КНІГІ ОНЛАЙН
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Зведала значную эвалюпыю і тактычнае майстэрства. Яшчэ панавалі на палях баёў простыя фалангападобныя баявыя парадкі, што зводзілі бой да франтальнага сутыкнення, якое выйгравалася дзякуючы асабістай мужнасці, вывучцы і досведу дружыннікаў і вояў. Яшчэ няпісаныя варварскія кодэксы гонару ўхвалялі такія перамогі, якія адлюстроўвалі моц і доблесць асобных ваяроў. Але ўжо з’яўляліся гнуткія, падзеленыя па фронце і ўтлыбіню баявыя парадкі, якія забяспечвалі тактычную ўстойлівасць войска і дазвалялі ажыццяўляць складаныя манеўры. Зараджалася конніца, а зброя станавілася ўсё больш разнастайнай і якаснай. Новыя тактычныя метады рабілі ваенную справу больш масавай, складанай і індустрыяльнай. На гэтым фоне бляклі эпічныя подзвігі асобных герояў, але ваеннае майстэрства ў цэлым рухалася наперад, больш эфектыўна выконваючы ўскладзеныя на яго задачы. A Military History of Belarusian Lands Up to the End of 12th Century A.D. Volume I Summary War is the main subject of the present study. A traditional view of war presents it as a totally destructive phenomenon, responsible for the demise of civilizations and states, economic decline and cultural stagnation. However, numerous works of art and literature glorify war heroics. Military victories are being celebrated in virtually every country. This only reflects the fact that war is more than just an evil force. It grossly contributed to the rise of many states to power. It was a driving force of economic and technological innovations. It defined the cultural landscape. It means that war was a major factor of the history of humankind and deserves a complete and thorough analysis. War shall be defined as an act of violence used for the resolution of a conflict between two and more states or other political entities. The interest of the conflicting states shall be defined in terms of power, although the motives of gain and idea are also present in the nature of war. Consequently, war is analysed mostly within the framework of political history. The study will concentrate on the history of a region, which only later became known as Belarus, but had always been a meeting ground for the actors, which then formed the core of the Belarusian nation. Those were: Slavic tribes, which colonized the territory of modern Belarus mixing with native Baltic tribes and then under the leadership of Norse warlords formed so called Kyivan Rus' or Ruthenia;' the independent duchies of 1 The terms «Rus’», «Kyivan Rus’», «Ruthenia» and «Ruthenian» as opposed to «Russia» and «Russian» are used to distinguish between the early mediaeval state with the centres in Kyiv and Novgorod and the independent duchies it disintegrated into on one hand, and the Polack (Polotsk), Smalensk (Smolensk) and Тйгай (Turov), which broke away from declining Kyivan Rus’; Baltic tribes of Lithuanians and Yatvingians, who overthrew Ruthenian and then Polack hegemony and laid foundations for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The study covers a so called pre-Lithuanian period of Belarusian military history. The starting point is the late 5th century when Slavic tribes began to massively infiltrate the territory of modem Belarus and interact with local Baltic tribes in both peaceful and hostile ways. An analysis of those events helps to trace the very origins of war as a political phenomenon and its reciprocal influence on the evolution of the society. The end of the pre-Lithuanian period is marked by the political crisis of the duchies of Polack, Smalensk and Turau and a steady rise of Lithuania in late 12th century A.D. In accordance with this timeline the study is divided into four books, each covering a politically distinct sub-period of pre-Lithuanian times. Each book consists of three chapters. The first chapter provides a detailed overview of wars and other political developments of that time. The second one covers the role of war in the political, economic and cultural evolution of societies on Belarusian lands. The third one deals with the art of war. The first book is devoted to the time between the end of 5th century and early 9th century A.D. In earlier times most of the territory of modem Belarus was occupied by Baltic tribes. Slavic tribes inhabited only those Belarusian lands to the south of Prypiac (Pripyat) River. However, around 500 A.D. under pressure from nomadic tribes they started infiltrating the Baltic lands. Slavic migration grew with the time and by 7th century became massive. On some occasions invading Slavs had violent clashes with native Balts exterminating them or pushing them further North West. A number of Baltic hill-forts was taken by storm and destroyed. In other cases the coexistence of Slavs and Balts was peaceful and led to mutual assimilation. By the later state with the centre in Moscow on the other. The latter could be considered a distant descendant of the former yet the two are not identical. The confusion with the names is often purposefully used by Russian nationalists to lay claims on all political and spiritual heritage of Kyivan Rus’. beginning of 9th century earlier archaeological cultures gave way to the new ones that are attributed to the Slavic speaking chiefdoms or tribe unions of Kryvicy (Kriviches), Dryhavicy (Dregoviches) and Radzimicy (Radimiches), which otherwise combined both Slavic and Baltic elements. Unassimilated Baltic peoples of Lithuanians and Yatvingians kept their hold on the territories of North-Western and Western Belarus respectively. Politically, the traditional family structures of Slavic and Baltic tribes were going through a deep crisis. Mass migrations led to armed conflicts between Slavs and Balts and within each respective group. Old family aristocracy, which governed their fellow tribesmen by virtue of their moral and religious authority, could no longer maintain peace and provide security. Tneir domination started to decline. In search of protection people turned their attention to belligerent chiefs and their warbands (comitatus in Latin, dryyna in Slavic languages and draugija in Baltic languages). Chiefs became the main contenders for the authority. Based on their military force they redefined the authority as power, stopping just short from establishing a state structure. Tribal society came to an unstable balance between the traditional authority of the family aristocracy and the military based power of chiefs. This sub-period also became the time of the initial accumulation of wealth, which laid the foundations for the economic stratification of the society in the future. Finally, the conflicts between Slavs and Balts, which were a paradoxical form of cultural contacts, opened way for numerous mutual influences and defined Belarusian culture as a unique synthesis of Slavic and Baltic elements. The methods of warfare at that time were still very primitive among Slavs and Balts. There are no written sources left that describe the warfare on Belarusian lands in those times. Analogies can be driven between Slavic tribes on Belarusian lands and those that invaded Byzantine Empire and were described in detail by Mauricius and Theophilactus Simocatta. The military organization consisted of the tribal militia and the warband. The militia included all armed men of a tribe. It was organized by families and headed by family aristocracy. The warband stood beyond the traditional family structure of a tribe, was headed by the chief and consisted of outlaw warriors personally devoted to him. In the time of war the chief normally took command over all armed forces of the tribe. Warbands were generally more skilled and better armed than militias. They were the major striking force on the battlefield, but often pursued their own ends and were unreliable. The whole contingent counted hundreds of warriors and only in exceptional cases there were thousands. A wooden shield, a few javelins and a bow comprised a standard set of weapons for a warrior. Swords were extremely rare even among chiefs and aristocracy. Fortification had two basic types: insular and cape. Insular fortifications were built on islands or hills and were protected by the landscape from all sides, while cape fortifications generally belonged to river capes with one side not protected naturally. Fortified sites were mostly represented by hill-forts surrounded with an earthen wall, sometimes with a wooden paling or frame fence on top of it. Hill-forts were uninhabited and served as a shelter only in the moments of danger. Long sieges were rare. Sudden attacks were the tactic of choice against fortified sites. The strategic goals of military campaigns corresponded to small resources of wandering tribes and were no bigger than seizure of a small area with the purpose of colonization or looting. On the battlefield both Slavs and Balts preferred throwing missiles from the distance over hand-to-hand fighting. Ambushes, hit-and-run attacks and other irregular methods of fighting were the dominant forms of tactics. Occasionally extended orders were used. Compact formations were extremely rare and were used only in the circumstances of vast numerical superiority in a favourable position. The materials of Baltic burials also suggest a wide use of cavalry by Balts. At the same time Byzantine sources indicate that Slavs used horses only for the transportation of troops yet were not skilled enough to fight astride. Starting in 820s Belarusian lands became an arena for the activity of Norse warriors and traders, often called Vikings. Correspondingly, the sub-period analysed in the second book shall be named Norse. The reason that brought Swedes, Norwegians and Danes to Eastern Europe was their intensive trade with Muslim countries of the Middle East via Dzvina (Dvina), Volhov, Oka, Volga, Dniapro (Dnepr) and other river routes on the territories of modern Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The Norsemen brought fur, wax and slaves to the Middle East in return for silver coins, produced there in large quantities. Gradually as the trade was developing they tried to control the waterways by conquering local Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugrian tribes. Saxo Grammaticus goes as far as speaking of the seizure of Polack by semi-legendary Danish dukes Ragnar Lodbrok and Frode in 840s. However, the Norsemen were outnumbered by the locals, lost the fighting and by 859 were expelled.