Battle of Mozhaysk

The Russian government pulled all available forces into the western direction, and in the Mozhaysk area, the Poles were given serious resistance. Russian regiments of Voivode Boris Lykov (5,300 cavalry and 460 Streltsy), Dmitry Cherkassky (4,500 cavalry and 780 Streltsy), and Dmitry Pozharsky (3,900 cavalry and 1,500 Streltsy) heavily fortified Mozhaysk and several surrounding towns and monasteries.^[2] Fierce fighting near Mozhaysk lasted for entire the spring and summer of 1618, with the Polish-Lithuanian army unable to break Russian defenses. On July 30, 1618, a detachment of Lisowczycy under the command of Chaplinsky blocked the supply route from Moscow. Soon a Cossack defector informed the Russians that Władysław was going to firmly besiege the Russian fortified camps and force them to surrender with hunger. Supplies in the camps were not enough, especially after a part of their train was lost in battle. Realizing this, the government already on August 2, 1618, sent an order to the Voivodes to withdraw from Mozhaysk to Moscow, leaving there a garrison with sufficient supplies.^[2]

The fighting near Mozhaysk was not considered a failure by the Russian command. In the course of almost half a year of confrontation (the first half of 1618), Prince Władysław's offensive was delayed, enabling the preparations for the defense of Moscow.^[2] The stubborn resistance of the Russian troops dispelled the illusions of the Polish prince about the possibility of resuming the Time of Troubles. On the side of "the lawful Tsar Władysław", only the garrison of Dorogobuzh and several Cossack villages defected. Rebellion against the Romanovs, which Polish invaders expected, did not happen.^[1]