Battle of Bila Tserkva (1626)

 

Battle of Bila Tserkva
Józef Brandt-Skirmish of Cossacks and Tatars
Date 9 October 1626 Location Bila Tserkva Result Polish–Lithuanian–Cossack victory
Belligerents
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Zaporozhian Cossacks	Crimean Khanate
Commanders and leaders
Stefan Chmielecki Mykhailo Doroshenko	Buhar Kantymirowie
Strength
3,500 soldiers 1,500 Cossacks	10,000–15,000
Casualties and losses
40 killed	About 1,000–10,000 killed

Battle of Bila Tserkva is a armed clash between the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Crimean Khanate on October 9, 1626.

Background

Because of the war with Sweden, which broke out in Pomerania, Stanislaw Koniecpolski with the main forces of the quartet army moved from the Ukraine to the Vistula River in the autumn. The defense of the borderlands was placed in the hands of regimental officer Stefan Chmielecki, on whose shoulders the entire eastern policy of the Commonwealth was to rest for the next five years, and above all relations with the Tartars. Due to the extremely serious situation that had developed in the north, the military forces left at Chmielecki's disposal were relatively small. King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden not only by letter, but even through his deputies, tried to get the Tatars to attack Poland. The Protestant ruler of Transylvania, Gábor Bethlen, who was fighting against the Habsburgs allied with Sigismund III, did the same, remembering well the Polish intervention of 1619 that ended with the Battle of Humienny. However, the Tatars needed no encouragement to seize the moment of weakening Polish forces in Ukraine.

Battle

Counting on the fact that the Ukrainian lands remained virtually defenseless after the departure of the majority of the army with Hetman Koniecpolski, the Tatar army, in the strength of 10-15 thousand Crimean Tatars and Budziak Nogais, following the Black Route, invaded the borders of the Republic in late September and set up a basket near Bila Tserkva. The basket was spread out in a muddy area by the Roś River. Soon the chambuls were dissolved to bring loot and yasir to the basket. Stefan Chmielecki wasted no time and quickly concentrated a force of 5000 soldiers, including 1500 registered Cossacks. He immediately struck at the completely surprised enemy, taking all the loot and inflicting very heavy losses. The fugitives were pursued for 4 hours, after which they turned back to destroy the remaining chambuls, which, unaware of the situation, were still engaged in looting the surrounding area. One or two days later, a detachment of village leader Buhar and the sons of Kantimir was smashed near Fastov. At the same time, the rittmeister Bajbuza smashed at one of the fords a czambul returning with loot. Completely beaten, the Tatars lost a total of about a thousand dead, in addition to several flags and banners. The victors also took many prisoners, losing only 40 dead themselves. As a civil war soon broke out in Crimea, Ukrainian lands were free from Tatar raids for the entire next year.