Open Military Studies 2021; 1:171–189 Mariusz Balcerek* Battle of Kircholm (Salaspils) in 1605. The current state of research https://doi.org/10.1515/openms-2020-0116 Received June 15, 2021; accepted November 29, 2021 Abstract Background: The article aims to present the state of research on the Battle of Kircholm (Salaspils), which took place in Livonia (now Latvia) on September 27, 1605., between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. 74% of Swedes were killed, and the winners lost only 3% of their forces. It was an absolute massacre carried out by an army consisting in two-thirds of cavalry against an enemy with an advantage in infantry and artillery, which in theory is more modern. Methodology: The author has analyzed the known and unknown historiography of sources, including archaeological, epistolary, historiographic, iconographic, narrative, and normative materials. He compared the results with previous literature on the subject. Principal Findings/Results: The analysis conducted showed a brilliant tactic by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s army, consisting of combining cavalry with infantry. This, along with many errors in command of the Swedish army, led to the downfall of the Scandinavians. Conclusions/Significances: The success at Kircholm saved the Polish-Lithuanian rule over the Daugava River. Unfortunately, it cemented Polish-Lithuanian nobility in the mistaken belief about the power of the army of the Republic, that without money and reforms, they began to lose advantage over opponents. Keywords: Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Carl IX King of Sweden, Polish-Swedish war 1 Introduction In the afternoon hours of September 17/27 1 , 1605, the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth annihilated the three times greater number of Swedish forces in the Battle of Kircholm (Salaspils) in Livonia, in what is now Latvia. 74% of Swedes were killed with the winners loosing only 3% of their forces. It was an absolute massacre carried out by an army consisting of two-thirds of cavalry against an enemy with an advantage in infantry and artillery, which in theory is more modern. The questions immediately arise, how did this happen? Where is the secret to such a spectacular success? What mistakes did the losing side make? What was the influence of this battle on the development of the art of war of that time? The article aims to answer the above questions and smaller ones, allowing us to understand better what happened in September 1605. There are not many examples of such clear victories in the world history of wars. Therefore, each of them should be carefully analyzed so that we can get to know them better. It also applies to the Battle of Kircholm, which is relatively well known to Poles, but much less to Swedes, Lithuanians, or Latvians. It does not mean that our knowledge of the clash is complete. 1 The first date comes from the Julian calendar used by the Swedes and Courlanders, and the second from the Gregorian calendar used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. *Corresponding author: Mariusz Balcerek, Ph.D., Provincial Public Library – the Copernicus Library in Toruń, Poland E-mail: m.balcerek@ksiaznica.torun.pl Open Access. © 2021 Mariusz Balcerek, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License. Research Article