Siege of Smolensk (1514) 1514
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1514 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Russia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Principality of Moscow | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 54.7828, 32.0453 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Smolensk of 1514 took place during the fourth Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1512–1520).
The growing and strengthening Grand Duchy of Moscow clashed with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the territories of the former Rus'. The tension resulted in a series of wars starting in 1492. When war broke out again in November 1512, Moscow's main objective was to capture Smolensk, an important fortress and trade center that had been part of Lithuania since 1404. The Russians, commanded personally by Tsar Vasili III of Russia, laid a six-week siege in January–February 1513, but Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski repelled the attack. Another four-week siege followed in August–September 1513.
In May 1514, Vasili III again led his army against Smolensk. This time the Russian army included a number of mercenary artillerymen and landsknechts, brought from the Holy Roman Empire by Michael Glinski. After a lengthy preparation, shelling of the city from nearby hills began in July. After a few days Jurij Sołłohub, Voivode of Smolensk, agreed to surrender on 30 July 1514. Vasili III entered the city the next day.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Smolensk (1514) (revision 1370745357), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars
- Battle of Mstislavl 1501
- Battle of the Siritsa River 1501
- Siege of Smolensk (1502) 1502
- Battle of Kletsk 1506
- Siege of Polotsk 1518
All 6 battles of the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars →
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