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Battle of Berestechko
The Battle of Berestechko (28 June – 10 July 1651) was fought between the Cossack Hetmanate and Crimean Khanate against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a part of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day city of Berestechko in Ukraine forces of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the command of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Otaman Tymofiy Khmelnytsky, Colonels Ivan Bohun and Fylon Dzhalaliy with Khan İslâm III Giray and Tugay Bey, who was killed in the battle, were defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's forces under the command of the Polish King John II Casimir, Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, Hetmans Marcin Kalinowski and Stanisław Lanckoroński. It is considered to have been among the largest European land battles of the 17th century.
The battle took place in the Volhynian Voivodeship on a hilly plain south of the Styr River, in a lowland near the town of Berestechko. The Polish–Lithuanian camp was on the Styr River opposite Berestechko and faced south, towards the Zaporozhian Cossack positions about two kilometers away, with the right flank of the latter covered by the Pliashivka (Pliashova) River and the left flank by Crimean Tatars. Battle formations of both armies expanded across a frontline reaching the length of 7-8 kilometers. The battlefield was flanked by marshes on one side and by a forest on the other.
The number of Polish troops is uncertain. One of the senior Polish commanders, Duke Bogusław Radziwiłł, wrote that the Crown Army had 80,000 soldiers, which included "40,000 regulars and 40,000 nobles of the levée en masse, accompanied by roughly the same number of various servants, footmen, and such." Some modern historians, such as Zbigniew Wójcik, Józef Gierowski, and Władysław Czapliński, have reduced this figure to 60,000–63,000 soldiers.
On 19 June 1651, the Crown Army numbered 14,844 Polish cavalry, 2,250 German-style cavalry, 11,900 German-style infantry and dragoons, 2,950 Hungarian-style infantry (haiduks), 1,550 Lithuanian volunteers, and 960 Lipka Tatars. A number of registered Cossacks remained loyal and participated in the battle on the Polish side. Many magnates brought in their large private armies. In addition, there was a huge militia force, of limited value, numbering 30,000 noblemen of the levée en masse.
There is no reliable source on the number of Zaporozhian Cossack and Crimean Tatar troops. The possible estimates range from 90,000 men to 130,000 men. The core of Cossack forces at Berestechko consisted of 12 Registered Cossack regiments named after towns they were stationed in. Listed below is the manpower of each regiment according to the 1649 Treaty of Zboriv.
A total of 33,313 from the above. Additional 5 Cossack regiments (of Kyiv, Kaniv, Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pavoloch) didn't participate in the battle being deployed mostly against the Lithuanian forces of Janusz Radziwiłł advancing on Kyiv. The Registered Cossack force was supported by a large number of Ukrainian peasants armed with scythes, flails and the likes which were rather undisciplined and organised poorly. The Crimean Tatar force is estimated to 25,000–30,000 men, though might be lower. There were also 2,000 Don Cossacks and a few thousand of Turks and Vlachs.
The Polish commanders were hoping to break the Cossack ranks with a charge of the Polish Winged Hussars, a tactic that had proven effective in many previous battles, including at Kircholm, and Kłuszyn (and which would later prove successful at the 1683 Battle of Vienna against the Turks).
The Cossack Army was well acquainted with this Polish style of war, having had much experience fighting against the Poles and alongside them. Their preferred tactic was to avoid an open field battle, and to fight from the cover of a huge fortified camp.
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Battle of Berestechko
The Battle of Berestechko (28 June – 10 July 1651) was fought between the Cossack Hetmanate and Crimean Khanate against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a part of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day city of Berestechko in Ukraine forces of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the command of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Otaman Tymofiy Khmelnytsky, Colonels Ivan Bohun and Fylon Dzhalaliy with Khan İslâm III Giray and Tugay Bey, who was killed in the battle, were defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's forces under the command of the Polish King John II Casimir, Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, Hetmans Marcin Kalinowski and Stanisław Lanckoroński. It is considered to have been among the largest European land battles of the 17th century.
The battle took place in the Volhynian Voivodeship on a hilly plain south of the Styr River, in a lowland near the town of Berestechko. The Polish–Lithuanian camp was on the Styr River opposite Berestechko and faced south, towards the Zaporozhian Cossack positions about two kilometers away, with the right flank of the latter covered by the Pliashivka (Pliashova) River and the left flank by Crimean Tatars. Battle formations of both armies expanded across a frontline reaching the length of 7-8 kilometers. The battlefield was flanked by marshes on one side and by a forest on the other.
The number of Polish troops is uncertain. One of the senior Polish commanders, Duke Bogusław Radziwiłł, wrote that the Crown Army had 80,000 soldiers, which included "40,000 regulars and 40,000 nobles of the levée en masse, accompanied by roughly the same number of various servants, footmen, and such." Some modern historians, such as Zbigniew Wójcik, Józef Gierowski, and Władysław Czapliński, have reduced this figure to 60,000–63,000 soldiers.
On 19 June 1651, the Crown Army numbered 14,844 Polish cavalry, 2,250 German-style cavalry, 11,900 German-style infantry and dragoons, 2,950 Hungarian-style infantry (haiduks), 1,550 Lithuanian volunteers, and 960 Lipka Tatars. A number of registered Cossacks remained loyal and participated in the battle on the Polish side. Many magnates brought in their large private armies. In addition, there was a huge militia force, of limited value, numbering 30,000 noblemen of the levée en masse.
There is no reliable source on the number of Zaporozhian Cossack and Crimean Tatar troops. The possible estimates range from 90,000 men to 130,000 men. The core of Cossack forces at Berestechko consisted of 12 Registered Cossack regiments named after towns they were stationed in. Listed below is the manpower of each regiment according to the 1649 Treaty of Zboriv.
A total of 33,313 from the above. Additional 5 Cossack regiments (of Kyiv, Kaniv, Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pavoloch) didn't participate in the battle being deployed mostly against the Lithuanian forces of Janusz Radziwiłł advancing on Kyiv. The Registered Cossack force was supported by a large number of Ukrainian peasants armed with scythes, flails and the likes which were rather undisciplined and organised poorly. The Crimean Tatar force is estimated to 25,000–30,000 men, though might be lower. There were also 2,000 Don Cossacks and a few thousand of Turks and Vlachs.
The Polish commanders were hoping to break the Cossack ranks with a charge of the Polish Winged Hussars, a tactic that had proven effective in many previous battles, including at Kircholm, and Kłuszyn (and which would later prove successful at the 1683 Battle of Vienna against the Turks).
The Cossack Army was well acquainted with this Polish style of war, having had much experience fighting against the Poles and alongside them. Their preferred tactic was to avoid an open field battle, and to fight from the cover of a huge fortified camp.