Friday, August 1, 2025

Battle of Warsaw 1656 - Commonwealth army

 Salvete Omnes,

continuing with the battle of Warsaw Ad 1656

Polish National Library has a digitized set of prints showing the 3 day battle of Warsaw 1656.



Each print is titled separately - Beschreibung der Bataille, wie sie vor Warschau gestanden den 28/18 July Anno  1656, nachmittag: Welches wahr der Erste Tag [ Franckfurt au Mayn, Durch weyl. Matthai Merians seel. Erben 1663]

So on the eve of battle  the Polish Commonwealth army concentrated at Warsaw's Right Bank by  His Royal Majesty Jan II Kazimierz  Waza (Vasa) (king of Crown of Poland and grand duke of Lithuanian realm and all the vassals) and his commanders was as follows:

Polish historians, based on primary sources, estimate that there were circa 40 thousand men in the Commonwealth camps. (Majewski, 2012) 


---Polish Comput(regular)  Crown army
16,500-17,000 horse - Polish regular horse banners were divided into 17 so called 'pulk jazdy' commands.

the royal pulk - commanded by castellan of Kijow Czarniecki

the pulk of grand hetman Stanislaw Rewera Potocki

the pulk of field hetman Stanislaw Lanckoronski

the pulk of voivode of Sandomierz Aleksander Koniecpolski

the pulk of castellan of Sandomierz Stanislaw Witowski

the pulk of field scribe/notary (notarius campestris) Jan Sapieha

the pulk of vice-cupbearer Jan Zamoyski

the pulk of Crown guardian Aleksander Zamoyski

the pulk of Crown standard-bearer Jan Sobieski

the pulk of camp master - (praefectus currum or campestris) Andrzej Potocki

the pulk of Crown guardian (praefectus excubiarum seu vigiliarum)   Mariusz Jaskolski

the pulk of prince Dimitr Wisniowiecki

the pulk of starost of Bohuslaw Jacek Szemberk

the pulk of starost of Braclaw Seweryn Mikolaj Kalinski

the pulk of Jerzy Balaban

Lubomirski division marched away, so these above listed 'pulks' had 137 banners or 14-15,000 horsemen of the so called national 'autorament.' 

Plus the so called foreign autorament cavalry
The regiment of dragoon guard commanded by Jan Hernryk von Aten-Bockum and a squadron of royal reiters had 1070 horses.Several dragoon  companies, 500-700 horses.

-- 4,500 portions of Crown infantry 

Royal guard infantry commanded by major Wiljelm Butler - 963 portions

Major of artillery Krzysztof Grodzicki infatry regiment - 734 portions

Colonel Ernst Magnus Grotthauz - 997 portions

Voivode of Sandomierz Jan Zamoyski infatry regiment - 1168 portions

plus small various infantry companies of haiduk type infantry attached to the king and various Crown dignitaries. 

---Ducal, Lithuanian, army was estimated to circa 5,000-7,500 men - actually commanded by the ducal field scribe Aleksander Hilary Polubinski. - this division included two winged hussar banners (royal one and Lithuanian grand hetman Sapieha's one), plus another winged hussar banner within prince Michal Kazimierz Radziwill sub-command. More Lithuanian units were away from the battle .i,e., Gosiewski division and Lithuanian grand hetman Sapieha division.

The National Crown levy was estimated at 10,000-13,000 men, representing noblemen from the following voivodeships; Masovina, Greater Poland, Sieradz, Leczyca, some from Sandomierz, Lubin, Podlaskie, Ruskie, Wolynskie and Belzkie.

Crimean Tatar contingent commanded by Ghazi-aga- 2,000 (2-3 horses per a Tatar warrior ) up to 6,000*

'Holota' -volunteer peasant and servants bands - several thousand men (and presumably women, as many of them were massacred in their camps by the Swedes and Prussians during the retreat of the Polish army on the third day of battle)

*it is nopted that the Crimean and Nogai Tatars and Ottoman Turks counted both men and horses (and camels & mules) when giving the numbers of their army strength.

Valete