Battle of Orynin

The Battle of Orynin took place on 28 September 1618. Polish forces under Hetmans Stanislaw Zolkiewski and Stanislaw Koniecpolski faced Crimean Tatars from Budjak, commanded by Khan Temir. The battle took place near Orynin in Podolia: after one day, the Tatars bypassed Poles, taking advantage of internal divisions within Polish camp, and headed northwards, ransacking southeastern corner of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result of their raid, a number of towns and villages in Podole Voivodeship, Ruthenian Voivodeship, Braclaw Voivodeship and Volhynia Voivodeship were burned to the ground, and its residents taken into slavery.

History

Polish government was well aware of Ottoman plans for an invasion into the Commonwealth. Apart from Crimean and Budjak Tatars, in spring 1618, main Turkish forces concentrated along the border. To face the invaders, Poles moved into the Ukraine an army consisting of pospolite ruszenie, wojsko kwarciane and private units of magnates (altogether 15,000 soldiers). The army concentrated in a camp in Orynin near Kamieniec Podolski.

Even though Polish forces were adequate to fight off the invaders, internal divisions at Orynin had a negative effect on Poles. Magnates, who arrived with their private armies, did not want to obey the orders of the hetmans. As a result, instead of one large camp, three smaller camps were created:

hetmans’ camp in the center (5130 soldiers),
Zaslawski, Zbaraski and Lubomirski families camp on the right wing (5200 soldiers),
Zamoyski, Tarnowski, Ostrogski families, plus Zaporozhian Cossacks on the left wing (4800 soldiers).

In mid-September 1618 the first Tatar forces crossed the border: a 5,000-strong unit under Khan Temir, which, after crossing the Prut, entered Podolia. Next was a 10,00-strong unit of Canibek Giray, which entered Pokucie. On 28 September the Polish camp was attacked by both Tatar armies.

At first, the Tatars concentrated their efforts on the camp of magnate Tomasz Zamoyski. Hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski, whose dislike of Zamoyski was well known, refrained from helping, saying aloud “First, he has to obey the old hetman, instead of giving orders”. Finally, Zamoyski was saved by Janusz Ostrogski and Krzysztof Zbaraski, who sent several hundred of well-trained riflemen.

On the next day, expecting a major battle, Polish forces united under Zolkiewski, and awaited Tatar assault. Soon it turned out that the Tatars had left Orynin, and scattered over vast territories of southeastern corner of the Commonwealth. Their mounted units ransacked the area from Sieniawa in the west, to Jampol in the east. After capturing rich booty and thousands of men and women, the invaders returned to their homeland in mid-October, along the so-called Black Trail.

Sources

Jerzy Besala: Stanisław Żółkiewski. Warszawa: PIW, 1988, s. 332-333. ISBN 83-06-01583-5.
Paweł Nowatkiewicz: Orynin 28 IX 1618. Zabrze: Inforteditions, 2009, s. 38-43, seria: PB nr 9. ISBN 978-83-89943-35-4

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