Siege of Kazan 1552

 I have been looking forward to this Osprey Campaign book by Mark Galeotti. It is a couple of centuries before my current writing on Russian history, but it was one of the earliest efforts by Muscovy and later Russia to begin its colonial expansion.

The Khanate of Kazan was one of the greatest of the Turkic successor states to the Golden Horde, and it was seized by Ulugh Muhammad in 1438. It developed economically into a strong regional power, but was always under pressure from Muscovy and the Crimean Khanate.

Muscovy also had to balance threats from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the west and from the khanates to the south. Their motivation for an assault on Kazan was partly to stop slave raids, partly to free up the Volga trade routes, and partly to find land for its growing population. They launched a long-awaited campaign against Kazan in 1545. The plan was to coincide with a coup by pro-Russian elements. When this failed, the attackers, who lacked the siege train to take such a well-defended city, withdrew. Another effort in 1548 and 1550 also failed. However, the pro-Russian faction effectively handed over the city in the early 1550s, until the Kazan mob overthrew them and installed an independent ruler.

The book then gives us an overview of the commanders, including Tsar Ivan IV (Grozny, 'terrible' or 'awesome'), and Khan Ediger-Magmet of Kazan, and all their generals. The opposing forces provide some differing troop types. Muscovy was moving from a feudal army to one that had a core of regular troops. Cavalry was still important, but there was a growing dependence on arquebus-armed foot, including the Streltsy, and artillery. Cossacks and, surprisingly, Tatars provided infantry and light cavalry. As always in Russian campaigns, we should not forget the importance of logistics.

Although increasingly living in cities and towns rather than roaming the steppe, the Tatars of Kazan and the other khanates retained much of their old style of warfighting, one built around the raid and the horse archer. The infantry needed for the defence of towns like Kazan was largely composed of levies, mostly armed with bows, although some primitive firearms were also deployed. Women and children would also defend the walls, which were earth banks, dressed with stone and a wooden walkway. Moats, natural waterways, and wetlands helped to limit the enemy's line of attack. There is a reconstructed version in modern Tatarstan that gives a good impression of the style.

Obsrevatoria (Wikipedia)

The core of the book is the campaign and siege. As usual, the text is well illustrated with maps and colour plates. I particularly liked the style of the colour plates created by Angel García Pinto, whose work is new to me. The cover art is a good example. Maintaining a siege at the end of lengthy supply lines was quite an achievement. Kazan fell during the final assault in a day’s bloody fighting. The attackers lost 4,000–7,000 dead. Tatar losses were probably 20,000 dead, including civilians. Kazan was now a Muscovite possession, but holding it would prove a continuing challenge. A low-level rebellion went on for four years. Kazan would serve as a jumping-off point for further colonial expansion in the south, eventually incorporating all the khanates.

The city is now the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a constituent element of the Russian Federation. There is little left of 16th-century Kazan, and the city has a Kremlin fort built by Ivan after the siege. Local remembrance is discouraged in Putin's Russia, which has its own historical narrative.  

Sieges are not easy to replicate on the tabletop, but there were plenty of actions earlier in the campaign to field armies, which, in part, can be pulled together from other collections.

Some of my earlier Russ cavalry, which would still work for this period. Just need some Streltsy.