Belagerung von Pskow (1581)

The unsuccessful siege of Pskov lasted from August 1581 to February 1582, when the army of Polish King Stephen Báthory attempted to capture the Russian city of Pskov at the end of the Livonian War. The first units of the Polish-Lithuanian army, which had occupied Polotsk and Velikiye Luki two years earlier, appeared before the walls of Pskov on August 18, 1581. The main forces of the conquerors, numbering 31,000 men, began the siege of the city on August 24. The Russian prince Vasily Skopin-Shuisky nominally led the defense of the city, but actual command was held by his relative Ivan Shuisky. The Russian garrison consisted of 4,000 nobles, Streltsy, and Cossacks, as well as 12,000 armed citizens from Pskov and its surroundings.