Siege of Lachowitze, 20 March - 17 June 1660 (O.S.)

"Demonstratio aerea et Fortatij Lachowitz..."
Siege of Lachowitze, 20 March - 17 June 1660
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Lithuanian garrison of Lachowitze was of 2 choragwies of Hungarian infantry, 3 choragwies of dragoon (totaled 450 men in 5 choragwies) & about 1,000-1,500 armed schlachta & their servants. In 1658 the fortress’s armament was of 30 cannons, incl. 1 25-pdr, 3 24-pdr, 6 18-pdr, 4 12-pdr, 1 11-pdr, 4 10-pdr, 1 6-pdr, 2 5-pdr, 3 3-pdr, & 5 of lesser calibers (link to Inventory of Lachowitze fortress in 1658). But a captive told that there were 47 cannons in Lachowitze during the siege.

Chowanski had about 7,500 with 25 cannons (2-6 pdr). His army consisted of 3 Reitar (D. v. Fizin, T. Boyt, M. Read – ab. 2,000-2,500 men), 4 Foot (Vasiliy Cunningham, Indrik Gulitc, Iwan Fliwerck, Eremei Rosform – about 1,600 men) & Dragoon (A. Forret – 500 men) regiments & 4 Novgorod & Pskov Streltzy (A. Pustoboyarov, G. Lynev, M. Volkov, S. Ohlebaev – about 1,200 men). The rest were Novgorod gentry & Polotck Schlachta.

Chowanski came to Lachowitze on 20 March 1660 (O.S.). On 26 March he made attempt of a night assault but was repulsed. Then Russians opened siege works & built entrenchments & batteries. Russians had cannons of small calibers & couldn’t make breeches in the walls. On 11 May Chowanski received reinforcements of 3 Prikazes of Moscow Streltzy (Vasili Pushechnikov, Timofei Poltev, Mikhail Oznobishin – ab. 1,500-2,000). On May 15 he made second assault but again was repulsed. On 26 May 1660 a corps under Semen Zmeev (2,400 men) came to Lachowitze, but the next day it was sent to Neswiz. On June 17 Chowanski lifted the siege & marched to Polonka.

The engraving “Demonstratio aera Arcis et Fortatij Lachowitze…” presents Russians position around Lachowitze & all major events during the siege (incl. 2 unsuccessful Russian assaults). The author is unknown. North is at the top of the map, south - at the down.

A – Fortress of Lachowitze.

B – River Wiedzma

C – Iwan Chowanski’s main camp

D – camp of voevoda Semen Sherbatov (Chowanski’s second-in-command)

E – camp of Cunnigham Foot.

F – Russian mounted patrols

G – Eleven Russian entrenchments (schantz) & batteries numbered I -XI

H – Russian siege works around Lachowitze

I – Iwan Chowanski with his suite during the assault on 26 March 1660 (O.S.)

K – Unsuccessful Russian attack on the south side of Lachowitze (second assault on 15 May 1660)

L – Dismounted Novgorod gentry in the second assault on 15 May 1660 (O.S.)

M – Stairs & fascines used by Russians at the assaults

N – Special siege tower made by Russians

O – Two mine galleries. Chowanski didn’t explode them because of a lack of powder. The train with the powder left Pskov to Lachowitze, but couldn’t have time to arrive before the Polonka battle. After Chowanski’s defeat the train returned to Pskov.

P – Sherbatov’s troops attacking Lachowitze’s walls

Q – Sherbatov’s troops marching to Lachowitze from the south

R – Russian assault on 26 March 1660 (O.S.). Early in the morning Russians mounted on the walls but were beaten-off with  

S – Polotck Schlachta participated in the assault on 26 March 1660 (O.S.)

T – Prikaz (regiment) of Moscow Streltzy in red dress. Three Prikazes of Moscow Streltzy (Vasili Pushechnikov, Timofei Poltev, Mikhail Oznobishin) joined Chowanski on 11 May of 1660 (O.S.) & participated in the second assault on 15 May 1660 (O.S.). Individual coat colors of these three regiments are unknown.

V – Prikaz (regiment) of Moscow Streltzy in green dress. See T.

X – Prikaz (regiment) of Moscow Streltzy in grey dress. See T.

Y – Virgin Mary

Z – Camp of Semen Zmeev’s Corps. It came to Lachowitze on 26 May 1660 (O.S.) & next day was sent to Neswiz.

Осада Ляхович войсками Ивана Хованского 20 марта - 17 июня 1660 г. (с.с.)

На сайте «История Военного Дела: исследования и источники» размещен материал И. Бабулина, посвященный осаде Ляхович Хованским и гравюре неизвестного автора, отобразившей основные события осады (ссылка). К сожалению, Бабулин использовал копию плохого качества,  у себя в блоге я вывесил гравюру в высоком разрешении (см в начале поста), на которой вы можете увидеть все детали. Пересказывать особо события данной осады я не буду, см. англоязычную часть поста и материал Бабулина. 

См. также:

Описание (инвентарь) Ляховичского замка (ссылка)

Статья О. Курбатова о "Литовском походе 7168 г." И. Хованского (ссылка)