Russian commander Fyodor Mstislavsky, at the village…
January 1605 CE
Russian commander Fyodor Mstislavsky, at the village of Dobrynichi, in today's Bryansk Oblast, commands an army of some 20,000 soldiers against the forces of Dmitriy, who has some 23,000 men at his disposal.
When the impostor had discovered out that Godunov's army had been deployed near the small village of Dobrynichi, he had made a decision to attack it at once, first sending his men to set the village on fire.
The Russian patrol, however, had been able to capture the incendiaries and warn the rest of the army of the oncoming enemy forces, thus, giving the Russian army some time to prepare for the battle that takes place on January 21, 1605.
Dmitriy attacks the Russian regiment on watch with his main forces (consisting of Polish choragiews and Russian cavalry) and throws it back to Dobrynichi.
His plan is to force the right flank of the Russian army to retreat beyond the Sev River.
Fyodor Mstislavsky orders his right flank (consisting of German and Dutch mercenaries and Russian cavalry) to assume the offensive in order to stop and overrun the enemy.
The impostor’s cavalry is able to press the mercenaries and throw back the Russian cavalry.
Then, he attacks the center of Mstislavsky’s army, namely the Streltsy, who had been dislocated in Dobrynichi.
The latter meet Dmitriy’s cavalry with gunfire from arquebuses and cannons and put them to flight.
At the sight of the fleeing cavalry, unmounted Zaporozhian Cossacks on the right flank of Dmitriy’s army decide that the battle has been lost and follow suit.
The Russian cavalry decides to counterattack the fleeing enemy horsemen and foot soldiers and crushes them completely.
Dmitriy’s reserve, consisting of an unmounted unit of the Don Cossacks and artillery, is surrounded and almost utterly destroyed.
The Russian army chases the remains of the impostor’s forces for eight kilometers, but ...
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