Monday, June 28, 2021

Beresteczko 1651-2021

 Salvete Omnes,

another anniversary this month - the gargantuan battle of Beresteczko 28-30th of June 1651 - 370th anniversary of the Polish-Lithuanian(Ruthenian) victory over the rebellious Cossacks and their allies - the Tatars.

Huge victory for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and like Grunwald Ad 1410, this victory in the field was not persecuted to the fullest in the subsequent campaigning, thus allowing the rebellious Cossacks and their Tatar allies to regroup and return to fighting during the autumn of the same year during the so called Biala Cerkiew campaign. C'est la vie - 



Number of combatants must have been huge - more than 80 thousand Polish-Lithuanian troops and national levy, perhaps 2 times as many of camp servants (ox cart and horse wagon drivers were at least as many as the number of those wagons)  on the royal side, and on the Cossack-Tatar side God only knows, more than the Polish-Lithuanian royal host.  So this battle may have been one of the largest of the XVII century.


His Royal majesty Jan II Kazimierz Vasa/Waza was the commander of the Polish-Lithuanian armies and he is the victor of this battle. The enemy commanders - Crimean Tatar Khan Islam Garay and Zaporozhian Cossack Bohdan Chmielnicki - were out maneuvered and their armies routed .

Prince Jeremi or Jarema Wisniowiecki, Korybut coat of arms, already famous for the Zbaraz defense  and his other actions during this terrible war, this time proved his martial prowess again and again, and he gained more fame for his actions during this battle. But he was not in favor with king Jan II, and nothing good came out of it.

Hail the victorious, memento mori to the fallen.


In the coming weeks or even months I will collect and write down  some of the army lists and some other interesting materials related to the battle, like the color of a Tatar horse price Boguslaw Radziwill, Traby coat of arms, captured during the third day of this herculean battle.  


to be continued

Valete

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