Battle of Olszynka Grochowska
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
Battle of Olszynka Grochowska | |||||||
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Part of Polish-Russian War 1830-1831 | |||||||
Olszynka Grochowska, an 1886 painting by Wojciech Kossak | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Poland | Russian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Józef Chłopicki Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki Jan Krukowiecki |
Grigory Vladimirovich Rosen | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
36,000–40,000 men,[1] 115 cannon | 60,000 men,[1] 178 cannon | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Estimates |
Estimates |
The Battle of Olszynka Grochowska, or the battle of Grochów,
Prelude
The first months after the outbreak of the
This was seen as a de facto declaration of war and the Russian Army under Hans Karl von Diebitsch was ordered to enter Poland and crush the rebellion. The Russian army entered Poland on 4 February and started a fast advance towards Warsaw. Despite several minor battles and skirmishes, in which the Russian army suffered significant losses, the advance could not be stopped by the Polish forces, which were both numerically and technically inferior.
On 24 February the Russian Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw in two columns. Initially Diebitsch was planning an all-out assault on Warsaw on 26 February. However, the successful Polish counter-attack in the Battle of Białołęka, in which the 13,500 men strong Corps of General Ivan Shakhovskoy was defeated and forced to retreat, made Diebitsch change his plans and attack earlier than planned.
Armies
The Polish forces deployed to the east of
The Russian forces had some 59,000 men under arms and 178 cannon. In addition, at 15:00 the weakened corps of General Shakhovskiy arrived at the battlefield and took part in the assault. The forces of Field Marshal Diebitsch were organised into five Infantry Corps, with some cavalry units attached to them. However, the main part of the Russian cavalry was defeated in the Battle of Stoczek and did not enter the combat.
Battle
The Polish counter-attack in the area of Białołęka on 24 February surprised the Russians. In the early morning of 25 February, after both units taking part in the Battle of Białołęka were on the verge of breaking after a night-long city fight, the Poles threw in the reserve 1st Infantry Division under General Jan Krukowiecki. The Russians started a retreat and the Poles started a pursuit, but the Polish advance was halted after an hour.
The sound of the nearby battle made Field Marshal Diebitsch (Dibich-Zabalkansky) change his plans and order an assault on Polish positions 24 hours earlier than planned. At noon the I Corps and the Corps of General
Although the Russians had numerical superiority and better equipment on their side, the Polish lines were well-hidden in the woods and the Russian artillery had difficulties supporting the advancing infantry. Rockets designed by
Aftermath
In the course of a day-long struggle the Russians lost at least 9,500 killed and wounded, and were forced to abandon their plans of capturing Warsaw and ending the Polish uprising with one blow. Polish losses were slightly fewer, but also significant: between 6,900 and 7,300 dead and wounded. However, Chłopicki did not start a pursuit after the fleeing Russians and did not take advantage of the success.
Because of this, the battle is described as a marginal Polish victory in most handbooks and monographs, both modern[5][6] and contemporary.[7][8][9] Some authors[10][11] argue that, although the Russian forces were badly beaten and forced to retreat and abandon their plans of capturing Warsaw, the lack of Polish pursuit resulted in the battle being either a Pyrrhic victory, a marginal victory,[1] or simply an inconclusive bloodbath. Finally, several Russian sources claim that the result of the battle was a Russian victory.[12][13][page needed]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle ... , by Spencer C. Tucker, 2009, p. 1156
- ^ ISBN 83-01-13673-1.
- ^ a b Velichko et al. 1912, pp. 507–509.
- ^ a b c Bodart 1908.
- ISBN 83-01-08891-5.
- ISBN 0-295-95358-6.
- ^ "Three Chapters on the History of Poland". American Whig Review. III (1). Wiley and Putnam: 637–638. 1846.
- ^ Louis Blanc (1841). "Battle of Grochow". The History of Ten Years, 1830-1840 (Vol. 1). New York: Chapman and Hall. pp. 382–384. ASIN B0006BWS4Y.
- ^ Ripley, George; Dana, Charles Anderson (1859). "DIEBITSCH". The new American cyclopaedia: a popular dictionary of general knowledge. New American Cyclopaedia (VI ed.).
- ISBN 83-01-08840-0.
- ISBN 83-01-12137-8.
- ^ Orlov, N.A. Усмирение Польского восстания в 1831 г. (Suppression of the Polish rebellion of 1831) (in Russian). chapters I and II. Archived from the original on 15 December 2005.
- ^ Voronin, Vsevolod. "Polish uprising of 1830-1831" [Польское восстание 1830-1831 гг.]. Slovo, Orthodox educational portal (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 June 2008.
Sources
- ISBN 83-7383-041-3.
- "Modern Synchronology". Synchronology of the Principal Events in Sacred And Profane History. Kessinger Publishing Company. April 2005. p. 324. ISBN 1-4179-5419-1.
- Velichko, Konstantin; Novitsky, Vasily; Schwartz, Alexey von; Apushkin, Vladimir; Schoultz, Gustav von (1912). Военная энциклопедия Сытина [Sytin Military Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Vol. VIII: Гимры – Двигатели судовые. Moscow: Типография Т-ва И. Д. Сытина. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- "Польское восстание 1830 и 1863 г. (Polish uprisings of 1830 and 1863)" (in Russian).
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905) (in German). Vienna and Leipzig: C. W. Stern.
External links
- Map of the battle
- Re-enactment of the battle: [1], [2]