View source for Siege of Troitsky monastery

{{short description|1608–1610 siege, Time of Troubles}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Siege of the Trinity monastery
| partof      = the [[Time of Troubles]] and the [[Polish–Muscovite Wars (1605–1618)]]
| image       = Vereshchagin. Defense of the Trinity.jpg
| image_size  = 
| caption     = Orthodox monks led by the chronicler [[Avraamy Palitsyn]] defended the [[Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra]] against Polish troops from September 1609 to January 1611.
| date        = 23 September 1608 – 12 January 1610
| place       = [[Sergiyev Posad]], [[Russia]]
| coordinates = {{coord|56|18|36|N|38|07|47|E|region:RU_type:event|display=inline,title}}
| result      = Russian victory
| combatant1  = {{Flagicon image|Chorągiew królewska króla Zygmunta III Wazy.svg}} [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
| combatant2  = [[File:Flag of Tzar of Muscovia.svg|22px]] [[Tsardom of Russia]]
| commander1  = [[Jan Piotr Sapieha]]<br /> [[Aleksander Józef Lisowski|Aleksander Lisowski]]
| commander2  = {{ill|Grigory Dolgorukov|ru|Долгоруков, Григорий Борисович Роща}}<br /> Aleksey Golokhvastov<br /> {{ill|Archimandrite Joasaph|ru|Иоасаф Боровский}}<br/>'''Since October 1609:'''<br/>[[Grigory Valuyev]]<br/>{{ill|Davyd Zherebtsov|ru|Жеребцов, Давыд Васильевич}}
| strength1   = 30,000 Polish interventionists and Cossacks{{Sfn|Гумилев|2023|p=375}}{{sfn|Егоршина|2023|p=30}}
| strength2   = 2,400
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Heavy, around 2,000
}}

{{Campaignbox Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)}}
The '''siege of the Troitsky monastery''' ({{langx|ru|Троицкая осада}})<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Aleksander Józef Lisowski h. Jeż|url=http://www.ipsb.nina.gov.pl/a/biografia/aleksander-jozef-lisowski-h-jez|access-date=2021-11-04|website=www.ipsb.nina.gov.pl|language=pl}}</ref> was an abortive attempt of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish–Lithuanian]] [[irregular army]] that acted in support of [[False Dmitry II]] to capture the [[Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius]], north-east of [[Moscow]]. The siege lasted for 16 months, from 23 September 1608 until 12 January 1610.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Perrie |first1=Maureen |title=Pretenders and Popular Monarchism in Early Modern Russia: The False Tsars of the Time and Troubles |date=11 April 2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-89101-1 |pages=187–189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSkZeGk-ToQC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=David B. |title=Saint Sergius of Radonezh, His Trinity Monastery, and the Formation of the Russian Identity |date=5 November 2010 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5661-0 |page=218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_7-DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

==Siege==

In December 1608, the [[Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish army]] of some 15,000 men, led by [[Jan Piotr Sapieha]] and [[Aleksander Józef Lisowski|Aleksander Lisowski]], laid siege to the [[fortress]] of the Trinity Monastery ({{Langx|ru|Троицкий монастырь|Troitskiy monastyr'|link=no}}), which had been protecting the northern approaches to Moscow. The Russian garrison (estimated at between 2,200 and 2,400 men) consisted of [[dvoryane]], [[streltsy]], monastic servants, [[monk]]s, and [[peasant]]s, led by the [[Voivode|voyevoda]]s Prince Grigory Dolgorukov and Aleksey Golokhvastov.<ref name=":1" />

In early October 1608, the attackers began shelling and [[Mining (military)|mining]] the monastery. Numerous assaults in October and November were repelled by the Russians and resulted in heavy losses for the Polish army. The besieged undertook frequent [[wikt:sally|sallies]], one of which (9 November) ended with the explosion of a mine under a monastery tower and the destruction of an enemy [[Artillery battery|battery]] on the Red Mountain, with two peasants, Shipov and Sloba, losing their lives during this sally.

There had been no significant military activity from late November 1608 until May 1609, but the besieged garrison suffered many casualties due to an outbreak of [[scurvy]]. In May through July 1609, the Russians repelled a number of enemy attacks. On 19 October 1609, and 4 January 1610, auxiliary detachments under the command of David Zherebtsov (900 men) and [[Grigory Valuyev]] (500 men) managed to make their way into the fortress. Under the threat of the approaching army of [[Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky]], the Polish forces raised the siege on 12 January 1610 and retreated to [[Dmitrov]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Velikai︠a︡ russkai︠a︡ smuta : prichiny vozniknovenii︠a︡ i vykhod iz gosudarstvennogo krizisa v XVI-XVII vv.|date=2007|publisher=Dar|others=Strizhova, I. M., Стрижова, И. М.|isbn=9785485001230|location=Moskva|oclc=230750976}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
This defeat was a major blow for [[False Dmitry II]]. After King [[Sigismund III Vasa]] arrived at [[Siege of Smolensk (1609–11)|Smolensk]] in September 1609, the majority of his Polish supporters left him and joined with the armies of the Polish king. At the same time, a [[De la Gardie Campaign|strong Russo-Swedish army]] under [[Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky]] and [[Jacob De la Gardie]] approached Tushino, forcing him to flee his camp disguised as a peasant and go to Kostroma. He was killed by his own men on 11 December 1610.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ruski carevi|last=Željko.|first=Fajfrić|date=2008|publisher=Tabernakl|isbn=9788685269172|edition=1. izd|location=Sremska Mitrovica|oclc=620935678}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Time of Troubles]]
* [[Sigismund III of Poland]]

==References==
<references />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book |last=Егоршина |first=Петрова |lang=ru |script-title=ru:История русской армии |trans-title=The history of the Russian Army |location=Moscow |publisher=Edition of the Russian Imperial Library |date=2023 |isbn=978-5-699-42397-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Гумилев |first=Лев |title=От Руси к России |location=Moscow |publisher=Москва | year = 2023| isbn = 978-5-17-153845-3 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troitsky monastery, Siege of}}
[[Category:Battles of the Polish–Russian War (1609–1618)]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Tsardom of Russia]]
[[Category:17th-century military history of Russia]]
[[Category:1610 in Russia]]
[[Category:1609 in Russia]]
[[Category:1608 in Russia]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1608]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1609]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1610]]
[[Category:History of Moscow Oblast]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
[[Category:Attacks on churches in Russia]]