Battle of Lode

Battle of Lode
Part of Livonian War
Location of Koluvere Castle. Battlefield was nearby.
Date 23 January 1573 Location Koluvere, near Lode in Estonia 58°54′20″N 24°06′15″E / 58.9056°N 24.1042°E / 58.9056; 24.1042 Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Clas Åkesson Tott	Simeon Bekbulatovich
Strength
700 Knights Hundreds of Baltic cavalry	16,000
Casualties and losses
Minimal	7,000 killed (likely exaggerated) 100 horses captured All of the artillery captured

The Battle of Lode was fought during the Livonian War, between a Swedish and Russian army on 23 January 1573. The battle was won by the Swedes.

Background

In the Autumn of 1572, the Russian army began its offensive into the Baltic, with Russian forces besieging Weissenstein, and after a heavy bombardment the Russians successfully storm the city and capture it on January 1.^[1] Afterwards, part of the Russian army departs along with the Tsar to Novgorod, and the remaining Russian forces in Estonia are divided into two, with one of them capturing Karkus, and the other, numbering around 16,000 men,^[2][3] was assigned to capture Lode, Leal, and Hapsal.^[2]

Battle

When Clas Åkesson Tott realized that the Russian Army was divided, he marched out from Reval with around 700 Knights along with a few hundred cavalry from the Baltic to attack the Russian army besieging Lode.^[2][1] On 23 January, the Russian and Swedish armies met outside of Lode, with the Russian army being led by Simeon Bekbulatovich.

The Baltic cavalry received orders to assault the Russians and was quickly able to tear the Russian formations, despite its success, the cavalry decides that the Russian force is too strong and retreats. Despite this, Clas decides that he would be able to take advantage of the confusion that had began in the Russian lines and advanced with his knights, and this proved to be decisive.^[2] Upwards of 7,000 casualties are said to have been suffered by the Russians, although this number is likely highly exaggerated.^[1]

Aftermath

After the battle, Tott was able to return to Reval with all of the Russian artillery, 100 horses, and a large amount of saddles, the Swedish casualties are said to have been minimal.^[2] However, despite the large victory gained by Tott, it was not followed by additional Swedish successes.^[1]

References

1. Harrison, Dick (1 February 2024). Fienden: Sverige och Ryssland från vikingatid till idag (in Swedish). Ordfront. ISBN 978-91-7945-181-3.
2. Sundberg, Ulf (1998). Svenska krig 1521-1814 [Swedish wars 1521-1814] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Hjalmarson & Högberg. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9789189080140.
3. Ödberg, Fridolf (1896). Tidsbilder ur 1500-talets svenska häfder (in Swedish). C. E. Fritzes kungl. hofbokhandel.

Sources

• Sundberg, Ulf: Svenska krig 1521-1814, p. 78, Hjalmarson & Högberg Bokförlag, Stockholm 2002, ISBN 91-89660-10-2
• Anders Anton von Stiernman, Swea och Götha Höfdinga-Minne, Volym 2
• Fridolf Ödberg, Tidsbilder ur 1500-talets svenska häfder, C. E. Fritzes kungl. hofbokhandel, 1896
• Сказанія князя Курбскаго, Андрей Михайлович Курбский