Siege of Smolensk
1514 CE.
Shown on the map at 54.783°, 32.045°.
The siege of Smolensk of 1514 took place during the fourth Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1512–1520). The growing and strengthening Grand Duchy of Moscow clashed with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the territories of the former Rus'. The tension resulted in a series of wars starting in 1492. When war broke out again in November 1512, Moscow's main objective was to capture Smolensk, an important fortress and trade center that had been part of Lithuania since 1404. The Russians, commanded personally by Tsar Vasili III of Russia, laid a six-week siege in January–February 1513, but Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski repelled the attack. Another four-week siege followed in August–September 1513. In May 1514, Vasili III again led his army against Smolensk. This time the Russian army included a number of mercenary artillerymen and landsknechts, brought from the Holy Roman Empire by Michael Glinski. After a lengthy preparation, shelling of the city from nearby hills began in July. After a few days Jurij Sołłohub, Voivode of Smolensk, agreed to surrender on 30 July 1514.
Text from the Wikipedia article Siege of Smolensk (1514), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.