The Battle of Rajgród was a battle fought on 29 May 1831 between

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 ...

and

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, during the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. The Poles, according to some accounts, were victorious.''Bitwy polskie. Leksykon'' (published 1999)

Background

Due to the Polish expedition against the Russian guards in the area led by Antanas Gelgaudas failing near

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

, a retreat was ordered to Rajgród, where they would encounter the Russians, which had a force of 5,800 men. After the Battle of Ostrołęka Gelgaudas' force planned a march on Lithuania, which also included the city as part of the route.

Battle

Both forces met, and as the guards started a fight Atantanas'

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

near the village of Miecze, they were attacked during a march and forced to retreat to Rajgród, which they were pushed out of and lost the battle, which resulted in 800 casualties and 1,200 prisoners of war. This victory was an important strategic move for the Poles, as the Russians gave them an open way to Lithuania, where there was an active partisan movement since February.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Rajgrod Conflicts in 1831 Rajgrod May 1831 events 1831 in Poland History of Podlaskie Voivodeship Grajewo County