Kulikovo September 8, 1380 Strategic Context The Golden Horde is deteriorating due to internal and external power struggles. The khan’s authority falls so low that the Russian princes do not hesitate to oppose raids from the Golden Horde’s land while Tokhtamysh invades the Golden Horde after gaining control of the White Horde. Mamay, a Mongol-Tatar general, assembles an army to crush the most troublesome Russian principality, Moscow, and promises Riazan and Lithuania that its land will be divided among them if they aid his conquest. Dmitri Donskoy, commander of the Russian army, quickly marches south to meet the Mongol-Tatar army before the Riazan and Lithuanian armies can converge on his own. Stakes + A Russian victory would end immediate Mongol-Tatar domination of Moscow and Russia as a whole while internal squabbles distract Mongol-Tatar leaders. + A Mongol-Tatar victory would destroy Moscow, its territory divided between Riazan and Lithuania and allowing Mamay to properly resist Tokhtamysh. By Jonathan Webb, 2010 ©

Kulikovo, 1380 Strength  Russians  Well  Mongol-Tatars  Well  30,000  Mamay  30,000  Dmitri Donskoy By Jonathan Webb, 2010 ©

Mamay divides his army into a sizeable vanguard, center comprised of his few infantry units, left wing, right wing and a sizeable reserve. He plans to break the Russian line with aggressive, unrelenting attacks. Dmitri deploys his army in a compact line with a small reserve and an ambush force in the forest on his left. His advance guard consists of cavalry and a long, thin line of infantry to absorb the main Mongol-Tatar cavalry charge. He plans to use the cramped battlefield terrain to nullify the Mongol-Tatar cavalry until his ambush force can surprise the Mongol-Tatar right wing and decide the battle. Mamay uses a hill as a vantage point while Dmitri fights in the ranks as a regular soldier. Mamay (Mongol-Tatars) Russians (Dmitri) Mamay orders his vanguard cavalry to charge. The Mongol-Tatar cavalry engage the Russian vanguard cavalry which retreat behind their line of infantry. The Mongol-Tatar cavalry utterly smash the line of Russian infantry but use up their momentum in doing so. The Mongol-Tatar vanguard engages the main Russian line while the rest of the Mongol-Tatar army advances. The Russian right wing stands firm but the Russian center and left wing are pushed back by their Mongol-Tatar counterparts. Fierce, cramped combat occurs along the front, both sides suffering many casualties from trampling. The Mongol-Tatar left wing gains no ground against the Russian right wing in marshy terrain and disengages. The Mongol-Tatar center grinds the Russian center back while the Mongol-Tatar right wing overpowers the Russian left wing. Dmitri must commit his entire reserve to prevent a total collapse here while Mamay commits only a part of his reserve to continue the advance. The Russian right wing remains strong but cannot attack the Mongol-Tatar left wing for fear of losing contact with the center. With the Russian center struggling and the left wing pushed back to the Don River, Mamay commits his last reserve to complete the destruction of the Russian left wing. As the last units sweep by its concealed position, the Russian ambush force emerges and routs the rear ranks. Its sudden appearance panics Mamay who immediately flees. The Russian left wing and center rally and counterattack as the ambush force scatters the Mongol-Tatar right wing. The leaderless Mongol-Tatar force collapses and retreats, briefly pursued by Russian forces. Mongol-Tatars (Mamay) 30,000 Russians (Dmitri Donskoy) 30,000

Kulikovo, 1380 Casualties & Aftermath Russians:Mongol-Tatars: ≈15,000 or 50% ≈15,000 or 50% By Jonathan Webb, 2010 © Russian losses were so great that they could not exploit the first major victory against the Mongol-Tatars and Mamay quickly raised a new army. However, Mamay was confronted and defeated by rival Tokhtamysh who gained control of the Golden Horde. By 1382, Moscow itself was sacked by Tokhtamysh and Mongol-Tatar authority restored in all of Russia.

The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps By Jonathan Webb, 2010 ©