Battle of Berestechko
| Battle of Berestechko | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Khmelnytsky Uprising | |||||||
| File:Bogun k.jpg Ivan Bohun fighting the Poles in the Battle of Berestechko. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Zaporozhian Cossack Army Crimean Khanate | Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Khan İslâm III Giray Toğay bey † Ivan Bohun |
King John II Casimir Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Mikołaj Potocki Stefan Czarniecki Marcin Kalinowski Stanisław Lanckoroński | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
100,000 Ukrainians 40,000 Crimean Tatars (est.) Few thousands Turks, and Vlachs |
17,000 cavalry 16,000 infranty 30,000 levy in mass | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| about 40,000[1] | 500-1000 (est.) | ||||||
The Battle of Berestechko (Polish: Beresteczko; Ukrainian:Берестечко) in Volhynia Ukraine, was the largest battle of the 17th century, part of the Chmielnicki Uprising, which lasted from June 28 to June 30, 1651. It was fought between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army under King John II Casimir and Zaporozhian Cossack and Ukrainian peasant forces, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and their Crimean Tatar allies. The number of Polish troops is uncertain. Duke Bogusław Radziwiłł (one of Polish commanders) wrote that the Polish army had had 80,000 soldiers.[2] Modern historians [Zbigniew Wójcik, Józef Gierowski,Władysław Czapliński] estimate that the Polish army had 60,000-63,000 soldiers.[3] The Cossacks had around 100,000 plus 40,000 Crimean Tatar cavalry and a few thousand Turks and Vlachs. Both sides had about 40,000 cavalry each. Fighting was close; with the core of excellent Cossack infantry making up for the weakness of their cavalry, much of the decisive fighting was by the infantry and dismounted dragoons of each side.
The Polish Army
On June 19, the Polish Army totaled 14,844 Polish cavalry, 2,250 German cavalry, 11,900 German infranty and dragoons, 2,950 Hungarian foot soldiers, 1,550 Lithuanian volunteers, 960 Tatars.[4] and 30,000 levy in mass.
The Cossack-Tatar Army
Before the battle, the Uprisers army totaled 80,000 Cossacks, 28,000-33,000 Tatars and uncertain number of Ukrainian peasants.[5]
First day of battle
Polish cavalry under the command of Jerzy Lubomirski and Aleksander Koniecpolski repulsed Tatars, who suffered heavy losses. During the first day of the battle, Poles were victorious.
Second day of battle
Poles, encouraged by their victory in the first day, deployed all available cavalry. Polish infantry and artillery stayed in the camp and didn't support the cavalry.But, this time, the tide turned. Tatars cavalry won against its Polish counterpart. Tatars came near to the Polish camp but were repulsed by heavy fire of the Polish infranty. Poles lost 300 soldiers, including many officers. During the second day of the battle, the uprisers were victorious.
Third day of battle
At 3 p.m. Duke Jeremi Wiśniowiecki led a successful charge of 18 cavalry companies against the right wing of The Cossack-Tatar Army. The Polish centre, under the command of John Casimir, moved forward. Tatars tried to attack it, but were repulsed. During fight, a Polish nobleman Otwinowski noticed a banner of the Khan. Polish artillery started to fire in that direction. A Tatar standing next to the Khan fell dead. Panicked Khan escaped and Tatars retreated, kidnapping Khmelnytsky. Only the Cossack camp remained at the field of battle.
The siege of the Cossack camp
Polish forces laid siege to the Cossack camp. On July 10, Cossacks got into a panic, believing that their commanders escaped. Polish forces attacked the Cossack camp. The battle turned into a slaughter. There were 30 000 dead in the camp, including some women and children.
Results of battle
As a result, Khmelnytsky was forced to sign the Treaty of Bila Tserkva with the Poles. As the battle ended, King Kazimierz committed a error by not pursuing the fleeing and disoriented Cossacks. Later, Khmelnytsky, who was released by the Khan, and the Zaporozhians would continue the revolt.
Polish noble families
Members of noble families had the personal obligation to take part in the battle with men from their towns and villages. The officers and their supplied men for this battle were:[citation needed]
- Czarniecki, Stefan
- Dołęga-Ossowski, Piotr
- Grzymała-Kazanowski, Adam
- Janina-Rzeczycki, Mikołaj
- Kalinowa-Kalinowski, Marcin Hetman
- Leliwa-Czapski, Franciszek
- Rawicz-Przyjemski, Zygmunt
Quotations
"Naszego wojska było doboru effective ośmdziesiąt tysięcy."
"In fact, there were 80 000 our troops"
Duke Bogusław Radziwiłł, "Autobiography"
External links
- http://www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/Berest.htm
- [1] - Alphabetical List Of Polish Battles
Notes
- ^ Henry Krasinski. The Cossacks of the Ukraine. Partridge and Oakey, 1848. page 49
- ^ Jan Widacki, Kniaź Jarema p. 255.
- ^ Zbigniew Wójcik, Jan Kazimierz Waza, p. 75; Władysław Czapliński, Glosa do Trylogii, p.45; Józef Gierowski, Historia Polski, p.223.
- ^ Tadeusz Wasilewski, Ostatni Waza na polskim tronie. p. 102.
- ^ Tadeusz Wasilewski, Ostatni Waza na polskim tronie. p. 103.