| Battle of Bila Tserkva | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Nalyvaiko Uprising | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Insurgent Cossacks |
 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Severyn Nalyvaiko Matvej Shaula |
Kirik Różyński | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8,000 | 2,000 to 6,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | 100 killed | ||||||
The Battle of Bila Tserkva in 1596 - a battle between the Cossack peasant army and the advanced detachment of the Western Russian prince Kirik Ruzynsky near Bila Tserkva during the Nalyvayko uprising.
After the uprising spread to Galicia and Byelorussia, an army led by Stanislaw Zolkiewski was sent against the rebels, with an advance party of about 500 men led by Prince Kirik Ruzynski. The sides came together in the Kiev region. Part of the government troops led by Ruzhynsky occupied the fortress of Bila Tserkva. There the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was besieged by the Cossacks of Severin Nalivaiko and Matvei Shaula, whose number according to Polish sources was 8 thousand people. The fortress with powerful walls and chants was located on the mountain. It was fortified against the Crimean Tatars, as the so-called Black Road passed through the city.
Both sides did not dare to go into open combat and tried to win by cunning. Różyński was the first to start. Having several companies of Zolkiewski and Hungarian mercenary cavalry led by Hungarian Lipšeny, Różyński made a sortie from the city at night and headed for the Cossack camp, leaving only the servants and Hungarian mercenaries in the fortress. At the same hour, the Cossacks also planned a raid against the Poles. Leaving Shaula's detachment in the camp for protection, Nalivaiko went round the town and broke through the back gate into the middle of the fortress. The Cossacks quickly massacred the servants and Hungarians, but when they heard shots in their own camp, they hurried to leave the fortress.
The government forces storming the camp began a fierce battle with the Cossacks of Shaula. The Cossacks, who had not expected an attack, retreated at first, but soon began to gain the upper hand and chased the Poles through the entire camp. At that moment Nalivaiko returned from the fortress. The situation of the Poles became hopeless. According to Polish chroniclers, in the first hours of the battle more than 100 people fell. Seeing that things were bad, the Polish army turned to flight.
Sources edit
- Губарев В. К. История Украины: справочник школьника и студента. — Донецк: «БАО», 2005.
- Яворницкий Д. История запорожских казаков. Том 2. Киев. «Научная мысль», 1990.
Category:Conflicts in 1594 Category:Conflicts in 1595 Category:Conflicts in 1596 Category:16th-century rebellions Category:Military history of Ukraine Category:Cossack uprisings Category:Polish–Ukrainian wars Category:Rebellions in Ukraine Category:1594 in Europe Category:1595 in Europe Category:1596 in Europe Category:1590s in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth