The siege of Smolensk was an unsuccessful attempt to capture

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

by the forces of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in summer 1502. It was the last major military engagement during the Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1500–1503). Smolensk, a strong and strategically important fortress, was a part of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

since 1404.

Ivan III of Russia Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...

launched the second Muscovite–Lithuanian War in 1500 and Lithuanians suffered a great defeat in the

Battle of Vedrosha The Battle of the Vedrosha River was a battle in the course of the Russo-Lithuanian war of 1500–1503 which ended with a decisive Russian victory and proved to be of strategic significance. It was carried out on 14 July 1500, some 50 km to ...

. Stanisław Kiszka became regent of Smolensk in 1499 and ordered improvements to

Smolensk Kremlin The Smolensk Kremlin (russian: Смоленский кремль) is a fortified complex (kremlin) enclosing the center of the city of Smolensk in western Russia. The partially preserved fortress wall was built between 1595 and 1602, during the re ...

. By the time the Russian army, commanded by Ivan's son , reached Smolensk in June 1502, Smolensk was well-prepared for the siege. The Russian army plundered

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

and

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...

and attacked Smolensk with artillery. Their assault on 16 September was not only repelled but the defense grew into a counterattack. The indecisive but bloody Battle of Lake Smolino in September as well as Lithuanian reinforcements brought by

Great Hetman Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

(commander of the army) Stanislovas Kęsgaila, forced the Russians to retreat. Peace negotiations began while the army was still at Smolensk. A six-year truce was concluded on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) in 1503. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost approximately , or a third of its territory:

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...

Starodub Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

, and lands around the upper Oka River. In recognition of his defense of Smolensk, Kiszka was promoted to

in 1503. Ivan III succeeded in capturing Smolensk in 1514.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title=Lietuvos krašto apsaugos ministrai ir kariuomenės vadai , editor-first=Gintautas , editor-last=Surgailis , volume=I , first=Nijolė , last=Asadauskienė , chapter=Stanislovas Kiška , pages=57–58 , year=2008 , publisher=Lietuvos Respublikos krašto apsaugos ministerija , language=lt , isbn=978-9986-738-96-1 {{cite encyclopedia , first=Nelė , last=Asadauskienė , title=Kiška, Stanislovas , encyclopedia=Lietuvos istorija. Enciklopedinis žinynas , editor-first1=Eugenijus , editor-last1=Manelis , editor-first2=Antanas , editor-last2=Račis , volume=I , publisher=

Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras The Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre (previously: ''Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute'', lt, Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras or MELC) is a Lithuanian publishing house that specializes in encyclopedias, reference ...

, year=2011 , isbn=978-5-420-01689-3 , language=lt , pages=834–835 {{cite book , title=Lietuvos krašto apsaugos ministrai ir kariuomenės vadai , editor-first=Gintautas , editor-last=Surgailis , volume=I , first=Vytas , last=Jankauskas , chapter=Stanislovas Jonaitis Kęsgaila , page=52 , year=2008 , publisher=Lietuvos Respublikos krašto apsaugos ministerija , language=lt , isbn=978-9986-738-96-1 {{cite book, title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges , volume=F-O , first=Tony , last=Jaques , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh6jydKXikoC&pg=PA564 , page=564 , publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group , year=2007 , isbn=978-0-313-33538-9 {{cite book , last=Kiaupa , first=Zigmantas , first2=Jūratė , last2=Kiaupienė , first3=Albinas , last3=Kuncevičius , title=The History of Lithuania Before 1795 , origyear=1995 , year=2000 , publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History , location=Vilnius , isbn=9986-810-13-2 , page=221 {{cite journal , last=Norkus , first=Zenonas , title=Kada senoji Lietuvos valstybė tapo imperija ir nustojo ja būti? Atsakymas į lietuvišką klausimą, naudojantis estišku metodu , journal=Lietuvos istorijos studijos , url=http://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/fedora/get/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2009~1367166547475/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC , volume=23 , year=2009 , issn=1392-0448 , page=61 {{cite book , last=Nowakowska , first=Natalia , title=Church, State and Dynasty in Renaissance Poland: The Career of Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellon (1468–1503) , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pU0SSK4fTIC&pg=PA135 , pages=135–136 , publisher=Ashgate Publishing , year=2007 , isbn=9780754656449

1502 in Europe

Smolensk