Battle of Monastyryshche

The Battle of Monastyryshche^[a] took place in March 1653 during the Khmelnytskyi Uprising. The Ukrainian Cossack and peasant army defeated the Polish–Lithuanian army near the town of Monastyryshche,^[5] in the Uman Regiment of the Cossack Hetmanate.

At the time of the battle, there were approximately 2,500 Cossacks under the command of Ivan Bohun.^[b] Taking into account the spring roadlessness (bezdorizhzhia), flooding of rivers and streams, the considerable distance between military units, as well as diseases and other important reasons, the Cossacks of the Kalnytskyi regiment were unable to arrive at the assembly points on time. Under such critical conditions, Ivan Bohun was able to gather only the nearest units of Cossacks. Polish magnate Stefan Czarniecki^[c] was considered one of the best generals of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth due to his strategic insight, and he predicted these circumstances in advance. Therefore, the corps led by him advanced on the "Black Path" through the territory of the Kalnytskyi regiment in March 1653 almost unhindered.^[6][3]

It is estimated that around 8,000 Polish soldiers participated in the Battle of Monastyryshche. This was one of the battles fought without the involvement of the hussars; instead, approximately 1,000 dragoons took part. On the Cossack side, the vast majority were cavalry. Czarniecki advanced toward the Ukrainian Cossacks. After merging with the regiments of S. Hurski and S. Machowski in the town of Pavloch (now a village in the Popilnynsky District, Zhytomyr Oblast), the total force grew to about 20,000 men (including servants). However, this figure does not reflect the exact size of Czarniecki's core military force. Polish sources still estimate his actual troops at around 8,000 soldiers. Despite the uncertainty, it is fairly certain that his army significantly outnumbered that of Ivan Bohun. Nevertheless, the Cossacks could count on the support of up to 70,000 town residents.^[7][6]

To intimidate the Cossacks, Czarniecki ordered the territory to be ravaged "with fire and sword." Men, women, children, and the elderly were tortured, hanged, and impaled. Property was looted, and homes were set ablaze. Mobile Polish units destroyed small Cossack outposts and fortified towns. In this manner, the minor Cossack strongholds of Samhorodok, Pogrebyszcze, Pryluka, Lypovets, and many other villages and farms were burned to the ground. Colonel Ivan Bohun became aware of the large-scale enemy offensive through his territory when the Polish forces reached the regimental town of Kalnyk.^[2][3]

There was no time for meetings, as almost all Cossacks were at home in the early spring. Colonel Ivan Bohun sent messengers to the units closest to Kalnyk to block the advance of Polish units along the "Black Road" to Humania. According to the alert, only three hundred Cossacks from the Kalnitsa regiment had gathered: one hundred from Kalytsky, Balabanov and Terlytsky and one hundred from Tsybuliv of the Umansky regiment, i.e. a total of about 400 Cossacks. With such a small detachment at his disposal, Colonel Ivan Bohun, being one of the best strategists of the Zaporozhian Army, made the strategic decision to block the "Black Road" towards Humansk.^[3][2][1]

The fortress was defended by a hundred Tsybuliv troops from the Uman Sotnia regiment of Khrozdenko and part of Ivan Bohun's cavalry. After the two-day assault, according to Samiilo Velychko, the Poles set fire to the palisade in several places and also set fire to the castle. At night, under the cover of smoke thickly enveloping the fortress and the surrounding area, Ivan Bohun led about a hundred cavalry from the Avram Fortress. This small detachment of Cossacks made their way to the rear of the Poles, using the 'Galay Dam', which connected the village to the fortress by a deep ravine. The Cossacks, together with Bohun, struck the Poles in the rear at the most dramatic moment of the battle. Two participants of this battle—Polish noblemen W. Kahowski and Twardowski—described it, writing, "The army broke into the suburbs, they had already captured the fortress rampart, the Sotnia of Khrozdenko had already been killed, they had already seen the keel (rampart). Everyone hoped that the city would soon be captured...". Nobleman Twardowski also recalled that terror gripped the Polish army after the unexpected appearance of Ivan Bohun at the rear of the Polish convoy.^[2][6][1][4]

Czarniecki then started to move into the city with his army, but a shot from an ambulance wounded him and the army was left without a commander, which caused panic. Taken from his horse, Czarniecki regained consciousness and was about to say "Has the city been taken?" and the ldiers replied that the capture of the city had failed.^[2][6][1][4]

The escape route of the Crown army ran along a road past the Cossack settlement of Letychowka and a dense oak forest. For six versts (about 7 km) the entire road towards the century-old town of Tsibulow, where the Poles slumbered "all the way to the forest", was littered with the bodies of German mercenaries and Polish honour guards, chopped to stumps.^[4]

Samiylo Velikhko reports that the Poles fled in panic toward the town of Tsibul, estimating Polish losses at over 5,000 dead, along with their abandoned wagon near Monastrichia. Although panicked, the Polish banners did not completely lose control. Retreating from their positions, they executed a so-called retreat manoeuvre. Fleeing in the direction of the Cossack settlement of Tsibul, they turned onto a forest road that branched off the "Sokolovskaya Path"—now passing through the village of Antonina—to cross and ford the Hirski Tikich near the village of Kniaża Krynica. Their aim was to continue plundering unburned Cossack villages and manors, capturing provisions for the soldiers and fodder for the horses.

The remnants of the Polish penal corps reoccupied the "Black Road" and hastily marched toward Volhynia, aiming to reach the border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, this account may be exaggerated, as eyewitnesses reported significantly smaller losses.^[2][8][1][4]

The Polish version reports the same distance, but states that the Hussars did not take part in the battle, contrary to the claims of Ukrainian historians. Additionally, it asserts that Bohun fled the battlefield and did not fight to the end, as the Ukrainian version claims he did.^[1][4]

Ivan Bohun managed to leave Monastyryshche with part of his army, while the rest remained to defend the castle. As Wespazjan Kochowski wrote years later, this was likely a deliberate manoeuvre to support the defenders. However, the commander of the Polish troops, Stefan Czarniecki, was wounded during the battle, which may have contributed to the final defeat of the Poles at the Battle of Monastyryshche.^[9][10]

The Battle of Monastyryshche took place during the Khmelnytsky Uprising in March 1653. The town, defended by Ivan Bohun, was besieged by the Polish army of Stefan Czarniecki. The Poles were defeated and ceased hostilities for a time. On the occasion of the 360th anniversary of the battle in 2013, celebrations were held in Ukraine, including a show by historical reenactors.^[11] A video of the re-enactment was posted on YouTube on 22 March 2013. It shows hussars being defeated by Cossacks fighting on horseback.

According to Dr Radoslaw Sikora, author of the book "Hussars under Vienna", the best-known expert on the Hussar army, the number of errors and falsifications during the show and in Olejnik's article is overwhelming. Firstly, the Polish army did not have 15,000 soldiers. According to Joachim Jerlicz (his brother Maciej fought and died there), there were 8,000. This can be taken as the actual state of this army," Dr Sikora assesses in an interview with the NaszDziennik.pl portal.^[1]

The third misrepresentation concerns the whole context of the battle, which weakens the overtones of the 'victory' of Bohdan Khmelnytsky's Cossacks. Before the battle of Monasterzys, the Polish army clashed with Bohun's 5,000–8,000 army at Kalnik. The Poles won this clash. The Cossacks saved themselves by fleeing. Thanks to this, Stefan Czarniecki, who commanded the Poles, captured Kalnik, Ilińce and Bałabanówka," says Dr Sikora. He points out that Bohun's army then retreated to Monasterzysk. This town was defended by many more than the 400 Cossacks mentioned in the account. There were masses of commoners counted (probably with considerable exaggeration) at 70,000. These 400 Cossacks, who were supposed to have driven the Polish army away, are an inaccurate number. Not only does it not appear in the sources, but it contradicts them," notes the historian. He points out that Monasterzys, which was surrounded by a rampart, moat and palisade, was taken by storm by the Poles. Then, some of the defenders locked themselves in the castle, which was within the town, and the others, led by Bohun, left Monasterzysk. This begs the question: what for? To fight the Poles? There is no mention of such a battle in the sources. So the clash between mounted Cossacks and hussars presented during the event is pure fiction—he stresses. According to him, many years after these events, Wespazjan Kochowski wrote that Bohun was a deliberate manoeuvre to somehow help the defenders.

Historians speculate whether this might have been a demonstration of the approaching relief effort. However, Joachim Jerlicz His brother Maciej fought at Monasterzysk), Samuel Twardowski and even the Ruthenian chronicler Samiilo Velychko state that Bohun simply fled the town. There was no talk of any battle. All the more about 400 Cossacks defeating 15,000 Polish soldiers," he states.^[1]

Samiilo Velychko about escape: Bohun saw his own danger in this tumultuous chaos and, having left his army in the smoke of gunpowder and the thunder of muskets, got out of Monastyrys and headed for Khmelnytsky. Bohun's army was in good shape, defended itself bravely with the rest of the officers and killed another thousand and a half soldiers, while Czarniecki himself was left hard done by in these battles.^[4][1]

• Stefan Czarniecki urywek historyczny 1891 - Jenike, Ludwik
• Jam nie z soli ani z roli.... W: Jerzy Besala: Wielcy hetmani Rzeczypospolitej. Warszawa: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1983, . ISBN 83-03-00160-4.
• МОНАСТИРИЩЕНСЬКА ОБОРОНА 1653
• Крип'якевич І. П. Богдан Хмельницький. Львів, 1990
• K Laskowski, Stefan Czarniecki jako człowiek, obywatel i wojownik, 1907 (pol.).
• Ciesielski T. Od Batohu do Żwańca. Wojna na Ukrainie, Podolu io Mołdawię 1652–1653. Zabrze, 2007.