Battle of Ostrołęka
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- For the 1807 French Napoleonic victory, see Ostrołęka#History
| Battle of Ostrołęka | |||||||
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| Part of November Uprising | |||||||
 Battle of Ostrołęka of 1831 by Juliusz Kossak |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Poland | Imperial Russia | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki | Hans Karl von Diebitsch | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000, 74 cannons | 35,000, 148 cannons | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 6400, incl. ca. 2000 killed | 5800 | ||||||
| November Uprising |
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| Stoczek • 1st Wawer • Nowa Wieś • Kałuszyn • Białołęka • Olszynka Grochowska • 1st Puławy • 2nd Puławy • Kurów • Markuszów • 2nd Wawer • Dębe Wielkie • Domanice • Iganie • Poryck • Wronów • Kazimierz Dolny • Boremel • Sokołów Podlaski • Firley • Lubartów • Połaga • Tykocin • Nur • Wilno • Ostrołęka • Warsaw |
The Battle of Ostrołęka of May 26, 1831, was one of the largest battles of the November Uprising. Throughout the entire day, the Polish forces under Jan Skrzynecki fought for the control over the town of Ostrołęka against the assaulting Russian forces of Hans Karl von Diebitsch. Although by the end of the day the town was still in Polish hands and both sides suffered similar losses, the battle is usually considered to be a Polish defeat, due to the fact that the Russian forces had almost unlimited reinforcements available, while the Polish Army was not able to replace the killed and wounded with fresh forces.
The Polish forces were saved by a particularly brave stance of the Polish 4th Infantry Regiment (Czwartacy) that was able to withstand several waves of enemy infantry and cavalry charges, as well as hold the burning town in heavy fights in close quarter. By late evening the Poles were yet again saved by a self-sacrificing charge of the 4th battery of mounted artillery led by Lt.Col. Józef Bem.
The battle became one of the symbols of the failed uprising both in Poland and abroad. Julius Moser, a German poet and writer, commemorated the 4th Regiment in his poem Die letzten Zehn vom vierten Regiment (The last 10 of the 4th Regiment), which was later widely-translated onto several languages, including Polish. The battle also inspired Johan Sebastian Welhaven's Republikanerne.
