Historical calendar: the anniversary of the top field conflict of the Kosciuszko Uprising. It took place north of Krakow, close Szczekociny.
Today in our calendar, we will look at the circumstances surrounding this clash.
The April triumph of Raclavice had a large influence on the morale of the troops, but it had no strategical importance as it did not open the way for insurgents to the capital. On 7 May, the dictator of the uprising issued a universal in the camp under Połaniec, in which he promised to abolish the serfdom of any peasant who would enter the fight. Meanwhile, the Prussians openly joined the war, who, having joined forces with the Russians, intended to halt Kościuszko's march to Warsaw. A crucial clash took place on June 6 at Szczekociny.
In this conflict 15 1000 Polish troops clashed with the 27 1000 Prussian-Russian army commanded by King of Prussia Frederick Wilhelm II and Russian General Fyodor Denisov (who 2 months earlier was late under Raclavice).
The clash was dominated by artillery, in which coalitions had a multiple advantage (134 runs against 33 Polish). Generals Józef Wodzicki and Jan Grochowski were killed as a consequence of the fire of Polish positions at the very beginning of the clash. Then the elite Prussian grenadiers set out to attack. Poles resisted their resistance, then led to a counter-attack utilizing regular regiments. This in turn was stopped by enemy artillery. Another Polish attack stopped the combined Prussian-Russian cavalry, after which it hit the Polish riding and mowers.
This was a serious mistake, as if the national cavalry unit was able to be driven, the attack on the peasants equipped with pikes and scythes ended in a massacre of attackers. But there was expanding chaos in the battle. As a result, part of the Polish infantry escaped, and 1 of the troops was mistakenly shelled by its own artillerymen.
In the end, seeing the vast advantage of the opponent, Kościuszko made the only right decision – an order to retreat. To shield him, he ordered the peasants to strike the enemy artillery. During this maneuver they suffered dense losses. A hero from Racławic, Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki, was fatally wounded.
Poles lost about 1,200 dead, 750 wounded and 500 prisoners, as well as half of the division. The losses of the opponent were comparable in terms of the dead and wounded.
After the clash Kościuszko decided to proceed to enter Warsaw, which was a success.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.
