[citation needed] Polish nobility, the szlachta, supported this particular conflict, assuming it would be limited to Estonia only, and expecting many gains in the form of new lands and increases of grain export through access to Estonian ports on the Baltic Sea.

They grossly underestimated their opponent, thinking that Poland, having been nearly undefeated in battle for over a hundred years, would be easily able to parry any attacks of the Scandinavians.

The Polish parliament, the Sejm, reacted by increasing funds for the army and recalling forces and commanders from the southern front (deemed less important as most of that war took place outside Commonwealth territory) to the threatened north.

Soon afterwards, Jan Zamoyski, fresh from his victory against the Moldavians, came in to help against the Swedes, with 12,000 men, and 50 artillery pieces, 15 of which were classified as heavy.

Zamoyski now took to siege warfare instead of chasing the retreating King, soon capturing Wolmar (Valmiera) and Fellin (Viljandi, Felin).

By 1602, the Swedes were only left with control of Reval (Tallinn, Talin, Rewl), Pernau (Pärnu, Parnau, Parnawa), Hapsal (Haapsalu, Hapsalu), and Dorpat (Tartu).

However, the war was neglected by the Commonwealth's parliament, which turned a deaf ear to all his requests for reinforcements and for supplies and money to pay his soldiers.

The Riksdag spent much cash on conscripting new formations and as well as this, Russian tsar Boris Godunov gave the Swedes much financial help, likely attempting to keep both Sweden and the Commonwealth busy during the Time of Troubles.

Several days later, another Swedish expedition, numbering around 4,000 and led by Count Frederick Joachim Mansfeld, landed near and besieged the fortress of Dünamünde (Daugavgrīva, Dynemunt) near Riga, although without any success.

[citation needed] Chodkiewicz, who failed to prevent the Swedish forces from joining, moved from Cēsis (Wenden) to near Salaspils (Kircholm) and Ikšķile (Üxküll), where he built a small fortified camp.

[citation needed] The Battle of Kircholm (Salaspils) on 27 September 1605, near Düna (Daugava, Dvina, Dźwina, Väinä) River would be Chodkiewicz's crowning achievement.

Thus Chodkiewicz with barely 3,600 troops defeated a Swedish army of 11,000 soldiers; for this feat he received letters of congratulation from the pope, all the Catholic potentates of Europe, and even from the sultan of Turkey and the shah of Persia.

Chodkiewicz's own army, unpaid for years, abandoned him at last en masse in order to plunder the estates of their political opponents, leaving the hetman to carry on the war as best he could with a handful of mercenaries paid out of the pockets of himself and his friends.

With tiny, inadequate forces, Chodkiewicz nonetheless prevented Swedes from overrunning the entire Inflanty (Latgale) region, helped by a relative inaction of Swedish commanders until 1608.