The De la Gardie campaign was a joint military campaign by the Tsardom of Russia and Sweden during the Polish–Russian War from April 1609 to June 1610.
| De la Gardie campaign | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Polish–Russian War (1609–1618) | ||||||||
 Overview of the De la Gardie campaign | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
 Tsardom of Russia  Kingdom of Sweden | False Dmitry II |
 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
|
Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky Jacob De la Gardie Evert Horn |
Roman Rozhinsky Paweł Jan Sapieha |
Stanisław Żółkiewski | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
|
5,000 Swedish 3,000 Russians[1] | 100,000 at peak[citation needed] |
6,500 cavalry 200 infantry 2 cannons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| Heavy Casualties | Heavy Casualties | 400 | ||||||
Russia was unofficially occupied during the early Time of Troubles by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had supported False Dmitry II as the Tsar of Russia since 1607. Tsar Vasili IV formed a military alliance with Sweden in 1609, providing a 5,000-strong auxiliary corps commanded by Jacob De la Gardie and Evert Horn to support Russian forces under Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. The De la Gardie campaign was successful against False Dmitry II, dispersing his court in Tushino – a former village and town to the north of Moscow, but failed against the Polish–Lithuanians and was defeated at the Battle of Klushino on 4 June 1610.
Prelude
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
The Tsardom of Russia had been experiencing the Time of Troubles (1598–1613) since the death of Tsar Feodor I in 1598, causing widespread political instability and a violent succession crisis for the title of Tsar of Russia by usurpers known as the False Dmitris. In 1605, in the prelude to the Polish–Russian War, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth unofficially invaded Russia in support of False Dmitry I against the unpopular crowned tsar Boris Godunov, seeking to exploit the country's weakness for their own gain. Godunov died in June 1605 and was replaced by False Dmitry I, whose popularity among the Russian populace declined rapidly during his reign, and the Polish withdrew when he was eventually murdered during an uprising in Moscow in May 1606.
Despite this, Russia's instability continued to the near-total breakdown of order, prompting the Polish to invade again in 1607 in support of the new usurper, False Dmitry II. In 1609, the Tsar of Russia at the time, Vasili IV, approached King Charles IX of Sweden to form a military alliance against False Dmitry II and the Polish occupiers. The two signed the Treaty of Viborg (Finnish: Viipuri), in which Russia ceded Kexholm County and the strategic Korela Fortress to Sweden in exchange for military support.[2] This Russian alliance formed in 1609 with Sweden, the main rival of Poland, led to King Sigismund III of Poland officially declaring war on Russia in response.
Campaign against False Dmitry II
editIn 1608–1613, De la Gardie as Sweden's Chief Commander in Finland also commanded the Swedish war efforts in Russia. Thus, in accordance with the Swedish–Russian military alliance formed in 1609, he together with Evert Horn now took charge of providing an auxiliary corps to support the Russian forces commanded by Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky.[2]
Although officially the Swedish-Russian alliance was not ratified before July 1609, already in the early spring of 1609 Sweden gathered for this mission to the city of Viborg in Finland (then part of Sweden) c. 5,000 soldiers, consisting mainly of Finns.[3][4][5] A Swedish offensive heading towards Moscow – via Novgorod – began from Viborg on 11 March 1609. The operation became known as De la Gardie campaign. It was a joint military campaign by the Tsardom of Russia and Sweden during the Polish–Russian War, lasting officially from April 1609 to 4 June 1610.
A combined Russo-Swedish army of about 10,000 soldiers set out from Novgorod in April 1609 and marched towards Moscow, defeating rebel forces and relieving the Siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra on their way. The De la Gardie campaign was successful against False Dmitry II, dispersing his court in Tushino, a former village and town to the north of Moscow, where Dmitry II maintained an alternative court, challenging the authority of Vasili IV. On 12 March 1610, the Russo-Swedish army broke the rebel siege of Moscow and were welcomed into the city by Tsar Vasili.[6][7] Swedish troops had Moscow under control for approximately 2 months.[8]
Aftermath
editIn the aftermath, some of the Tushino boyars summoned Wladyslaw IV to lay his claim to the Russian throne, while Skopin-Shuisky was poisoned at the behest of his uncle and rival, Prince Dmitry Shuisky.[2]
In June 1610, De la Gardie and Dmitry Shuisky departed from Moscow to lift the Polish–Lithuanian Siege of Smolensk. However, the campaign ended in failure when most of De la Gardie's forces defected to Polish Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski at the Battle of Klushino.[2] After the battle, with only 400 loyal men remaining, De la Gardie negotiated a truce with Żółkiewski, securing safe passage to Viborg, Finland (then part of Sweden),[9] in exchange for a promise not to interfere in Russian affairs in favor of Tsar Vasili.[6][7] The campaign is considered a prelude to the Ingrian War.
References
edit- ^ Essen, Michael (2024). Sweden's War in Muscovy (1609-1617): The Relief of Moscow and Conquest of Novgorod. Helion & Company. p. 186. ISBN 9781804510087.
In return, Sweden would acquire Kexholm Country for all eternity. Muscovy must also pay the Swedish army at a price of 32,000 roubles month, which as calculated corresponded to 104,000 Reichsthalers. The Swedish army would operate in conjunction with a Muscovite army of some 3,000 men.
- ^ a b c d Željko., Fajfrić (2008). Ruski carevi (1. izd ed.). Sremska Mitrovica: Tabernakl. ISBN 9788685269172. OCLC 620935678.
- ^ Childs, John (2001): Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, Cassell, London. ISBN 0-304-36373-1
- ^ Ericson Wolke, Lars (2004): Johan III – en biografi, Historiska Media, Lund. ISBN 91-85057-47-9, LIBRIS-id: 9501098.
- ^ Petander C-B (1964): J. Anteckningar om österbottniskt fotfolk före år 1625, Vasa, Österbotten.
- ^ a b Velikai︠a︡ russkai︠a︡ smuta : prichiny vozniknovenii︠a︡ i vykhod iz gosudarstvennogo krizisa v XVI-XVII vv. Strizhova, I. M., Стрижова, И. М. Moskva: Dar. 2007. ISBN 9785485001230. OCLC 230750976.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Syrjö, Veli-Matti (2008). "De la Gardie, Jakob". Biografisk lexikon för Finland. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ "De la Gardieska fälttåget 1609-1610". 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Eriksson, Bo (2007). Lützen 1632 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Pocket. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0.