Battle of Kulikovo, 1380

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Dmitri Donskoy versus Mamay: A Russian army under Dmitri boldly crosses the Don River to engage a Mongol-Tatar army under Mamay. Delighted by Dmitri’s rash actions, Mamay attacks first, unaware of the Russian ambush force in the forest. Will Dmitri’s ambush force be able to enter the battle and swing the momentum before Mamay routs the Russian main force?

kulikovo preview 1

Significance

This celebrated Russian victory is difficult to place in its proper historical context because Russia was under Mongol-Tatar rule again within two years of this victory. Kotker argues the battle “made it clear Russia’s independence was bound to come” (1993: 31) but to whom was it clear that this was inevitable? Vernadsky (1953) does not write of Kulikovo as the monumental symbolic victory for Russian independence but merely a part of the plot towards such an ideal. The battle is most likely that.

Analysis

Tactically, Kulikovo is a typical Russian battle from the middle ages in which the Russians deploy on terrain which secures their flanks and offers the possibility of concealing an ambush party (Heath, 1984: 83). Obviously, doctrine is an important aspect of military operations, both past and present, when analyzing commanders’ decisions and outcomes.

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Notes

Reportedly, the Kulikovo battlefield was so congested that trampling and blunt pressure killed just as many men as weapons did (Kotker, 1993: 28). This is fitting because I spent many frustrating hours trying to properly fit all of the units into the cramped terrain. Hopefully, my figures for the strength of each army will not be vehemently opposed as my sources were very consistent. Heath – usually so sober in his figures – places the forces involved at no more than 150,000 Mongol-Tatars and 100,000 Russians with a 7:2 ratio being “fairly accurate” (1984: 87) which I sincerely hope is a typo.

– Jonathan Webb

Works Consulted

Buganov, Victor Ivanovich. Kulikovskaia Bitva. Moscow: Pedagogica, 1985.

Halperin, Charles J. The Tatar Yoke. Columbus: Slavica, 1986.

De Hartog, Leo. Russia and the Mongol Yoke: The History of the Russian Principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221-1502. London: British Academic Press, 1996.

Heath, Ian. Armies of the Middle Ages Vol. 2: The Ottoman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Near East, 1300-1500. Sussex: Flexprint, 1984.

Kotker, Norman. “Kulikovo Field.” Military History Quarterly 6.1 (1993): 20-31.

Vernadsky, George. The Mongols and Russia. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.

Images

Dmitri Donskoy: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dmitri_Donskoy_140-190_for_collage.jpg

Map of Central Eurasia: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-144283/At-its-greatest-extent-the-Golden-Horde-the-western-part

Map of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections

Mongol-Tatar soldiers: http://www.dbaol.com/armies/army_154_figure_1.htm

Russian soldiers: http://www.dbaol.com/armies/army_157_figure_1.htm

 

If you enjoyed the Battle of Kulikovo 1380 battle animation, you may also enjoy these other battle animations:

Battle of Poltava 1709, another battle featuring the Russians using forward positioned troops to disrupt the enemy attack:

poltava preview 1

Battle of Kosovo 1389, the next battle chronologically on the site:

kosovo preview 1

Battle of Torvioll 1444, another battle featuring an ambush in the Medieval Era:

torvioll preview 1Thank you for visiting The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps.

Readers Comments (1)

  1. Thanks Jonathan for your work. I enjoyed watching how the Battle of Kulikovo unfolded, and I look forward to exploring your site in depth. All the best!

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