Battle of Warsaw (1656)

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Battle of Warsaw
Part of The Deluge
Swedish King Charles X Gustav in skirmish with Polish Tartars near Warsaw 1656
Date July 28-30, 1656 Location near Warsaw, Poland Result Decisive Swedish victory
Combatants
Sweden and Brandenburg	Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Commanders
Charles X of Sweden and Frederick William	Jan Kazimierz of Poland
Strength
10,500 Swedes, 8,500 Germans	25,000 regulars, 2,000 Tatars, 10-13,000 Noble Levies
Casualties
700 Swedish and Germans	4,000 - 5,000 Commonwealth soldiers

The Deluge
Ujście • Żarnowiec • 1st Kraków • Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki • Wojnicz • Jasna Góra • Gołąb • Zamość • Sandomierz • Warka • Kłecko • 1st Warsaw • Kcynia • 2nd Warsaw • Lubcz • 2nd Kraków • Prostki • Filipów • Czarny Ostrów • Toruń • Magierów • Grudziądz • Als • Kolding • Nyborg

The Battle of Warsaw (Polish: Bitwa pod Warszawą) was a battle which took place near Warsaw on July 28, 1656 - July 30, 1656, between the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on the one hand and of Sweden and Brandenburg on the other. It was a major battle in the war between Poland and Sweden in the period 1655-1660, also known as The Deluge (part of the Northern Wars). A smaller Swedish-Brandenburg force gained victory over the larger Polish-Lithuanian forces, though in the long term the victory achieved little. Polish-Lithuanian losses were insignificant, and even though Swedish forces were able to reoccupy Warsaw, they were forced to abandon it soon afterward.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 First day 3 Second day 4 Third day 5 Aftermath 6 References

[edit] Prelude

The Polish-Lithuanian forces, commanded by King John II Casimir, comprised about 25,000 regulars, 2,000 Tatars and 10-13,000 of the noble levy (pospolite ruszenie), altogether some 40,000 men of which only about 4,500 were infantry and the remainder cavalry. The allied armies of Sweden and Brandenburg, commanded by King Charles X of Sweden and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg, were only 18,000 strong, and after landing at Danzig, marched south towards Warsaw. It fielded 12,500 cavalry and 5,500 infantry, which was unusual since the Swedes typically relied on their excellent infantry for victory. John II Casimir ferried his army across the Vistula River and met the approaching Swedish-Brandenburg force on its right bank, about 5 kilometers to the north of the suburb of Praga.

[edit] First day

On the first day the Swedes and Germans mounted a conventional, frontal assault which was resisted and repulsed. The space between the Białołęka Forest to the east and the Vistula River on the west made the line of battle very narrow and prevented the Swedish and German infantry from forming an effective firing line with their muskets and pikes. The Polish-Lithuanian forces had also thrown up earthwork fortifications in front of their positions, creating a very difficult defensive position to assault.

[edit] Second day

On the second day, Frederick William led a personal reconnaissance mission and noticed that a hillock against the forest, known as the "Colline", was on high enough ground to see over the Białołęka Forest and was also a prime position to put his guns. He had it assaulted and occupied by Brandenburg's infantry and dragoons and soon positioned his cannon on it, holding off against repeated Polish charges against the hillock. With the Germans having shifted attention to the Colline hillock, the highly mobile Swedish cavalry began a daring maneuver. Wheeling around the Białołęka Forest unseen and to the Polish-Lithuanian right flank, they consolidated a new position which made the Poles' battle lines untenable. A countercharge by Commonwealth cavalry was not strong enough to break the Swedish lines and rescue the situation because the sudden appearance of the Swedish army on their flank caused them to rush uncoordinated attacks that petered out by nightfall.

[edit] Third day

The third day was when the Commonwealth forces were finally defeated. Field Marshal von Sparr began an hour-long bombardment and followed with a pike charge against the now demoralized and unorganized Commonwealth forces. Frederick William led a cavalry charge to the right and broke deep into the rear of the Polish lines, causing a general disintegration of their forces. John II Casimir decided the battle was lost and by the third day withdrew his army across a single bridge over the Vistula River, while his cavalry retreated north and south along the river.

[edit] Aftermath

The Germans and Swedes held a victory parade through the streets of Warsaw but were soon forced to abandon the city because they could not hold it. The Polish king's defeat led him to concede sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia to Brandenburg in return for an alliance in the Treaty of Wehlau the following year.

[edit] References

The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years War to the Third Reich (Robert M. Citino: Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2005)