, the commander of Kokenhusen
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Fagerlund 1979, p. 117.
- ^ Fagerlund 1979, pp. 117–118.
- ^ a b c d Fagerlund 1979, p. 118.
Works cited
[edit]- Essen, Michael Fredholm von (2023). Charles X's Wars: The Danish Wars, 1657-1660. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781915113603.
- Fagerlund, Rainer (1979). Stade, Arne (ed.). Kriget på östfronten [The War on the Eastern Front] (in Swedish). Militärhistoriska förlaget. ISBN 9789185266098.