The assault on Ivangorod was a battle fought between the Grand Principality of Moscow and the Kingdom of Sweden at the Russian fortress of Ivangorod in 1496,[6] resulting in the mass plundering of the city and thousands of civilians being killed by the Swedes. It was later burned down because the Swedes lacked resources to defend it.[2][7][5]
| Assault on Ivangorod | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Swedish War (1495–1497) | |||||||||
 Ivangorod today | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Sweden | Grand Principality of Moscow | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Knut Posse Svante Nilsson | Yuryi Babich[1] | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
2,000[2][3] to 5,000[4] 70 vessels[2][5] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| minor |
3,000 soldiers and civilians killed 300 captured | ||||||||
Background
editThe Russian fortress of Ivangorod was built along with a series of other fortifications on the border with Livonia. In 1494, the grand prince of Moscow, Ivan III, arrested the German traders in Novgorod and closed their offices over the alleged mistreatment of Russian traders in Livonian towns, leading to the closure of the Peterhof.[8]
In September 1495, a Russian force amounting to about 10,000[9] advanced towards the Swedish fortress of Viborg (Vyborg) and besieged it, the Swedish defenders managed to beat back many of the assaults by the Russian force but on the 30th of November the Russians attacked with all of their forces and managed to get inside, this was stopped however by a large explosion in one of the towers, which forced the Russians back, after this, Knut Posse and Svante Nilsson began organizing a expedition into Russia to raze Ivangorod.
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Assault
editIn the summer, 70 vessels carrying Knut Posse, Svante Nilsson, and 2,000 men enter the river Narva and managed to penetrate 20 kilometers upstream towards Ivangorod. The prosperous town presented the Swedes with an excellent strategic objective for a Swedish counterstrike in retaliation for the earlier siege of Viborg.[5]
The Swedish vessels carried guns designed for deck-to-shore fire and were built to destroy opposing land batteries. The troops carried gunpowder firearms. The only defenses Ivangorod had at this point was unfinished wooden bastions, its fortress lacked guns, and the garrison itself consisted of a militia who generally lacked access to firearms. After besieging the city for 8 days the Swedes finally attacked, with Posse's forces swiftly overwhelming Ivangorod's defenders.[2] In just a few hours, the attacking Swedes bombarded the riverbanks and the fortress, landed, moved the guns to batteries quickly built ashore, and breached Ivangorod. In an eight-hour assault, Ivangorod's garrison was overrun. The nearby Muscovite light cavalry which undertook observation, screening the shore and the border nearby did not dare to intervene.[5]
The attackers thorougly sacked Ivangorod, massacring 3,000 inhabitants, civilians along with the garrison. In a few days, the Swedes loaded the loot, including expensive furs and 300 prisoners, and departed towards Finland.[2][5] The reason for the departure and destruction of the fortress was that neither Knut or Svante had the recources to stay and defend it.[7][5][2]
Aftermath
editIvan III was determined to keep his foothold in the Baltics, and the Russians rebuilt the fortress into a larger, quadrilateral structure which was extended toward the border with Livonia.[10]
At the beginning of 1497, a message from Kexholm arrived in Viborg with information that the Russians were asking for peace. In order to draw up instructions for the Swedish envoys, Knut Posse and other commanders at Viborg held a meeting in Borgå with Bishop Magnus. Shortly thereafter, a six-year truce was concluded on Sten Sture's behalf.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Юрьи Бабич"
Borisov N. S. Иван III. Young Guard, 2000. p. 519. ISBN 5-235-02372-2 - ^ a b c d e f Sundberg, Ulf (1999). Medeltidens svenska krig (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. p. 366. ISBN 9189080262.
- ^ a b Svenskt biografiskt lexikon: Åttonde bandet : O - Ri (in Swedish). Lindh. 1881.
- ^ Shkvarov, Alexei (2012). Россия и Швеция. История военных конфликтов 1142-1809 [Russia and Sweden. The history of military conflicts 1142-1809] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: RME Group Oy:Алетейя. p. 51. ISBN 978-5-91419-754-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Fissel, Mark (2022-12-05). The Military Revolution and Revolutions in Military Affairs. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-066141-5.
- ^ Nossov, Konstantin S. (20 June 2012). Russian Fortresses 1480–1682. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-84908-038-5.
- ^ a b "Ingermanland och Gårdarike". wadbring.com. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
- ^ O'Connor 2019, pp. 131–132.
- ^ "History of Vyborg city - Northern Fortress". www.nortfort.ru. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
- ^ O'Connor 2019, p. 132, Committed to maintaining their Baltic foothold, the Russians simply rebuilt their fortress.
Sources
edit- O'Connor, Kevin C. (15 November 2019). The House of Hemp and Butter: A History of Old Riga. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-4770-0.