Battle on the City River (Battle of Sith) - a battle that took place on March 4, 1238 on the river. City between the troops of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Mongols under the leadership of Burundai, Temnik Batu.
After the Mongols invaded the Vladimir principality, Yuri left the capital of the principality and went into the forests near the City River, where the scattered remnants of the troops gathered. 1238, February 7 - Vladimir was taken. Yuri's wife and two of his sons were killed. The Mongols approached the City from the direction of Uglich, which they had devastated.
The outcome of the battle was decided by the approach of a fresh Mongol army under the command of Batu. The Russian army was surrounded and almost completely destroyed. Prince Yuri was killed, his head was cut off and presented as a gift to Khan Batu. The crushing defeat in the battle of the City River predetermined the fall of North-Eastern Russia under the rule of the Golden Horde, which lasted until 1480, until the famous standing on the Ugra of the troops of Ivan III and Khan Akhmat.
Where did the battle take place?
The battle on the City River went down in Russian history as one of the most tragic and, at the same time, the most important. And despite its significance, this battle turns out to be one of the most mysterious. For almost two hundred years, historians have been arguing about the place where the battle took place. Some attribute it to the upper reaches of the City, others are sure that the battle took place closer to the river mouth. There is a third version that unites both others - Russian troops were stationed along the entire length of the river, divided into separate regiments, and therefore it is impossible to talk about a specific place, because this place was, in fact, the entire river City. However, even this version cannot answer many questions.
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Background. Battle
After Vladimir was taken, the main forces of the Mongol army moved to Tver and Torzhok, and the secondary forces led by Burunday were sent to the Volga cities.
1238, beginning of March - the squads of several princes of north-eastern Russia gathered on the Sit River under the leadership of Yuri Vsevolodovich. There were his brother, the Pereyaslavl prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and three nephews Vasilko, Vsevolod and Vladimir Konstantinovich. At that time, the Grand Duke was camped on a tributary of the Mologa River, the City. He was waiting for help and could hope for serious reinforcements. However, the prince did not wait for the troops from Kiev and Novgorod.
Burundian troops operated throughout Mongolian military science. Long-range and deep reconnaissance, covert movement, the destruction of all kinds of informers - the lessons of Genghis Khan were not in vain. On March 3, the Burundian army was discovered by the Russian guard regiment of the governor Dorozh (about 3,000 people). After a short, fierce battle, the Russians were defeated by superior enemy forces and almost completely destroyed. According to legend, Dorozh himself managed to escape and, having galloped several tens of kilometers, reached the troops of the Grand Duke. “The Tatars bypassed us,” he managed to report. However, even if this was so, Doroz's message came late: the entire Mongol army was already sitting on the heels of the governor.
Russian troops were just beginning to form for defense, when at dawn on March 4, 1238, the Mongol cavalry attacked it. Despite desperate resistance, the Russians were unable to withstand the blow. The Mongols were able to cut the Russian army, and then push it back to the river, where the last, tragic for the Russians, act of battle took place.
Reasons for defeat
It is possible that the defeat is also the fault of the prince himself, who sent part of his forces to help the ambush regiment, which was still further away and also attacked by another group of steppe dwellers. This is how the chronicles report and state that Yuri Vsevolodovich did not help the ambush regiment either, and weakened himself. A significant numerical superiority was on the side of the Mongol army.
And the main thing that the prince and his governors failed to do was the organization of the security system. Trying to avoid any confrontation with the Mongols, they were completely unaware of their own movements. Reconnaissance and observation of the Mongol troops was not organized. Therefore, the attack of the Mongols was a complete surprise for the Russians. Deeper into the swampy jungle, the Grand Duke set up a trap for himself, at the same time hopeless in the edge of the swampy forest jungle.
A stele on the banks of the City River in memory of the battle of 1238
Results of the battle
The defeat of the Russian army on the City River was complete. Almost all of the prince's warriors died or were captured, the prince himself fell in the battle, later his severed head will be donated to Batu. Killed his brother Svyatoslav (killed in captivity) and nephew Vsevolod.
So the color of the Russian army was destroyed on the City River. Russia suffered a severe defeat, which for many years determined its difficult fate. Thus, the Battle of the City is an attempt to provide resistance to the advancing Horde. The troops of the Mongol-Tatars captured the Vladimir-Suzdal principality.