Battle of Myadel was a battle of the

Russo-Polish War (1654–67) Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland) and Russia (including the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire, the Tsardom of Russia and the Principality of Moscow) include: : ...

which took place on February 8, 1659 near the Belarusian town of Myadzel. The

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

army of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

led by Ivan Khovansky defeated the Polish–Lithuanians led by

Mikołaj Judycki Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Kamieniecki, Polish nobleman and the first Grand Hetman of the Crown * ...

and Władysław Wołłowicz. As a result, the Polish-Lithuanian army retreated to the safety of the walls of Lyakhovichi.

Background

At the end of 1658, significant Polish–Lithuanian forces placed themselves in the region of Myadel, an area which previously swore a loyalty oath to the Russian Tsar. Many of the nobles (

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

), however, followed the appeal of

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Paweł Jan Sapieha Paul John Sapieha () (1609–1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). Sapieha became a Hussar Rotmistrz in 1633, courtier in 1635, Obozny of Lithuania in 1638, Podstoli of Lithuania in 1645, voivode of the Vitebsk Voivodeshi ...

to join the Commonwealth army. After the signing of the

treaty of Valiesar The Treaty of Valiesar (, ) was a treaty between Russia and Sweden, which concluded the Russo-Swedish theater of the Second Northern War. It was signed in the estate of Valiesar (Vallisaare) near Narva on 20 December 1658 (hence, the name). Russia ...

the Russian army could bring its troops to Lithuania that were so far involved in fighting the Swedes. The Russians entered Lithuania and took

Braslaw Braslaw or Braslav (; ; Lithuanian: Breslauja; Polish: Brasław) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Braslaw District. As of 2025, it has a population of 9,338. History The town was first mention ...

.Курбатов О.А. Морально-психологические аспекты тактики русской конницы в середине XVII века // Военно-историческая антропология: Ежегодник, 2003/2004: Новые научные направления. – М., 2005. – С. 193-213 Some Lithuanian szlachta once again switched the sides and deserted to the Russians. However, the Commonwealth army had still a considerable number of 6,000 soldiers.

Battle

On January 24, a Russian

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

corps ("yertoul") counting up to 1,000 men was sent out to capture some prisoners who would provide important information on Lithuanians. The corps met the avantgarde of the Lithuanian army near the village of Postavy and smashed it, having captured the flag and many prisoners. Several days later, Khovansky with other troops caught up. On January 29, the yertoul defeated another Lithuanian detachment near Myadel and pursued it until the town, killing many of its men. Here, the Russians met the main forces of the enemy. In the following clash, the Lithuanians began to prevail, however the Russian reinforcement of 1,000 cavalrymen of Khovansky arrived. Since the yertoul itself was relatively numerous with 1,000 men the Lithuanians believed the Khovansky army was much bigger and panic spread when Khovansky troops appeared on horizon. The effect was overwhelming: the mass of Lithuanians fled the battlefield, running for their lives, and stopped just in Novahrudak. The Russians pursued them up to 30 miles and captured the supply wagons,

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and 200 men.

Consequences

As a result of this victory, the Russian army took the strategic initiative and reclaimed its control of big parts of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Russian army command began planning an offensive on

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. For the victory at Myadel, Khovansky got the title of a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

and was made

namestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of Vyatka.Курбатов О.А. Из истории военных реформ в России во 2-й половине XVII века. Реорганизация конницы на материалах Новгородского разряда 1650-х – 1660-х гг./Диссертация на соискание ученой степени кандидата исторических наук, М., 2002, стр. 103

References

Literature

* Малов А.В. Русско-польская война 1654-1667 гг. Москва, Цейхгауз, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Myadel Conflicts in 1659 1659 in Europe Myadel Vilnius Voivodeship Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth