Historica Olomucensia 1 (2024), 79-97 | DOI: 10.5507/ho.2024.001

To Win with such a few Men: Explaining the Russian Defeat at the Battle of Wenden 1578

Pavel Horkę
Department of History
Faculty of Arts
Palackę University Olomouc

The battle of Wenden of 1578 was one of the major clashes of the Livonian War. It is significant both for its contemporaries and also for modern historians since it shows how different armies of early modern Eastern Europe acted on the battlefield. This article presents a novel reconstruction of the battlefield events, reconciling pieces of information from contemporary sources. However, its main aim is to assess which factors caused the Russian defeat against a much weaker enemy. Although the primary sources do not allow a thorough analysis of all factors, three of them might be identified: the lack of good reconnaissance, incorrect deployment of the Russian troops, and the inexperience of the Russian leadership.

Keywords: Battle of Wenden 1578; Livonian War; 16th Century Warfare; Muscovite Military, Early Modern Eastern Europe

Received: October 21, 2023; Revised: December 23, 2023; Accepted: January 19, 2024; Published: August 6, 2024  Show citation

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Horkę, P. (2024). To Win with such a few Men: Explaining the Russian Defeat at the Battle of Wenden 1578. Historica Olomucensia, 65(1), 79-97. doi: 10.5507/ho.2024.001
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