Siege of Pskov
The Siege of Pskov, known as the Pskov Defense in
Russia took place between August of 1581 and February of 1582, when the army of the
Polish king Stefan B?thory laid
siege to the city of
Pskov during the final stage of the Livonian War of 1558-1583.
The first detachments of the
Polish-Lithuanian army appeared at the walls of
Pskov on August 18, 1581. The main forces of the invaders laid siege to the city on August 24-26.
Prince Vasili Skopin-Shuisky was nominally in charge of the defense of Pskov, but Prince
Ivan Shuisky was the one to actually implement it.
Encyclopedia
The
Siege of Pskov, known as the
Pskov Defense in
Russia took place between August of 1581 and February of 1582, when the army of the
Polish king Stefan Báthory laid
siege to the city of
Pskov during the final stage of the Livonian War of 1558-1583.
The first detachments of the
Polish-Lithuanian army appeared at the walls of
Pskov on August 18, 1581. The main forces of the invaders laid siege to the city on August 24-26.
Prince Vasili Skopin-Shuisky was nominally in charge of the defense of Pskov, but Prince
Ivan Shuisky was the one to actually implement it. The latter had up to 4,000 dvoryane,
streltsy, and
Cossacks and some 12,000 armed citizens of Pskov and its surroundings at his disposal.
After a two-day shelling of Pskov, the Polish army attacked the city for the first time on September 8. The
Russians repelled the assault, which resulted in heavy losses for the
Poles. Attempts to blow up the fortifications with sapping and a general attack on November 2 turned out to be fruitless, as well. Stefan Báthory then ordered a passive siege. Later in November, some of his forces attacked the
Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery, but with no result. The Russian partisans had been active in the Pskov area since the beginning of the siege, attacking enemy foragers and communications. The Pskovian
garrison undertook frequent in November and December of 1581.
Military failures forced Stefan Báthory to sign the Treaty of Jam Zapolski. On February 4 of 1582, the last detachments of the Polish-Lithuanian army left the outskirts of Pskov.
