Baron of the Border
By roads of Volyn',
And through borderless steppes,
Proudly marches the army to battle.
There march Sich Cossacks,
Like eagles of the steppe,
Their song roars like thunder.
The first Cossack-Crimean War ended in stalemate, yet it gave Cossack state an opportunity to expand even further east, by establishing an outpost in Lugansk.
In 1503 the storm forced 5 Turkish warships to seek refuge in Ochakiv. Cossacks shamelessly confiscated them and in a matter weeks sailed across the Black Sea, proudly displaying their colors in front of Czargrad - Constantinople.
Settlements in Donetsk continued to grow and the Wild Fields seemed peaceful enough for people to start farming them again.
But the warlike nature of Cossacks would not allow peace to last long. In 1506 an Ukrainian noble Predslav Lantskoronskiy brings together several Cossack units and is elected the first hetman of Zaporozhian Host. He is a true baron of the border, experienced in frontier warfare and he is determined to expand Cossack lands at the expense of the growing Ottoman empire. Cossacks, listened to him like children. Not even once it occured to them that Turkish Sultan Bayezid II may have something to say about Lantskoronskiy's plans.
The obviously crazy plan to attack the Sultan did have some good points. The possession of five warships gave Cossacks the opportunity to attack Kaffa and Kerch - both of which Ottomans could only reach by sea. Besides, the Sultan's troops were already engaged in wars with Mamelukes in the south and Georgians in the east. Hetman counted on Polish and Lithuanian support, and hoped Moldova's large army could at least slow down the Ottomans until Kaffa and Kerch would be conquered.
The war lasts for seven long years. In the beginning Lantskoronskiy's plan appears to work. Cossacks easily capture Kaffa and besiege Kerch. Couple of thousand Turkish troops caught in the peninsula are massacred. And then Hungary takes advantage of the situation and declares war on Moldova. With Moldovian army out of the way, Ottomans invade Jedisan and capture Ochakiv. Crimean Khan declares war on Georgia and the little Orthodox country is about to collapse under combined Ottoman-Crimean assault.
Duke of Lithuania is gone mad and declares war on the Teutons, angried by their recent conquest of Pskov. Rebels in Ukraine defeat couple of superior Lithuanian army, but failing to receive support from the Zaporozhians, are forced to surrender to the Duke's forces.
Moldova becomes a desert in a matter of weeks. First taken by Ottomans, it is liberated by Polish forces and then lost again to Hungary. By 1508 it is completely annexed by Hungarians. Muscowites annex Ryazan' - a shame on them for annexing a fellow Orthodox nation. However, next they redeem all their sins when they join Polish alliance against infidel Turks.
Meanwhile, failing to capture Kerch quickly, Hetman leaves a cover force at the walls of the city and, declaring war on Crimean Khan, invades Crimean lands on his way to Zaporozh'e. He encounters and annihilates two Tatar armies (killing approximately 3,000 men). Crimeans abandon Georgia and invade Cossack lands in turn. Helping the Sultan to capture Ochakiv, they fall back to Azov, while Turks hurry south.
Lantskoronskiy quickly marches on Ochakiv and suprises the Turkish garrison. Taking the province bac, he gathers around him 8,000 Cossacks and invades Crimea through Sivash Sea (*shallow bay to the east of the peninsula). He falls on unsuspecting Tatars and slaughters a great deal of them in numerous encounters (around 8,000 enemy killed in two months). Then hetman besieges Bakchi-Sarai and takes it July of 1508. The Khan offers Cossacks 200,000 ducats in return for peace. Again Cossacks trust his word and again he betrays their trust, paying only 30,000 in the end.
Having secured Georgian independence, hetman invades Turkish province of Bujak. In September of 1509 he fights equal number of Turks at Ismail and annihilates the entire enemy force at the cost of three thousand of his own men. Since he lacks numbers to besiege Ismail, he falls on Dobrudja, slaughters another thousand of Turks there and retreats north to Jedisan.
In 1510 Turks return. First army is again annihilated by Cossacks. 9,000 Turks will never again see their homes. Cossacks too suffer heavy casualties. Out of 5,000, who take part in battle, only 1,500 live to see another day. Lantskoronskiy retreats before the enemy army, refusing to give battle. Soon he finds himself in Donetsk, with two large enemy forces occupying Jedisan and Zaporozhye.
Famous Turkish admiral Kemal Reis brings 58 ships to the bay of Ochakiv. Cossacks finally begin to comprehend how much they piss the Sultan off. He even makes peace with Mamelukes to concentrate the full weight of his army on Zaporozhians.
At this dark hour, Hungarian King offers Zaporozhians 50,000 ducats in exchange for peace. Evidently, their reputation finally caught up with them. Hetman accepts and uses the money to rebuild his army. At this time Polish and Lithuanian troops finally arrive to the Borderlands - Turks leave Jedisan and it is soon retaken by the allied forces. However, one Turkish detachment raids Poltava and Voronezh, forcing Lithuania to accept peace with the Sultan.
By 1511 the situation is again dire. Poles, who had at least 50,000 troops in the region, divert their attention to Hungary. Muscowites make peace with the Sultan as well, while Georgia is again on the brink of the disaster. Hetman is forced to take a loan from the Jewish community in Kiev and decides to lead his army on a death march deep into Turkish lands, in order to punish the Sultan for his destroying Cossack farms in Jedisan and Zaporozhye.
And so the 6,000-strong Cossack army invades the Ottoman empire, leaving the trail of dead bodies behind it. They make a stop at Dobrudja and massacre two thousand Turkish soldiers caught off guard. Passing without a stop through Rumelia, they descend on Thrace like a pack of lions and in a number of small engagements slaughter 8,000 Turks and do a great deal of damage to the prestige of the Ottoman Porta. Then they cross to Asia and ambush another 2,000 Turks at Smyrna. Returning to Thrace Cossacks capture 3,000 Turkish soldiers send to burry the dead comrades and cut them in pieces in front of the Sultan, who stares with disbelief from the walls of Czargrad.
At this point Lantskoronskiy has a chance to turn back to Zaporozhye, but he pushes his exhausted troops further. Cossacks climb the mountains of Bulgaria - five thousand strong Turkish relief force is annihilated at the walls of Sofia. Cossacks descend on the plains of Serbia - three thousand Turks lose their lives south of Belgrade. Cossacks return to Bulgaria and clash with another Turkish detachment - another two thousand Turks die in the battle.
By this time Turks organized a large hunt on the little and daring Cossack army. Lantskoronskiy finally tries to force his way out - but is stoped in Rumelia by a large Ottoman army. Cossacks lose two thousand men, return the favor by killing two thousand Turks and, burning villages and destroying fields, retreat south. Losing the Turks in the Balkans, hetman leads his army through Serbia, Kosovo and Albania to Macedonia, killing another three thousand Turks on his way. He already knows he cannot escape - twenty thousand Turks block his escape rout through Bujak. His last chance - the Cossack navy, is again defeated in the Black Sea. Luckily, no ships are lost.
Desparate and outnumbered 50 to 1, Cossacks continue to raid Turkish territory. There is only twelve hundreed men left, but they finally brought the fear of God into the Sultan's dark heart. Fearing to face them in battle, Sultan Selim agrees to pay 75,000 ducats to get them out of his hair.
Cossacks leave Turkey with large loot and many tropheys. Saddened by the loss of their comrades, they sing their songs, passing Turkish troops on their way home. Hetman rides first and his Zaporozhian Host follows his lead. He failed in his plan to acquire any new territory for himself, but his cunning and ruthless tactics saved Cossacks from being overan by the Ottomans and Crimeans. Turkey was taught an important lesson - it will never underestimate Cossack valor. True to his word, like any noble lytzar' (knight) should be, Lantskoronskiy never did attack Turkey again. He spent his last years managing the settlements in Donetsk - Ukrainian outpost was burnt by Tatars in Lugansk, and it was immedeately replaced by a Lithuanian one.
Predslav Lantskoronskiy dies in 1515, the first hetman of Zaporozhian Cossacks, the true baron of the border and victor over the Ottomans and the Crimean Tatars. He could not expand Cossack lands with sword, but after his death every Cossack who served under Lantskoronskiy believed himself to be invincible.