Key Facts
- Year of successful siege
- 1514
- Previous failed sieges
- 2 (January–February 1513; August–September 1513)
- Surrender date
- 30 July 1514
- Part of Lithuania since
- 1404 (110 years before capture)
- Commemorative monument
- Novodevichy Convent, Moscow Kremlin
Strategic Narrative Overview
Two earlier Russian sieges in 1513 failed, the first repelled by Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski. In May 1514, Vasili III returned with a reinforced army that included mercenary artillerymen and landsknechts recruited from the Holy Roman Empire by Michael Glinski. Sustained artillery bombardment from surrounding hills began in July, and Voivode Jurij Sołłohub agreed to surrender on 30 July 1514. Vasili III entered the city the following day.
01 / The Origins
The Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had contested the territories of the former Rus' since the 1490s, fighting a series of wars from 1492 onward. Smolensk, a strategically vital fortress and trade hub held by Lithuania since 1404, became Moscow's primary objective when war resumed in November 1512. Tsar Vasili III personally led Russian forces in pursuit of the city.
03 / The Outcome
Although Lithuania inflicted a major defeat on Russian forces at the Battle of Orsha in September 1514, it could not retake Smolensk. The city remained under Russian control until 1609–1611, when it fell during the Polish–Muscovite War, before returning to Russia in 1654. Vasili III commemorated the conquest by constructing the Novodevichy Convent within the Moscow Kremlin.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Vasili III of Russia, Michael Glinski.
Side B
1 belligerent
Konstanty Ostrogski, Jurij Sołłohub.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.