Battle of Dubienka
51°04′40″N 23°51′58″E / 51.077813°N 23.866153°E
Battle of Dubienka | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Poland–Lithuania | Russian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Tadeusz Kościuszko Józef Poniatowski | Mikhail Kakhovsky | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,300 and less than 10 cannons[2] | 25,000 and 56 cannons[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
900[2] 7 guns[3] | 500[3] claimed by the Russians, 4,000[2] claimed by the Poles |
The Battle of Dubienka occurred during the
Background
When the Russian army invaded Poland in May 1792, they had a nearly 3:1 numerical advantage, forcing the Polish forces to retreat. General
Opposing forces
Kościuszko had about 5,300 forces under his command, while Russian general Mikhail Kakhovsky had about 25,000.[2] Kakhovsky had also an advantage with artillery, commanding 56 cannons to Kościuszko's fewer than 10 pieces.[2]
Battle
Kościuszko, an experienced engineer who had only recently designed the fortifications of
Around 15:00 on 18 July the Russians reached the river and attempted to cross it in small boats near the burned bridge, while another part of their forces crossed in the north.[2] The initial Russian attack got bogged down in difficult terrain, and they took heavy casualties from the Polish artillery, while their own was less effective shelling the Polish fortified positions.[2] A Russian cavalry unit made it to the Polish artillery emplacements but was pushed back, and their commanding colonel Palembach was killed.[2] After five hours of repeated assaults, the Russians retreated, leaving about 4,000 dead.[2] The Poles took about 900 casualties, mostly from the Russian artillery fire.[2]
After nightfall, Polish scouts reported Russians crossing to the south, through neutral Austrian territory.[2] As the Poles were running low on supplies, Kościuszko decided that his army could not withstand a prolonged siege, and ordered a retreat towards Chełm to avoid being encircled.[2]
Aftermath
While Kościuszko was criticized for retreating by some officers, he was rewarded by king Stanisław August Poniatowski with a Virtuti Militari order.[2] He was also praised by his opponent, General Michail Kakhovsky, who in his official report noted that this was the most difficult battle of the campaign so far.[2] One week after this battle Poland capitulated.
Note list
References
- ISBN 978-83-7414-930-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-83-7414-930-3. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ a b Russian Biographical Dictionary. Quoted from: Русский биографический словарь: Ибак—Ключарев. Published under supervision of A. A. Polovtsov, Chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Society. — St. Petersburg. Типография Главного Управления Уделов, Mokhovaya, 40. 1897 [2]. — Vol. 8. — p. 571.
- ^ ISBN 978-83-7414-930-3. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
Further reading
- Sułek Zdzisław, Bitwa pod Dubienką 18 lipca 1792 r., „Studia i materiały do historii wojskowości" 1960, t. 6, cz. 1, s. 119-21
- Sułek Zdzisław, Bitwa pod Dubienką 18 lipca 1792 r. w: Powstanie niespełnionych nadziei 1863, Kraków 1984 (seria "Arsenał Polski")
- Piotr Derdej (2008). Zieleńce - Mir - Dubienka 1792. Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11039-7. Retrieved 8 January 2013.