The Battle of Poniec took place on October 28, 1704 in

Poniec Poniec (german: Punitz) is a town in western Poland, situated in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town has about 3,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Gmina Poniec (commune) in Gostyń County. History Poniec dates back ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. The

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Army under

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

unsuccessfully dislodged the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Army under

Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of Brandenburg-Prussian background who served in the Saxon and Venetian armies in the early 18th century and found a se ...

through several cavalry charges. The Saxons had deployed in a massive square formation near the village of Janiszewo, west of Poniec.

Background

In August 1704,

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

marched to

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, Poland, which was taken after a brief siege.

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

, who camped in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

, took advantage of this by marching to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, where he occupied the city and captured 1,500 Swedes. When Charles XII returned to the city in October, Augustus II fell back to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. General

Schulenburg Schulenburg is a city in Fayette County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. Known for its German culture, Schulenburg is home of the Texas Polka Music Museum. It is in a rural, agricultural area settled by Germa ...

tried to cross the river

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

and flee to

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

with 4,000 infantry and 900 cavalry, but these were chased by Charles XII, who with 3,000 cavalry pursued them to the city of

on October 28.

The battle

Schulenberg had twelve

battalions A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of infantry and four squadrons of cavalry, a total of 4,900 soldiers whom he was in a hurry to mobilize. He took position on a field in front of the village of Janiszewo west of Poniec. The Saxons' left wing was protected by Poniec and the right wing was protected by an impassable swamp. The center was protected by a ditch with a

wagon fort A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as Circle the wagons (idiom), circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to pro ...

behind it by which Schulenburg placed his cannons. Charles XII had four

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

regiments. Five additional regiments could not reach the battlefield in time, which meant that the king could only command 3,000 out of the 7,000 cavalry in his army. The battle began when the Swedes attacked the Saxon cavalry, which was quickly chased away. The Saxon infantry managed to hold back the Swedes' initial attack, thanks to Schulenburg lining up his soldiers in a large square formation. When the five Swedish regiments arrived in the battlefield during the evening, the Swedes attacked again. The Saxons were attacked from all directions, and the Swedes concentrated on attacking the gaps in enemy lines. The Swedes broke up the Saxon division, but the Saxons answered this with their powerful musket volleys. On this occasion, the Swedes retreated to Poniec in the protection of the darkness. The Saxons were then able to successfully withdraw from the battle.

References

Punitz Poniec (german: Punitz) is a town in western Poland, situated in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town has about 3,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Gmina Poniec (commune) in Gostyń County. History Poniec dates back ...

1704 in Europe

History of Greater Poland Voivodeship 1704 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth {{Sweden-hist-stub