| Battle of Berestechko | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theKhmelnytsky Uprising | |||||||
 Battle of Berestechko 1651. Counterattack by thePoles against theZaporozhian Cossacks andCrimean Tatars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Cossack Hetmanate Crimean Khanate | Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bohdan Khmelnytsky Ivan Bohun Fylon Dzalaliy Matviy Hladky İslâm III Giray Tugay Bey † | John II Casimir Jeremi Wisniowiecki Mikołaj Potocki Marcin Kalinowski Stefan Czarniecki Stanisław Lanckoroński Paweł Jan Sapieha | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 100,000[1]–200,000 total[2] 33,000 Cossacks many thousands of peasants 30,000 Crimean Tatars 2,000 Don Cossacks Several thousand Turks and Vlachs | 75,000[1]–80,000 total[3] 17,000 cavalry 16,000 infantry 56,000Pospolite ruszenie | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 30,000–40,000 killed[4][5][6] | 700[7] | ||||||
TheBattle of Berestechko (Ukrainian: Битва під Берестечком,Polish:Bitwa pod Beresteczkiem; 28 June – 10 July 1651) was fought between theCossack Hetmanate andCrimean Khanate against thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a part of theKhmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day city ofBerestechko inUkraine forces of theZaporozhian Cossacks andCrimean Tatars under the command ofHetmanBohdan Khmelnytsky,OtamanTymofiy Khmelnytsky,ColonelsIvan Bohun andFylon Dzhalaliy withKhanİslâm III Giray andTugay Bey, who was killed in the battle, were defeated by thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's forces under the command of thePolishKingJohn II Casimir,PrinceJeremi Wiśniowiecki,HetmansMarcin Kalinowski andStanisław Lanckoroński.[8] The battle took place in theVolhynian Voivodeship on a hilly plain south of theStyr River.[9] 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 byCrimean Tatars.[10] It is considered to have been among the largestEuropeanland battles of the 17th century.[11][12]
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The number of Polish troops is uncertain. One of the senior Polish commanders,DukeBogusław Radziwiłł, wrote that theCrown Army had 80,000 soldiers,[13] which included "40,000 regulars and 40,000 nobles of thelevée en masse, accompanied by roughly the same number of various servants, footmen, and such."[3] Some modern historians, such as Zbigniew Wójcik, Józef Gierowski, andWładysław Czapliński, have reduced this figure to 60,000–63,000 soldiers.[14]
There is no reliable source on the number ofZaporozhian Cossack andCrimean Tatar troops. The possible estimates range from 90,000 men[15] to 130,000 men.[16] The core of Cossack forces at Berestechko consisted of 12Registered Cossack regiments named after towns they were stationed in. Listed below is the manpower of each regiment according to the 1649Treaty of Zboriv.
| Regiment of | Colonel | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Chyhyryn | Mykhailo Krysa | 3,220 |
| Cherkasy | Yakiv Voronchenko | 2,990 |
| Korsun | Ivan Gulyanitsky | 3,470 |
| Bila Tserkva | Mykhailo Gromyka | 2,990 |
| Uman | Yosyp Glukh | 2,977 |
| Bratslav | Danylo Nechai | 2,662 |
| Vinnytsia | Ivan Bohun | 2,050 |
| Pereiaslav | Fedir Loboda | 2,986 |
| Kropyvna [uk] | Filon Dzhelaliy | 1,993 |
| Myrhorod | Matviy Hladky | 3,009 |
| Poltava | Martyn Pushkar | 2,970 |
| Pryluky | Tymofiy Nosach | 1,996 |
| Total | 33,313 | |
A total of 33,313 from the above. Additional 5 Cossack regiments (ofKyiv,Kaniv,Chernihiv,Nizhyn,Pavoloch) didn't participate in the battle being deployed mostly against the Lithuanian forces ofJanusz Radziwiłł advancing onKyiv. 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 ofTurks andVlachs.
On 19 June 1651, theCrown 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 960Lipka Tatars.[17] A number ofregistered Cossacks remained loyal and participated in the battle on the Polish side. Manymagnates brought in their large private armies. In addition, there was a huge militia force, of limited value, numbering 30,000 noblemen of thelevée en masse.
The Polish commanders were hoping to break the Cossack ranks with a charge of the PolishWinged Hussars, a tactic that had proven effective in many previous battles, including atKircholm, andKłuszyn (and which would later prove successful at the 1683Battle of Vienna against the Turks).
TheCossack 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.
2,000 Polish cavalry (one regiment under the command ofAleksander Koniecpolski, supported byJerzy Lubomirski, sixpancern cavalry companies ofJeremi Wiśniowiecki andWinged Hussars under the command ofStefan Czarniecki) repulsed theCrimean Tatars, who suffered heavy losses. During the first day of "skirmishes by the Tatar and Cossack vanguard regiments", the Poles were victorious "since their army sustained that first attack cheerfully and in high spirits".[18]
The Poles, encouraged by their success on the first day, deployed all their available cavalry against the "main Tatar horde" and "Cossack vanguard regiments".[18] The Polish infantry and artillery remained in camp and did not support the cavalry. This time, Tatar cavalry gained the upper hand, pushing the Poles back to their camp but were then "barely repelled" by heavy fire from the Polish infantry and artillery.[18] The Poles lost 300 szlachta, including many officers of "caliber", and the "escort troop ofHetmanMikołaj Potocki".[18] During the second day of the battle, the rebels were victorious, although "the Tatars, too, were unpleasantly surprised by the determination and endurance of the Polish army in both battles and, having suffered rather painful losses of their own, they lost heart".[18]Tugay Bey andİslâm III Giray's brother-in-law Mehmet Giray were killed.
The "king insisted, at a night council, on engaging the enemy in a decisive battle the next day, Friday, 30 June".[18] TheCrown Army appeared out of the "morning mist in full strength" but only the Tatars engaged in skirmishes which was met by the Polish artillery.[18] The Cossack defences consisted of two fortified camps, a larger for theregistered Cossacks and a smaller for the peasant militia, both protected by 10 lines of chained wagons.[19] At 3 p.m.DukeJeremi Wiśniowiecki led a successful charge of 18 cavalry companies against the right wing of the Cossack-Tatar armies and "the zealous cavalry attack was a success: it broke up the rows of Cossack infantry and the wagons moving in corral formation".[20] However the Cossacks regrouped, pushed the Polish cavalry out of the camp and advanced further with the help of the Tatars. The left flank of the Polish army started to retreat when the King reinforced it with allGerman mercenaries under command of Colonel Houwaldt who repulsed the attack and "drove the Tatars from the field".[20][21] During the fighting, a Polish nobleman called Otwinowski noticed the Tatar Khan's standard, and Polish artillery was directed to fire at it. The Khan's brother Amurat was wounded mortally. With the battle already turning against them, the Tatar forces panicked, "abandoning the Khan's camp as it stood", and fled the battlefield leaving most of their belongings behind. Khmelnytsky andVyhovsky with a few Cossacks chased Khan attempting to bring him with his force back, but were taken hostage to be released when the battle was over.[22] A heavy rain started which complicated cavalry operations. With the Tatar cavalry gone, the Cossacks moved their wagons in the night to a better defensive position closer to the river, dug trenches and constructed walls to Polish surprise in the morning.
TheCrown Army and Cossack camp exchanged artillery fire for ten days while both sides built fortifications. The Poles tried to blockade the camp.[23] Leaderless withoutBohdan Khmelnytsky, theCossacks were commanded byColonelFylon Dzhalaliy who was replaced byIvan Bohun on 9 July. Other accounts state the commander was Matviy Hladky.[24] The Cossack morale was decreasing and desertions started to the other river side, though they maintained a high rate of artillery fire and made occasional sorties. When the offered terms for surrender were rejected, the Poles prepared to dam the Pliashivka River so as to flood the Cossack camp.Stanisław Lanckoroński with a cavalry force of 2,000 moved across the river on 9 July to complete the encirclement of theCossacks. When they found out about the Polish advance, Bohun called for a council with other leaders of the registeredCossacks on further actions.[25] However, none of the peasant militia was invited to the council. TheCossacks built three bridges and Bohun led 2,000 cavalry with two cannons to the other river side by the morning of 10 July to attack Lanckoroński. The uninformed peasants thought they were abandoned, started to panic and flee across the river.[26] Lanckoroński didn't expect a large movement in his direction and retreated. Bohun returned to the camp and tried to restore order, but in vain. The main Polish force observed the disorder, but didn't launch an attack on the Cossack camp immediately thinking of a trap. They assaulted eventually, breached the defences and made their way to the river crossing. A few Cossack regiments managed to retreat in order though. SomeCossacks drowned, but archaeological excavations on the river crossing site revealed about a hundred Cossack human remains all showing damage from melee weapons which suggested heavy fighting. A rearguard of 200 to 300Cossacks heroic protected the river crossing; all of them were killed in battle rejecting surrender offers. "Khmelnytsky's tent was captured intact, with all his belongings", which included two banners, one he received fromJohn II Casimir's 1649 commission and one fromWladyslaw IV in 1646.[27] Although it was difficult to estimate how manyCossacks and peasants were killed in the retreat, Piasecki and Brzostowski, who participated in the battle, mentioned 3,000 killed. Tsar's ambassadorpodyachy Bogdanov in his report to Moscow mentioned 4,000 killed.[28] Most Cossack artillery pieces were either lost to the Poles or drowned in the marshes. Many spoils were collected in the Cossack camp including the army treasury of 30,000 talers.
As the battle ended,KingJohn Casimir made the error of not pressing even harder the pursuit of the fleeingCossacks, "the first several days following ... defeat of the enemy were so blatantly wasted" but there "was the unwillingness of the nobility's levée en masse to proceed intoUkraine" plus "rainy weather and a lack of food and fodder, coupled with epidemics and diseases that were becoming active in the army, were generally undercutting any energy for war".[29] The "king left the whole army to Potocki" on 17 July 1651, and returned "toWarsaw to celebrate his victories over theCossacks".[29] After making promises of a pecuniary nature,HetmanBohdan Khmelnytsky was soon released by the Tatar Khanİslâm III Giray He was then able to reassemble theZaporozhian Host, which was able to present a substantial army to confront the Poles at theBattle of Bila Tserkva (1651). Poland and "the bulk of the rebels make peace in theTreaty of Bila Tserkva" on 28 September 1651, which "reduces the number ofregistered Cossacks from 40,000 to 20,000 and deprives them of the right to settle in or control various provinces ofUkraine previously allowed to them under theTreaty of Zboriv".[30] The Ukrainian revolt, far from ending, would continue for several more years under Khmelnytsky.[30]
Samuel Twardowski's narrative poem,The Civil War, describes the setting for the battle along the Styr River:[31]
There is a little town on it,
In the middle of Volhynia, called Berestechko,
Belonging to the Leszczynski family, that was not as famous in the past
As it has now become – both ancientCannae
AndKhotyn are far outshone by it, because as many heads here
Our eyes have seen as atThermopylae
OrMarathon they counted, although there the whole strength
Of Europe and Asia had come together.
Since our arrival – hilly roads
And steep slopes, until open
Meadows unfold near the Styr's
Low banks. It was pleasant to look from the south
At the pyramid of the Pronskis and the groves that are green
In winter always. And to th east there lies as if a natural
Field for a camp – and there it was indeed placed
Later, but first – this was pondered for a long time.
In 1966 Ukrainian poetessLina Kostenko composed anovel in verse dedicated to the Battle of Berestechko, which was finally published in 1999.[32]
In 1908-1910 religious services commemorating the battle were organized in Berestechko by theOrthodox Church andUnion of the Russian People, with tens of thousands ofpilgrims visiting the site.[33]
In 1912-1914 a memorial church dedicated toSaint George was built in the vicinity of Berestechko to honour Cossacks fallen in the battle. The building was created inCossack Baroque style,[34] with interior frescoes designed by Ukrainian painterIvan Yizhakevych.[35] The construction of the church was sponsored through donations by Orthodox faithful and clergymen fromVolhynia, as well as byKuban,Don andOrenburg Cossack Hosts.[36]
As part of the opening ceremony, a solemn parade with the participation of Don Cossack troops was organized, and a 14-ton bell was installed on the belfry of the memorial church. In honour of the event, 300 Ukrainian Cossacks who had perished in the battle were awarded withCrosses of St. George.[37]
Despite the participation of Russian monarchist organizations in its creation, the monument in Berestechko was positively evaluated by members of the Ukrainian national movement such asDmytro Doroshenko andIvan Ohienko.[38] After thefall of Tsarism Orthodox memorial services continued at the site. During the 1930s and 1940sOrganization of Ukrainian Nationalists took a leading role in organizing patriotic manifestations in memory of the battle.[39]
The Battle of Berestechko is commemorated on theTomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "BERESTECZKO 28-30 VI 1651".
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