Sieges of Pereiaslav

Siege of Pereiaslav
Part of Russo-Polish War (1654-1667)
Date 1661-1662 Location Pereiaslav, (Modern day Ukraine) Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Cossack hetmanate Crimean Khanate	Russia Cossack hetmanate
Commanders and leaders
Yuri Khmelnitsky	Prince Vasily Bogdanovich Yakym Somko
Strength
First siege: Unknown Second Siege:14,000	3,519

The Sieges of Pereiaslav in 1661–1662 are episodes of the Ruin and the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667.Yuri Khmelnitsky, the Hetman of Right-Bank Ukraine, who went over to the side of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, twice attempted to take Pereiaslav , which was defended by his uncle, Yakym Somko, who led the Left-Bank opposition to Khmelnitsky, and a garrison of tsarist troops led by Prince Volkonsky-Verigin.

Background

Yuri Khmelnitsky, having signed the Treaty of Chudnov with the Poles, faced opposition to his foreign policy from the Left Bank regiments, led by Pereiaslav Colonel Yakim Somko. By 1661, the Hetmanate was divided along the Dnieper into two conflicting factions. Seeking to consolidate power, Khmelnitsky enlisted the help of the Crimean Tatars and Poles to capture Pereiaslav.

Siege of 1661

In the beggining of October 1661, Yuri Khmelnytsky laid siege to Pereiaslav,this time the siege would last 2 months. Khmelnytsky,having gathered a large army consisting of Cossacks and Tatars,tried to drain the Trubizh and the Alta river.

The forces of Khmelnytsky would constantly come in small numbers from five hundred to a thousand people,who would be used as lure to draw enemy troops into the open, where they could be ambushed by larger armies concealed in the forests.

Ultimately,Khmelnytsky,failing to reach success from the siege, lifted the siege.

Siege of 1662

On June 12, Khmelnitsky advanced on Pereyaslav. The city was defended by approximately 4,000 tsarist troops and 3,000-4,000 Cossacks from the Pereyaslav regiment, who were expecting reinforcements from Colonel Vasily Zolotarenko. Khmelnitsky's forces from 14,000. As Khmelnitsky attacked Somko's fortified positions near the Borisoglebsky Monastery, he faced fierce resistance from Somko's Cossacks, who fought valiantly. Despite multiple assaults, on July 10, Khmelnitsky fled with all his people to Kanev.

Consequences

While retreating,a unified army of Somko and Romodanovsky followed and defeated Khmelnytsky in a devastating battle near Kanev.

References

Bibliography

• Babulin, Igor (2015). Каневская битва 16 июля 1662 года [Battle of Kanev, July 16, 1662] (in Russian). Moscow. ISBN 978-5-9906036-5-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Mykola, Kostomarov (1891). Історичні монографії Миколи Костомарова [Historical monographs of Mykola Kostomarov] (in Ukrainian). Volume 6 : Hetmanship of Ivan Vyhovsky.
• Yavornitsky, Dmytro (1897). История запорожских казаков. Том 2 [History of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. Volume 2] (in Russian). ISBN 9783963136863.
• Smolii, Valery (2003). Гетьмани і монархи. Українська держава в міжнародних відносинах 1648 - 1714 рр. [Hetmans and monarchs. The Ukrainian state in international relations 1648 - 1714] (in Ukrainian). New York. ISBN 966-02-2431-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Buturlin, Dmitri (1820). Военная исторія походов россіян в XVIII [Military history of Russian campaigns in the 18th] (in Russian).