Battle of Upeslejas
| Battle of Upeslejar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Vesan Crusades | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| File:VenadiaFlag.jpg Republic of Venadia | File:VesanCommonwealth.PNG Vesan states | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Graf Mstislav Krutoy | Vytenis | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| No more than 10,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Light | ||||||
The Battle of Upeslejas was a battle fought between the Republic of Venadia and various Vesan states in 1282 during the Vesan Crusades. The battle was part of a long list of events in the centuries-long conflict to convert the Vesan peoples to Christianity. Venadian forces under Graf Mstislav Krutoy, a cousin of Grand Prince Aleksandr, led a Venadian relief force towards the besieged holdings of the Petran Order in north-western Vesas.
Vesan forces under the command of the warlord Vytenis intercepted and ambushed the Venadian forces by the forests of Upeslejar on the 9th of March, catching the Venadians completely by surprise. The ensuing battle saw Mstislav Krutoy captured, and the vast majority of the Venadian forces slain. The ensuing ransom of Krutoy and other captured Venadian noblemen was hefty, and the Republic disinvolved themselves in the ongoing Crusades despite protests from the Archbishop of Venagorod.