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The siege of Vitebsk or the battle of Vitebsk was the first battle between the Teutonic Knights and Alexander Nevsky's Novgorod Republic. After a mere three years of peace and alliance between the factions, the Knights laid siege to the Russian city of Vitebsk, which only had a skeleton garrison of three hundred men, under a captain Zhiznobud. Captain Edmund of the Order besieged it with four hundred infantrymen, primarily archers, but with a solid core of spearmen.

AttributesValues
rdfs:label
  • Siege of Vitebsk
rdfs:comment
  • The siege of Vitebsk or the battle of Vitebsk was the first battle between the Teutonic Knights and Alexander Nevsky's Novgorod Republic. After a mere three years of peace and alliance between the factions, the Knights laid siege to the Russian city of Vitebsk, which only had a skeleton garrison of three hundred men, under a captain Zhiznobud. Captain Edmund of the Order besieged it with four hundred infantrymen, primarily archers, but with a solid core of spearmen.
side
Casual
  • *~220 killed *~170 captured
  • ~60 killed
Date
Name
  • Siege of Vitebsk
dbkwik:novgorodm2t...iPageUsesTemplate
Commanders
  • Captain Edmund†
  • *Prince Dmitrii Nevsky *General Domazhir *Captian Zhiznobud
Result
  • Russian Victory
Forces
  • ~400
  • ~700
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Place
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Conflict
  • Russo-Teutonic Wars
abstract
  • The siege of Vitebsk or the battle of Vitebsk was the first battle between the Teutonic Knights and Alexander Nevsky's Novgorod Republic. After a mere three years of peace and alliance between the factions, the Knights laid siege to the Russian city of Vitebsk, which only had a skeleton garrison of three hundred men, under a captain Zhiznobud. Captain Edmund of the Order besieged it with four hundred infantrymen, primarily archers, but with a solid core of spearmen. Prince Dmitrii and General Domazhir of Novgorod had both been campaigning in the southern steppes, and upon hearing Vitebsk was compromised, both took their respective cavalry armies north to lift the siege. The Russian relief forces drew the Knights away from the siege and forced them into a pitched battle. Taking advantage of this, Zhiznobud sallied his men out to trap them in a pincer movement. However, before they could get into position, the Knights began advancing upon Dmitrii's forces. Dmitrii had deployed his cavalry in a standard formation, with the bulk of his cavalry militia and Boyars in the centre, and his Kazak horse-archers on his flanks. Also supporting the Russians was a strong mercenary contingent, including Alan horsemen and Cuman horse-archers. Edmund deployed his archers in a skirmish line before his spearmen, tightly packing his units. This proved to be his undoing, as Nevksy's new cavalry armies were designed to run rings around infantry opponents, and the more condensed the formation, the more casualties they could inflict. The Russian cavalry swept forwards, enveloping the Knights and trapping them in a ditch. From above, the horse-archers rained death down on the belaguered infantry. Then, the core of Dmitrii's cavalry engaged, routing the archers. However, in the heat of combat, General Domazhir lead his cavalry into the Order's spearmen, where they suffered heavy casualties. Prince Dmitrii managed to rally the horsemen and withdraw them, and then reformed his horse-archers, surrounding the spearmen. The last Knights were eliminated, and captain Edmund was cut down by Boyar cavalry whilst fleeing for his life.
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