Battle of Zhovnyn
| Battle of Zhovnyn | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Ostryanyn Uprising | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth(including registered Cossacks) | insurgent Cossacks | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Mikołaj Potocki Stanisław Potocki |
Yakiv Ostryanyn Dmytro Hunia Skidan, Filonenko | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
est. 8,000 infantry 12 artillery |
est. 16,000 infantry 8 artillery | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown, have been described as significant | unknown, have been described as significant | ||||||
The Battle of Zhovnyn was an engagement between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under hetman Mikołaj Potocki, supported by the forces under magnate Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, and Cossacks commanded by Yakiv Ostryanyn (Polish: Jakub Ostrzanin) and Dmytro Hunia during the Ostryanyn Uprising in Summer 1638. After a prolonged siege, the Cossacks were defeated and surrendered to the Commonwealth forces.
Background
The unrest in Ukraine among Cossacks remained high following the defeat of the Pavlyuk Uprising in 1637.[1] After the uprising, the Sejm passed a law setting the number of registered Cossacks at 6,000, and declaring all others peasants. This led to a new mobilization of Cossacks, this time led by Yakiv Ostryanyn, Dmytro Hunia and Karpo Skidan.[1]
Battle
After several smaller battles, the Commonwealth forces under Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki caught up with the Cossack force under Ostryanyn and Hunia near Zhovnyn on the morning of 13 June.[2] Wiśniowiecki decided to attack the Cossacks as soon as possible to prevent them from building a tabor fortification.[2] He was soon reinforced by most of the Commonwealth army under regimentarz Stanisław Potocki.[2] The Poles deployed their infantry and artillery in the center, and the cavalry on the flanks, with the right flank under Wiśniowiecki, and the left under Potocki.[2] Wiśniowiecki was able to break through the Cossack defenses, but Potocki fared less well, and Wiśniowiecki found himself surrounded after breaching the Cossack fortifications.[2] After three charges, which he led personally, and in one which he lost a horse, Wiśniowiecki succeeded in breaking back through the Cossack fortifications and returning to the Polish camp that evening.[2] Nonetheless, Wiśniowiecki's charge was enough for some Cossacks, including Ostryanyn, to abandon the camp and run away; the Cossacks would elect a new leader, Dmytro Hunia.[3]
On the morning on the next day, Wiśniowiecki led an infantry assault. The Cossacks, expecting reinforcement, had begun negotiations, which, however, broke down quickly.[2] In the meantime, Cossack reinforcements under Karpo Skidan fared less well, losing some skirmishes. In the end, only a part of them broke through to the Cossack camp, and Skidan himself would be captured during the assault on 16 June.[4]
The siege dragged on, as the Cossack fort was well built, and the besieging forces failed to prevent small parties of reinforcements from relieving the Cossacks.[4] The Polish forces were also lacking in infantry and ammunition for the artillery.[4] Before Polish reinforcements under Hetman Mikołaj Potocki arrived around 21 June, the Cossacks under Hunia succeeded in building a bridge in the night and moving the entire camp to a new location nearby.[3][4] Potocki arrived soon after the Cossacks finished their relocation, on the 22nd.[5] It would be a week before the Polish forces were reinforced by the much-needed artillery. Despite the artillery support, a new assault on 10 July failed to take the camp.[5]
The Commonwealth forces decided to wait for the Cossacks to run out of supplies.[5] In the meantime, on the night of 22 to 23 July, a few dozen Cossacks managed to sneak into the Polish camp, kill a number of artillery personnel, and almost succeed in wrecking the entire artillery section.[6] Meanwhile, another Cossack leader, Filonienko, attempted to relieve the camp, bringing much needed supplies. On 4 August, two battles took place: another assault on the camp, and a battle against the Cossack reinforcements.[6] To bypass the Polish cordon, Filonenko used river boats (czajki) to approach the camp.[3] Hunia attempted to aid Filonienko with a counterattack outside the camp, and the forces clashed outside the walls of the Cossack camp in a battle that lasted the entire day.[6] Eventually Filonienko made it to the camp, but with only a few hundred troops, and without any supplies.[6] That night, Hunia escaped from the camp, seeking asylum in Muscovy.[6]
Aftermath
Abandoned by their leader, the Cossacks entered negotiations on 7 August and surrendered soon afterward.[6]
References
- 1 2 Jan Widacki (1984). Kniaź Jarema. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 58. ISBN 978-83-216-0440-4. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jan Widacki (1984). Kniaź Jarema. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 61. ISBN 978-83-216-0440-4. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 Romuald Romański (January 2009). Książę Jeremi Wiśniowiecki. Bellona. pp. 256–259. ISBN 978-83-11-11524-8. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Jan Widacki (1984). Kniaź Jarema. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 62. ISBN 978-83-216-0440-4. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 Jan Widacki (1984). Kniaź Jarema. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 63. ISBN 978-83-216-0440-4. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jan Widacki (1984). Kniaź Jarema. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 64. ISBN 978-83-216-0440-4. Retrieved 15 December 2012.