| Battle of Szepielewicze | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | Russian Tsardom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Janusz Radziwiłł | Aleksey Trubetskoy | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 6,000–8,000[1][2] | 15,000[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,000[3] | 100[4] | ||||||
| |||||
The Battle of Shepeleviche (Szepielewicze) or Battle of Ciecierzyn on 24 August 1654 was one of the first battles of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667). It ended with a Russian victory.
Battle[]
A small Polish–Lithuanian force of about 5,000 under Great Lithuanian Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł stopped the Russian force under knyaz Yakov Cherkassky at Shklow and camped at Hołowczyn. He learned that a Russian force under knyaz Aleksey Trubetskoy crossed Drut River near Ciecierzyn on 23 August.[5] Radziwiłl was joined by the Field Lithuanian Hetman Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski with 3,000 strong forces, increasing the Polish–Lithuanian army to about 6,000[2]–8,000.[1]
Radziwiłł and Gosiewski then tried to stop a numerically superior Russian force of 15,000[2] near Shepelevichy (Szepielewicze). Trubetskoy forces also included Cherkassky's.[3] He took positions near Bialynichy (Białynicze).[5] This time the even larger Russian army managed to outflank him, with Russian infantry holding Shepelevichy and cavalry attacking from the rear. Radziwiłł ordered a retreat, on the 24 (or 25[citation needed]) August the retreating Polish army was defeated and its artillery was captured by the Russians.[6]
Aftermath[]
Radziwiłł with a remainder of his forces retreated to Minsk.[1] His defeat meant that Russians faced no opposition in Lithuania, and they were able to take Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev, advancing to the Berezina River.[3] Russian forces were able to advance and take Smolensk (see Siege of Smolensk (1654))[1][7] as well as Orsha which they held till 1661.[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 William Young (22 September 2004). International Politics and Warfare in the Age of Louis XIV and Peter the Great: A Guide to the Historical Literature. iUniverse. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-595-32992-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=wErzZ_lUWAQC&pg=PA417. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Бабулин И. Б. Князь Семен Пожарский и Конотопская битва, М., 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wlodzimierz Onacewicz (1985). Empires by Conquest: Ninth century-1905. Hero Books. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-915979-04-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=fhwKAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ Беляев И. Д. Книга сеунчей 162 и 163 гг. 1654 июня 10 - февраль 1655 г. // Временник Общества истории и древностей российских. — М.: Университетская типография, 1854. — Т. 18. — С. 8.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Filip Sulimierski; Bronisław Chlebowski; Władysław Walewski (1880). Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich. Filipa Sulimierskiego i Władsława Walewskiewgo. p. 682. http://books.google.com/books?id=HxcEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA682. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ Władysław Konopczyński (1936). Dzieje Polski nowożytnej. Skład głowny u Gebethnera i Wolffa. p. 19. http://books.google.com/books?id=Uk1BAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ Robert I. Frost (May 2000). The northern wars: war, state, and society in northeastern Europe, 1558-1721. Longman. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-582-06430-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=CPVoAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ↑ Stanisław Załęski (1905). Jezuici w Polsce. Drukiem i nakładem, drukarni ludowej. p. 1060. http://books.google.com/books?id=9KQuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1060. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
Coordinates: 54°07′47″N 29°33′36″E / 54.12972°N 29.56°E
The original article can be found at Battle of Shepeleviche and the edit history here.