Battle of Chełm

Part of the Kościuszko Uprising

Date	8 June 1794
Location	Chełm, present-day Poland
Result	Russian victory

Belligerents

Russian Empire

Polish rebels

Commanders and leaders

Petrowicz Zagriażski
Wilhelm Derfelden

Józef Zajączek

Strength

16,500 men
24 cannon

6,000
14 cannon
2,000 peasant soldiers

Casualties and losses

200 men

1,400-1,600

Kościuszko Uprising

Racławice Warsaw Uprising Wilno Uprising Greater Poland Uprising Szczekociny Chełm Rajgród First Battle of Warsaw Krupczyce Terespol Maciejowice Praga (Second Battle of Warsaw)

Peasant militia of 1794 by Michael Stachowicz

The Battle of Chełm was fought on June 8, 1794 between Poland and the combined forces of the Russian Empire and Prussia. The Polish were led by Józef Zajączek, the Russo-Prussian forces by Petrowicz Zagriażski and Wilhelm Derfelden. The Russo-Prussian forces consisted of 16,500 soldiers, and 24 cannons, while the Polish general only had about 6,000 soldiers, 14 cannons, and 2,000 peasant soldiers armed with war scythes. Zajączek took in the forested hills 1.5 km away from the city. In the early noon the Russian troops started the attack. After several hours of fighting Zajączek could only try to save as much of his army as possible through a withdrawal. In the battle, the Polish forces have lost between 1,400 and 1,600 men. The Russian forces have lost only about 200 men. The Russian forces were victorious.

Literature

Andrzej Grabski, Jan Wimmer u. a..: Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej do roku 1864. Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, Warschau 1966
Marian Kukiel: Zarys historii wojskowości w Polsce. Puls, London 1993, ISBN 0-907587-99-2.
Andrzej Zahorski: Wypisy źródłowe do historii polskiej sztuki wojennej. Polska sztuka wojenna w okresie powstania kościuszkowskiego. Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, Warschau 1960
Bolesław Twardowski: Wojsko Polskie Kościuszki w roku 1794. Księgarnia Katolicka, Poznań 1894
Mała Encyklopedia Wojskowa. Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, Warschau 1967, (Wydanie I Tom II).

References

Coordinates: 51°08′N 23°39′E / 51.133°N 23.650°E / 51.133; 23.650

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