Battle of Berestechko

Battle of Berestechko
Part of the Khmelnytsky Uprising
Ivan Bohun fighting the Poles in the Battle of Berestechko.
Date June 28–30, 1651 Location Berestechko, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (today Ukraine) 50°21′0″N 25°7′0″E Result Decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Zaporozhian Cossack 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 Cossacks and peasants 40,000 Crimean Tatars (est.) Few thousands Turks, and Vlachs	17,000 cavalry 16,000 infantry 30,000 levée en masse
Casualties and losses
40,000-70,000	over 300-400

Battle of Beresteczko 1651, relief at Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris

The Battle of Berestechko (Polish: Bitwa pod Beresteczkiem; Ukrainian: Берестецька битва) was fought between rebellious Zaporozhian Cossacks, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, aided by their Crimean Tatar allies, and a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army under King John II Casimir. It was the largest land battle of 17th century.

Lasting from June 28 to June 30, 1651, it took place in Volhynia. The number of Polish troops is uncertain. Duke Bogusław Radziwiłł (one of the Polish commanders) wrote that the Polish army had had 80,000 soldiers. Modern historians Zbigniew Wójcik, Józef Gierowski, and Władysław Czapliński estimate that the Polish army had 60,000-63,000 soldiers. 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 Armies

On June 19, the Polish Army totaled 14,844 Polish cavalry, 2,250 German type cavalry, 11,900 German-type infantry and dragoons, 2,950 Hungarian-type foot soldiers, 1,550 Lithuanian volunteers, 960 Tatars and 30,000 levée en masse. Polish commanders were hoping to break the Cossack ranks with an impetous charge of the famous Polish Winged Hussars - a tactic proven effective in many previous battles, including the decisive battles of Kircholm, and Kłuszyn. (Such a tactic would also prove successful in the later 1683 Battle of Vienna against the Turks). The Cossack army knew the Polish art of war well, having great experience with both fighting along Poles and against them. Their tactic was to avoid an open field battle, while defending in a fortified camp.

Before the battle, the Cossack army totaled 80,000 men; 28,000-33,000 Tatars and uncertain numbers of Ukrainian peasants.

First day of battle

2000 Polish cavalry (one regiment under the command of Aleksander Koniecpolski, supported by Jerzy Lubomirski, six pancerni cavalry companies of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and Winged Hussars under the command of Stefan Czarniecki ) repulsed the Tatars, who suffered heavy losses. During the first day of the battle, the Poles were victorious.

Second day of battle

The 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. The Tatar cavalry won against its Polish counterpart. The Tatars came near to the Polish camp but were repulsed by heavy fire from the Polish infantry. The Poles lost 300 soldiers, including many officers. During the second day of the battle, the rebels 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. The Tatars tried to attack it, but were repulsed. During the fight, a Polish nobleman called Otwinowski noticed a banner of the Tatar Khan. Polish artillery started to fire in that direction. A Tatar standing next to the Khan fell dead. Panicked, the Khan escaped and the Tatars retreated, kidnapping Khmelnytsky. Only the Cossack wagons remained at the field of battle.

The siege of the Cossack wagons

Polish forces laid siege to the Cossack wagons. Initially, the wagons were commanded by colonel Filon Dzhalalii, but after some days he was replaced by Ivan Bohun. On July 10, the Cossacks got into a panic, believing that their commanders had escaped. The Polish forces attacked the panicked Cossacks and the battle turned into a slaughter. There were 30,000 dead in the camp, including some women and children.

Results of the battle

As a result, Khmelnytsky was forced to sign the Treaty of Bila Tserkva with the Poles. As the battle ended, King Kazimierz committed an error by not pursuing the fleeing and disoriented Cossacks. Later, Khmelnytsky, who was released by the Khan, and the Zaporozhians would continue the revolt.

Battle of Berestechko by Vernier

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]}

• Stefan Czarniecki
• Piotr Dołęga-Ossowski
• Adam Grzymała-Kazanowski
• Mikołaj Janina-Rzeczycki
• Marcin Kalinowa-Kalinowski, Hetman
• Franciszek Leliwa-Czapski
• Zygmunt Rawicz-Przyjemski

External links

• http://www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/Berest.htm