Battle of Mildenitz

The Battle of Mildenitz was a minor confrontation between a small Karelian force and a detachment of the Obotrite army during the Fourth War of the Confederation. The battle was a decisive victory for the outnumbered Karelian force, led by the future Grand Duke Niklas of Viipuri, who successfully forced the Obotrite detachment to withdraw, taking heavy casualties. While not a strategically important victory, the battle provided a boost in morale for the Karelians in the wake of the disastrous Battle of Rereg.

Background
August 11, 745 saw the defeat of a combined force of Karelian and Sartvelian troops near the trading town of Rereg. What remained of the allied armies each began a hasty and disorganised retreat to their home territories. One group of Karelian stragglers from the battle was led by the then 17-year old Duke of Viipuri, Niklas. Consisting of 857 men and 186 horses, they attempted to reach the territory of Livonia before the Obotrites could catch up with them. However, they were hounded and pursued by a 3,000 man force led by the Skalvian chief Mstivoj. Niklas eventually grew impatient, stopping and making a camp ahead of a forest near the village of Mildenitz, just south of the Daugava River. He formed up a defensive position with the intention of forcing the Obotrites to attack or abandon their pursuit.

The Obotrites, lacking any cavalry as the Magyars had left to raid Sartvelia, made a camp of their own and waited, aware of the Karelians' advantage in this regard. Niklas realised this, and reasoned that they would not attack unless his cavalry was eliminated. Keeping this in mind, he devised a plan to exploit this by deliberately sending away the horses of his cavalry in order to draw the enemy in.

The Battle
After a day of waiting, on the morning of the 23rd, Duke Niklas dispatched a group of 100 archers to skirmish with the Obotrites and attempt to draw them out. This brief engagement was quickly proving to be inconclusive, and the Duke began to set his plan into motion. While the archers distracted the Obotrites, he ordered his nobles to dismount their horses and send them running forward. He then commanded them and his Livonian levies to lie low in the tall grass of the field, and not to rise until given a signal in the form of a horn.

The horses were sent forward, running past the German archers and into the ranks of the Obotrities, causing a brief moment of confusion. Three horses were killed, but the rest were quickly captured by the Obotrites. Seeing that the playing field was leveled, and that the Karelians no longer had a cavalry advantage, the Obotrites hurried forward. Ahead of them, they were only able to see the German and Karelian archers formed up at the very edge of the forest, with the nobles and spearmen no where in sight. Assuming that they had withdrawn and the archers were left as a rearguard, the eager Obotrites charged forward under arrow fire, taking relatively few casualties.

When the Obotrites were within a few feet of the hidden infantry, Duke Niklas personally signaled them to rise with a blowing horn. The Karelian nobles and Livonian levies then fell upon the leading Skalvian and Wendish tribesmen, cutting down several dozen. Terrified and taken by surprise, the Obotrites began to rout, and were now followed closely by the whole Karelian force. Chief Mstivoj attempted in vain to rally his army, and eventually ordered a withdrawal.

Aftermath
The battle lasted only two hours, and ended with the deaths of around 200 Obotrites, while another 378 were taken captive. In turn, only 36 men in the Karelian force were killed, and all but a few of the horses sent forth were recovered after the battle. The engagement was a major embarrassment for the Obotrite leadership, especially Mstivoj, who was branded and nearly executed upon his return to Rereg.

Duke Niklas and the rest of the force were given a hero's welcome upon their return to Viipuri, a piece of good news for the Karelians amidst their defeat at Rereg. The captives taken after the battle were either ransomed or sold into slavery, except for three Mordvian sergeants, who were sacrified to Turisas. Duke Niklas would later be given command of the left-wing of the Karelian infantry by his uncle, the Grand Duke, at the Battle of the Daugava in 747, where the Grand Duke was killed and Duke Niklas subsequently succeeded him.