Battles of Wenden ( 1577 – 1578 ) The Battles of Wenden were a series of battles for control of the stronghold of Wenden ( Cēsis , Kiesia , Võnnu ) , in present - day Latvia , fought during the Livonian War in 1577 and 1578 . Magnus of Livonia besieged the town in August 1577 , but was deposed and replaced by Russian forces under tsar Ivan IV who eventually sacked the town and castle in what became a symbolic victory . Polish - Lithuanian forces however re - captured the stronghold in November , and beat back a Russian counter - attack in February 1578 . In October , the Russian army again laid siege to the town but was destroyed by a smaller Swedish - German - Polish relief force . This marked the turning point in the Livonian War , shifting the initiative from the Tsardom of Russia to Sweden and Poland - Lithuania . It also marked the end of the Kingdom of Livonia , which collapsed when Magnus retired to Courland . Background . In 1570 and 1571 , Ivan IV " the Terrible " of Russia faced internal disputes , culminating in the slaughter of Novgorod ' s inhabitants and the burning of Moscow by the tartars . Yet , he was able to recover and resume his campaigns in the Livonian War in 1572 . A Swedish counter - offensive in 1574 failed . Ivan IV had introduced a new strategy , relying on tens of thousands of native troops , cossacks and tartars , instead of a few thousand skilled troops and mercenaries , as practiced by his adversaries . Swedish forces were besieged in Reval ( Tallinn ) , Danish Estonia was raided , and so was central Livonia as far as Dünaburg ( Daugavpils ) , since 1561 formally under Polish - Lithuanian suzerainty . The conquered territories submitted to Ivan or his vassal , Magnus , who was declared as king of Livonia in 1570 . The year 1576 marked the height of Ivan ' s campaign , and another 30 , 000 Russian forces crossed into Livonia in 1577 . Magnus had fallen into disgrace when he defected from Ivan IV during the same year , and started to subordinate castles without consulting the tsar . When Kokenhusen ( Koknese ) submitted to Magnus in the hope of avoiding Ivan IV ' s army , the tsar sacked it and executed its German commanders . The campaign then focussed on Wenden ( Cēsis , Võnnu ) , " the heart of Livonia " , which as the former capital of the Livonian Order was not only of strategic importance , but also a symbol for Livonia itself . 1577 . In the summer of 1577 , Magnus of Livonia laid siege to Wenden . The Russian army under Ivan IV appeared before Wenden ' s walls in late August . Ivan had Magnus arrested , sacked the town and laid siege to the castle . The last 300 defenders , men , women and children who were " promised a terrible fate " by the tsar , retreated to the castle ' s main tower and committed collective suicide by blowing themselves up with of gunpowder . Thus , Wenden fell to Ivan in September , and was made a seat of four newly appointed voivode s who were to administer the province for Russia . The sack of Wenden was a huge symbolic victory for Ivan . Among his opponents in the Livonian War , John III of Sweden only controlled Reval ( Tallinn ) , Stephen Báthory of Poland - Lithuania only held Riga , Frederick II of Denmark was limited to the island of Øsel ( Ösel , Saaremaa ) , Magnus of Livonia , though released by Ivan , abdicated in 1578 and withdrew to Piltene in Courland . Ivan ' s control of nearly all of Livonia and Estonia was secured by garrisons numbering 22 , 000 men in total . 1578 . John III and Stephen Báthory formed an alliance against Ivan IV in December 1577 , after Báthory had concluded the Danzig War . Already in November , Lithuanian forces had started an offensive from the south and captured Dünaburg ( Daugavpils ) . A Polish - Swedish force took the town and castle of Wenden in early 1578 . Russian forces tried to re - take the town in February , but failed . A subsequent Swedish offensive , targeted Leal ( Lihula ) , Lode ( Koluvere ) , Hapsal ( Haapsalu ) , Pernau ( Pärnu ) , Dorpat ( Tartu ) and Novgorod . In September , Ivan responded by sending in an army of 18 , 000 men , who re - captured Oberpahlen ( Põltsamaa ) from Sweden and then marched on Wenden . Resolution . Upon their arrival at Wenden , the Russian army laid siege to the town . An allied relief force consisting of 5 , 500 to 6 , 000 German , Polish , Transylvanian , Bohemian , Romanian and Swedish soldiers confronted the Russians on 21 October . First , the Russian cavalry was defeated and driven off in open field , then the Russian infantry , still entrenched for the siege , was routed or taken prisoner . Russian casualties were severe , and among the captives , there were several high - ranking boyars . More than twenty siege guns and large numbers of horses were captured , enabling the whole Swedish infantry to ride back to Reval . The battle was unusual insofar as only a few battles of the Livonian War were fought in open field ; usually , one of the parties took a defensive position in a fortress , while the opposing party laid siege . Furthermore , Wenden was to remain the only occasion of a Swedish - Polish - Lithuanian collaboration in battle , as the alliance fell apart in the following years . The allied victory marked the turning point of the Livonian War . Ivan IV was for the first time seriously defeated in Livonia . A series of further Russian defeats followed , forcing Ivan to accept an unfavourable outcome of the war in the Truce of Jam Zapolski with Stephen Bathory and the Treaty of Plussa with John III .