The serving Tatars in the military campaigns of Vasily The Blind and Ivan The Great (1430s - 1505)

The purpose of this article is the study of military history and warfare of serving Tatars of the Grand Principality of Moscow during the reign of Vasily II the Blind and Ivan III the Great. To achieve the purpose the following scientific tasks were set: to view all the episodes of participation of the serving Tatars in the military campaigns in 1430-s - 1505, to define the geographic of service, position in the structure of Russian troops, the command structure, tasks, characteristics of tactics and weapons. The methodology is based on the main principles of historical knowledge: the principles of objectivity and historicism. The method of the scientific review of sources determined by the objectives of the study and source type. In the analysis and interpretation of materials the author used comparative-historical method and historical reconstruction. The sources base of study comprise the Russian chronicles, «Razryad» books and documents of diplomatic correspondence between Moscow and Crimea. Also, the modern investigations of military history of Russia were analyzed. The study obtained the following conclusions. Serving Tatars participated in about half of the military activities of Vasily II the Blind and Ivan III the Great. In battle, they faced the Russian people, the Lithuanians and the Golden Horde Tatars. Recent immigrants from the steppes, apparently, worked effectively in the unfamiliar conditions of wooded and marshy North (because the campaigns they were together with the Russians). The serving Tartars participated in the first campaign against Kazan (1467) and the Novgorod in 1471 and 1477, in repulse of the raids of Akhmat-khan in 1472 and Germans in 1473, and also had a high priority in the fight against the Horde on its territory in 1486-1491. Perhaps they were in on the Ugra in autumn of 1480. Tatars with the Russian armies ravaged the enemy's territory in the wars with the Swedes, Lithuanians and the Livonian Germans, and fought in the battle of Vedrosh (it ended one of the greatest victories of Moscow's troops in XV-XVI centuries). As we calculated, Tatars participated in 8-9 major military activities (wars and campaigns) of 17 (that is about half). Tatar contingents were, most commonly, on the right flank of troops. During his reign Vasily II the Blind preserved the autonomy of the Tatar troops. However, during the reign of Ivan III, the Great it had become regular - the presence of Russian bailiffs (the executive or «pristav») at the Tatar princes, or Tatarian contingents were under the command of the Russian warlords («voivoda»). Tatar cavalry had a high combat potential, and participated in large-scale battles (thus, they made a significant contribution to the victory over Novgorod in 1456). Also, they formed the ambuscade troops and «izgon»-troops. The assignment of the «izgon»-troops were the occupation of fortified points, or places that are convenient for the location of the camp of the main forces of the Grand Prince. In addition, since the time of Ivan III, the Tatars accompanied the Russian and foreign ambassadors. Sources say the Tatars used the usual tactics of the nomads, and suggest the preservation of a large number of soldiers in armor and with spears.

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