Battle of Kulikovo - this phrase is knownalmost every citizen of our country is over seven years old. Let not all of them realize the true meaning of this battle, but the fact that it is known much more than what happened a hundred years later and marked the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke says a lot.
The reasons for the Kulikovo battle are simple and unpretentious.A few years earlier, the Russian warriors had won one of the battles with the Horde. And one of the horde temniki, namely Khan Mamai, decided to kill several birds with one blow: to strengthen the influence of the Horde on the Russian principalities, and at the same time his authority among fellow tribesmen. Enlisting the support of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, Khan began to march through the Russian lands. With the Lithuanian army, he had to unite near Voronezh. Another ally of Mamai was to be Oleg Igorevich, the prince of Ryazan. But according to one of the versions, he limited himself to promises; moreover, there is information that it was he who warned Rusich that Khan Mamai was expecting reinforcement from Yagailo.
Having received this news, Prince Dmitry of MoscowIvanovich decided not to allow the allies to unite and force Khan to join the battle, without waiting for the Lithuanian soldiers. He invites the Russian princes to join forces in the fight against the common enemy. Naturally, not all responded, but the prince managed to gather more than 100 thousand soldiers under his banner. That was only slightly less than the Horde army. At the same time, thanks to the military reform carried out by Dmitry, the Russian army was many times more organized, which gave a serious advantage in the battles.
Gathering the army, Dmitry Ivanovich moved to the riverOb Having overcome more than 200 km in 11 days, the speed for that time was simply unprecedented, the Russian army forced Mamaia to move to meet them, not waiting for Yagailo.
Approaching the Don, the Russian army for some time did notcould decide on the crossing, because the territories of the Golden Horde began beyond the river. However, having received the news from Sergey Radonezhsky with the wish to be harder and more courageous, Dmitry Ivanovich decided on the crossing. The Russians forced the Don on the night of September 8, 1380. The crossing went along a floating wooden bridge, which the prince ordered to destroy.
Thus, he, on the one hand, cut offto his army, the way to retreat, on the other - ensured safety to his rear, placing his men in such a way that behind them there was a cliff on the bank of the Nepryadva, and on the sides of the Don and deep cliffs. Thus, Dmitri Ivanovich made it difficult for the enemy to approach from the flanks. Namely, this was Mamai's favorite device: he often placed his cavalry along the flanks and captured the enemy’s troops in ticks. It was a new word in military tactics.
Russian troops were located as follows:the greatest forces were concentrated in the center, the so-called large regiment. Two smaller regiments were located on the left and right flanks. In addition, there was a small advanced regiment and an ambush regiment, located on the east, behind a small oak forest. Mamai placed heavy infantry in the center, there was cavalry from the flanks, which Mamai hoped to cover the enemy, but thanks to skillfully used relief, the Russians did not allow this.
The Battle of Kulikovo began at dawn withtraditional duel. A monk Peresvet, a former boyar and an experienced warrior, came out from the Russians to fight, the horde put up the hero Chelubey. The duel ended with a simultaneous defeat with spears, which, according to signs, spoke of a long and bloody battle. The first fell Chelubey. At that moment the horde cavalry rushed into battle, trampling Peresvet.
The first thing the cavalry was swept away by the advanced regimentafter which the Horde concentrated their forces on the central part of the Russian army. However, it was not possible to crush him just as quickly, and the warriors of Mamaia switched to a regiment of his left hand. They managed to press and even force them to retreat to Nepryadva, but at that moment an ambush regiment struck the rear of the cavalry, taking the horde’s army off guard and causing confusion. This situation did not fail to take advantage of a large regiment. Rusichi went on the attack, turning the Horde cavalry to flight. And those, in turn, trampled the horses of their own infantry. The Russian army drove the enemy more than 50 km to the river Beautiful Sword. Most of the Horde was killed during the retreat. Khan's bid was taken, but Mamai managed to escape. He was killed later, already in the Horde, and Khan Tokhtomysh did it.
According to the chronicles, the battle of Kulikovo itselflasted 4 hours, and by two o'clock in the afternoon everything was over. Losses on both sides were huge. The Russians lost 483 boyars and 12 princes; this accounted for more than 60% of the commanding staff. Losses among ordinary warriors are not countable. But the army of Mamaia fell almost completely.
Now and Kulikov battle, and its historicalvalue became just part of the school curriculum. And in those days it became a symbol of the unification of the Russian people, because it was then that so many Russian principalities first appeared in a joint campaign. In addition, it was this battle that instilled in the Russian people the belief that the Golden Horde could be defeated, and even if it was still about a hundred years from complete liberation, it was started on the Kulikovo Field.
The Battle of Kulikovo is mentioned in a huge number of literary works, both contemporary and later. Poets and prose writers write and write about it as a symbol of the unity of Russia and its strength.
