^{This unit was developed by Mindaugas Šapoka   Bibliography   Didactic Comments}

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There are little sources about the occupation of Muscovites in Vilnius in 1655-1661. Therefore, we presented the material, which is generally connected both with the defensive situation of Vilnius and the survival of Moscow, the political geography of that time and the matters of military strategy and tactics in 17 century. The topic is due generally to the discussion of soldiership matters in Europe in 16th -17th c. Further we present one of possible variants of the considerations of that kind.

Teacher comment 1
During the Medieval Ages the main cities usually had various types of defensive fortifications. In Lithuania there were tens of wooden and stone castles in the 13^th -15^th  centuries. Untill the start of 16^th century there were no cities in Lithuania with defensive walls. In the 16^th century the tatars from the Crimea were a constant threat to Lithuania. It was a different threat from that of Moscow or Sweden, as tatars had the aim to pillage not to conquer new territories. In order to defend Vilnius from these onsloughts a defensive wall was built in the city. 16^th centurie’s military improvement – artillery, powder guns – made the defensive walls ineffective. But this type of fortification was perfect against tatars, who were quick, mobile, and armed with light weapons. In 1655 Vilnius’ defensive walls were not able to defend the city.

Teacher comment 2
From the start of the 17^th century most part of Lithuanian army consisted of mercenary troops. These forces required lots of money and were very expensive. As Lithuania lacked effective tax system it was very hard to pay wages, as budget always lacked funds. As a result of this, mercenary soldiers started revolts and robberies in order to get their money.

Teacher comment 3
Polish-Lithuanian forces had a small but well equipped, strong, heavy armored army. On the other side, the biggest part of it was consisted of cavalry units. The technological advance of 17^th century warfare made infantry and artillery as the most important units in the battlefield. This is the reason why Russian army which had a bigger amount of infantry and artillery was a better side than Polish-Lithuanian army.

No comments…    Watch the Polish Films! From With Fire and Sword (1999)  URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD6UkzJs9h0  IMDB entry    URL: imdb.com/title/tt0128378/From The Deluge (1974) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNii3m9yJAw IMDB entry  

URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072021/

 

 

Keywords: Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Enemies, Poland, Sigismund Vasa, Cossack Ukraine, “Deluge”.