Salvete Omnes,
the battle of Warsaw 1656 topic continued -
The summer 1656 concentration of various crown & and ducal divisions ordered by His Royal Majesty Jan Kazimierz found the most stalwart Polish commander Stefan Czarniecki, castellan of Kijow, in the king's camp but unconvinced as to the need for a field battle against the Swedish-Prussian-Brandenburg alliance.
Czarniecki seemed to have been opposed outright to the battle, having experienced various successes and defeats during the winter and spring 1656 campaign against the Swedish divisions (perhaps, God willing, next year, in the more rounder year as per the anniversary, I will spend some time discussing this cavalry battles - eg Golab, Klecko, Kcynia, Warka etc).
Ad rem,
while Swedish monarch having concentrated his armies at Nowy Dwor and commenced his armies march, after crossing the Bug & Narew River, on the freshly liberated Warsaw and Polish camps around the city, Czarniecki was advocating return to the more guerrilla (hit-and-run & harassing the invaders) style of warfare, as more suitable for the Polish and Lithuanian divisions and the royal national levy.
Czarniecki was supposed to have said to the king that the rouge hit-and-run guerrilla warfare had laid down at king's feet 12,000 enemies' heads. It was working and would continue to work. The king obstinately insisted on having a field battle, having amassed largest Commonwealth army in this conflict).
Polish-Lithuanian divisions and national levy crossed the Vistula river on the 27th of July, and all contenders marched towards the battlefield, seemingly unaware of each others designs. Polish king sent a letter to duke Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia demanding that he would quit the Swedish side,a s per his status as Polish Crown vassal. Naturally, traitor and sly and treacherous Prussian-Brandenburg ruler refused.
The reluctant Czarniecki, commanding perhaps 2,000 strong cavalry force, was ordered by the king to reconnoiter and make difficult if possible for the enemy any crossings of Vistula at the Zakroczym ford, where the Swedish side was building a bridge. He spent there the 28-29th of July, and was recalled to unite with the Commonwealth army during the night of the 29th, when already many wagon trains were moving across the Vistula on the left bank, as the battle was lost. Czarniecki, who was officially the lieutenant of the king's winged hussar banner, took command of the unit, and the 12 banners of cavalry of the southern cavalry division, and eventually the whole southern group of the cavalry.
Thus this 'new' Czarniecki's division, augmented a bit later by by the Crimean Tatar contingent operating as the rearguard of the royal cavalry and also by the Gosiewski group, fought the battle in its last, third, day of July 30th, and was operating north-west of Okuniew, eventually involved in the fighting retreat to Okuniew and fording the Vistula to fight another day (on the 31st Czarniecki's command fought a scrimmage at Okuniew, defeated a 2,000 strong Swedish combined detachment, took 6 regimental cannons, and while in pursuit of the retreating Swedes took Brodno, and put the folwark and village to torch.

In the aftermath of the battle Czarniecki's camp became the rallying point for many units, often disgusted with the officially commanding chief general, the
Crown grand hetman Potocki and their officers' performance during the Warsaw battle.
Valete