On July 26, 1572, the Battle of Molodeisk began, in which Russian troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the six times superior forces of the Crimean Khanate.
It is unlikely that the passengers of the Moscow Region electric train, passing the Kolkhoznaya station, which is 30 km from the Moscow Ring Road (between Podolsk and Chekhov), will be able to answer the question of what this place is famous for. They will be surprised to learn that 430 years ago, the fate of Russia was being decided in the surrounding fields. We are talking about the battle that thundered here in the summer of 1572 near the village of Molodi. In terms of its significance, some historians equate it with the battle on the Kulikovo field.
Now it is difficult to imagine, but in the 16th century the Oka near Moscow was a harsh Russian borderland. During the reign of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey (1551-1577), the struggle of Russia with the steppe raids reached its climax. A number of major campaigns are associated with his name. During one of them, Moscow was burned down (1571).
Davlet Girey. 14th Khan of the Crimean Khanate. In 1571, one of the campaigns carried out by his 40,000-strong army with the support of the Ottoman Empire and in agreement with Poland, ended with the burning of Moscow, for which Devlet I received the nickname Taht Alğan - He Who Takes the Throne.
The Crimean Khanate, which broke away in 1427 from the Golden Horde disintegrating under our blows, was the worst enemy for Russia: from the end of the 15th century, the Crimean Tatars, who are now trying to be presented as victims of the Russian genocide, made constant raids on the Russian Kingdom. Almost every year, they ravaged one or another region of Rus, taking prisoners of women and children whom the Crimean Jews resold to Istanbul.
The most dangerous and ruinous was the raid committed by the Crimeans in 1571. The purpose of this raid was Moscow itself: in May 1571, the Crimean Khan Davlet Girey with a 40-thousand-strong army, bypassing with the help of defectors sent by the traitor Prince Mstislavsky, the notch lines on the southern outskirts of the Russian kingdom, the Crimean army ford across the Ugra, entered the flank of the Russian army, numbering no more than 6,000 people. The Russian guard detachment was defeated by the Crimeans, who rushed to the Russian capital.
On June 3, 1571, Crimean troops ravaged the unprotected settlements and villages around Moscow, and then set fire to the outskirts of the capital. Thanks to the strong wind, the fire quickly spread throughout the city. The townspeople and refugees, driven by the fire, rushed to the northern gates of the capital. There was a crush at the gates and narrow streets, people "walked in three rows over the heads of each other, and the top ones crushed those who were under them." The zemstvo army, instead of giving battle to the Crimeans in the field or on the outskirts of the city, began to withdraw to the center of Moscow and, mingling with the refugees, lost order; Voivode Prince Belsky died in a fire, suffocating to death in the cellar of his house. Within three hours Moscow was burnt to the ground. The next day the Tatars and Nogais left along the Ryazan road to the steppe. Besides Moscow Besides Moscow, the Crimean Khan ravaged the central regions and slaughtered 36 Russian cities. As a result of this raid, up to 80 thousand Russian people were killed, and about 60 thousand were taken prisoner. The population of Moscow has dropped from 100 to 30 thousand people.
Crimean Tatar horseman.
Promotional video:
Davlet Girey was sure that Russia would not recover from such a blow and could become an easy prey itself. Therefore, in the next 1572, he decided to repeat the campaign. For this campaign, Davlet Girey was able to assemble a 120-thousand army, which included 80 thousand Crimeans and Nogays, 33 thousand Turks and 7 thousand Turkish janissaries. The existence of the Russian state and the Russian people itself hung in the balance.
Fortunately, this very hair turned out to be Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky, who was the head of the border guards in Kolomna and Serpukhov. Under his leadership, the oprichnina and zemstvo troops were united. In addition to them, a detachment of seven thousand German mercenaries sent by the tsar joined the forces of Vorotynsky, as well as the Don Cossacks who came to the rescue. The total number of troops under the command of Prince Vorotynsky was 20,034 people.
The moment for the attack was good. The Russian state was in critical isolation and waged a struggle with three strong neighbors at once (Sweden, Rechia pospolita and the Crimean Khanate). The situation was worse than ever. At the beginning of 1572, Ivan the Terrible evacuated the capital. Hundreds of carts from the Kremlin to Novgorod were sent to the treasury, archives, the highest nobility, including the family of the king.
Walk city.
Moscow could become the prey of kettlebells
Preparing for a campaign against Moscow, Devlet-Girey has already set a larger goal - to conquer all of Russia. The head of state, as we have already said, relocated to Novgorod. And in Moscow, burnt down from the last raid, there were no large formations. The only force covering the empty capital from the south, along the Oka line, was an army of 60,000, led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky. A thousand Don Cossacks came to his aid with ataman Mishka Cherkashenin. Also in Vorotynsky's army was the 7-thousandth detachment of German mercenaries sent here by the tsar.
At Serpukhov, he equipped the main position, reinforcing it with a “walk-city” - a mobile fortress made of carts, on which wooden shields with slots for shooting were placed.
The khan sent a detachment of 2,000 to distract her. On the night of July 27, the main forces crossed the Oka in two weakly defended places: at Senkin ford and at the village of Drakino.
The 20-thousandth vanguard of Murza Tereberdei crossed the Senkin ford. On his way was only a small outpost of 200 soldiers. They did not retreat and died heroically, resurrecting the famous feat of the three hundred Spartans in history. In the battle at Drakin, the detachment of the famous commander Divey-Murza defeated the regiment of the commander Nikita Odoevsky. After that, the khan rushed to Moscow. Then Vorotynsky withdrew the troops from the coastline and moved in pursuit.
The cavalry regiment of the young prince Dmitry Khvorostinin was racing ahead. In its vanguard were the Don Cossacks - experienced fighters of the steppes. Meanwhile, the head units of the khan's army approached the Pakhra River. The rear ones - to the village of Molodi. Here Khvorostinin overtook them. He fearlessly attacked and defeated the Crimean rearguard. This strong unexpected blow forced Devlet-Giray to stop the breakthrough to Moscow. Fearing for his rear, the khan turned back to crush the following army of Vorotynsky. Without its defeat, the ruler of Crimea could not achieve his goals. Fascinated by the dream of conquering Moscow, the khan abandoned the usual tactics of his army (raid-retreat) and got involved in a large-scale battle.
For a couple of days in the area from Pakhra to Molodey there were maneuver skirmishes. In them, Devlet-Girey probed Vorotynsky's positions, fearing the approach of troops from Moscow. When it became clear that the Russian army had nowhere to wait for help, on July 31, the khan attacked its base camp, equipped at the Rozhai River, near Molodya.
Moscow sterlets.
On August 2, Davlet Girey again sent his army to storm … In a hard struggle, up to 3 thousand Russian archers who defended the foot of the hill near Rozhaika were killed, and the Russian cavalry defending the flanks suffered serious losses. But the attack was repulsed - the Crimean cavalry was unable to take a fortified position. The Nogai Khan was killed in the battle, three Murzas were killed. And then the Crimean Khan made an unexpected decision - he ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack the gulyai-city on foot together with the Janissaries. The climbing Tatars and Turks covered the hill with corpses, and the khan threw more and more forces. Approaching the plank walls of the gulyai-town, the attackers chopped them down with sabers, swayed them with their hands, trying to climb over or topple them, "and here they beat many Tatars and cut off countless hands."
However, the cavalry could not take the fortifications. It was necessary to have a lot of infantry. And then Devlet-Girey, in the heat of the moment, resorted to a technique uncharacteristic for the Crimeans. The khan ordered the riders to dismount and, together with the janissaries, go to the assault on foot. It was a risk. The Crimean army lost its main trump card - high maneuverability.
Already in the evening, taking advantage of the fact that the enemy was concentrating on one side of the hill and carried away by attacks, Vorotynsky undertook a bold maneuver. After waiting for the main forces of the Crimeans and the Janissaries to be drawn into a bloody battle for the Gulyai-Gorod, he imperceptibly led a large regiment out of the fortification, led it through a hollow and hit the Tatars in the rear. At the same time, accompanied by powerful volleys of cannons, Khvorostinin's warriors made a sortie from behind the walls of the gulyai-gorod.
Crimean soldiers, not used to fighting on foot with cavalry, could not withstand a double blow. The outbreak of panic reduced the best horsemen of the empire to the position of a crowd that rushed to flee from Vorotynsky's horsemen. Many died without ever getting on their horses. Among them were Devlet-Girey's son, grandson and son-in-law. By nightfall, the carnage had subsided. Having collected the remains of the defeated army, the khan began to withdraw. So the great multi-day battle in the vastness from Oka to Pakhra ended.
During the pursuit of the Crimean footmen to the crossing over the Oka, most of the fugitives were killed, as well as another 5-thousandth Crimean rearguard, left to guard the crossing. No more than 10 thousand soldiers returned to Crimea.
After being defeated at the Battle of Molodi, the Crimean Khanate lost almost the entire male population. However, Russia, weakened by the previous raid and the Livonian War, then could not undertake a campaign to the Crimea to finish off the beast in its lair.
Vienna or is it Molody?
This was the last major battle between Russia and the steppe. The blow at Molodi shook the Crimean power. According to some reports, only 20 thousand soldiers returned home to Crimea (no one escaped from the Janissaries).
And now a little about the history of geography. It is known that Vienna is considered the extreme point where the Ottoman advance in Europe was stopped. In fact, the palm belongs to the village of Molodi near Moscow. Vienna was then 150 km from the borders of the Ottoman Empire. Whereas Molodi is about 800 km away. It was at the walls of the Russian capital, under Molodi, that the most distant and grandiose campaign of the Ottoman Empire troops into the depths of Europe was reflected.
Comparable in significance with the battles on the Kulikovo field (1380) or Poitiers (732), the battle at Molody still remains a little-known event and is hardly mentioned among the famous victories of Russian weapons.