Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1500–1503)

"Perpetual peace" treaty The First border war ended with a Muscovite victory. At the end of it, an eternal peace treaty was concluded, where most of the "Upper Oka Principalities" and Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Tver and Ryazan were ceded to Moscow by Lithuania. Moscow renounced its claims on Smolensk and Bryansk which were to remain part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In addition to this, Alexander Jagiellon married Ivan III's daughter Elena. Return of hostilities Hostilities were renewed in May 1500 when Ivan III took advantage of a planned Polish–Hungarian campaign against the Ottoman Empire. He figured that if Poland and Hungary were preoccupied with the Ottomans, they would not be able to assist Lithuania. == Timeline of the war ==

The war was to take place in three general places, those being Novhorod-Siverskyi, Smolensk and Toropets. The main fighting happened in the direction of Smolensk, which was the second most strategically important front of the war. After capturing the fortress at Dorogobuzh, half of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, which was a vanguard of about 3,500 horsemen moved towards Smolensk, meeting up with 500 horsemen led by Stanisław Kiszka. Battle of Vedrosha The Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstanty Ostrogski was confident in his strength, although heavily underestimated the Muscovite army. He decided to attack first with an army of 4,000 soldiers against the Muscovite army numbering at least 20,000 soldiers. The entire Lithuanian military leadership was captured by Muscovite forces, including Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstanty Ostrogski, Battle of Mstislavl The battle took place on November 4, 1501, when Ivan III sent a new force under the command of towards Mstislavl. Local princes Mstislavsky together with Ostap Dashkevych organised the defense and were badly beaten. Russian forces took advantage of the princes retreat, besieging the city and pillaging surrounding areas. The Lithuanian forces had once again been defeated. Death of John I Albert In June 1501, John I Albert, King of Poland died. This left his brother, Alexander Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania as the strongest candidate to the Polish throne. Due to this, he became preoccupied with the succession. Alexander tried to counter religious accusations by attempting to establish a church union between Catholics and Orthodox as envisioned at the Council of Florence – the Orthodox would retain their traditions but would accept the pope as their spiritual sovereign. The Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' agreed to such an arrangement, but Helena was against it. Polish nobles, including Bishop Erazm Ciołek and Cardinal Frederick Jagiellon, discussed the issue of royal divorce. according to Aleksandr Zimin or 12,000 according to Cathal J. Nolan. The Muscovite army consisted of 6,000 warriors Further Livonian success After the Battle of the Siritsa River, the Livonians besieged Pskov and won the in September 1502. Siege of Smolensk Smolensk was a strong and strategically important fortress, having been part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1404. The Russian army had reached it in June 1502, although Smolensk was well prepared. The Russian army plundered Orsha and Vitebsk and attacked Smolensk with insufficient artillery. It had also managed to pillage the Lithuania's southern towns of Slutsk, Kletsk, and Nyasvizh, even threatening the capital city of Vilnius. Peace negotiations The peace negotiations had begun in mid–1502 while the Siege of Smolensk was still ongoing. Alexander asked Vladislaus II of Hungary to act as the mediator, and a six-year truce was concluded on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) in 1503. == Result ==

The war had ended, with devastating terms for Lithuania. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost approximately 210,000 square kilometres (81,000 sq mi), or a third of its territory: Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversk, Starodub, and lands around the upper Oka River. Russian historian Matvei Kuzmich Liubavskii counted Lithuanian losses at 70 volosts, 22 towns, and 13 villages. == Aftermath ==

The Lithuanians acknowledged Ivan's title, sovereign of all Russia. Historian Edvardas Gudavičius said: "The war of 1492–1494 was a kind of reconnaissance mission conducted by the united Russia. [The terms of] the ceasefire of 1503 showed the planned political aggression of Russia, its undoubted military superiority. The concept of the sovereign of all Russia, put forward by Ivan III, did not leave room for the existence of the Lithuanian state". Due to the Crimean Khanate managing to impose a threat on Vilnius during the war, Alexander Jagiellon ordered the construction of a defensive wall around his capital, which was completed in 1522. The Livonian Order and Principality of Moscow didn't fight against each other until the Livonian War (1558–1583), where the Livonian Confederation was dissolved in the Treaty of Vilnius (1561). == References ==