Two of the main battles of the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish� ...

took place on the plains before

Lanckorona Lanckorona is a village located south-west of Kraków in Lesser Poland. It lies on the Skawinka river, among the hills of the Beskids, above sea level. It is known for the Lanckorona Castle, today in ruins. Lanckorona is also known for the Bat ...

, a small settlement 27km (17 mi) southwest of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

capital

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 ...

First Battle

On 22 February 1769, the Bar Confederates defended Lanckorona and its Castle from the Russian army led by

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

. The Russians were forced to retreat after a surprising victory for the significantly outnumbered Polish army.

Second Battle

The second battle before the mount of

, and one of the greatest clashes of

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n forces during the

, took place on 23 May 1771. A Polish formation of 1,300 men including French and European volunteers with 18 cannons was suddenly attacked by 4,000 Russians commanded again by

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. The Russian forces executed a surprise attack in the early hours of the morning. The new commander on the Polish side,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

envoy

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Charles François Dumouriez Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (, 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General François Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revo ...

was caught off guard and was unable to assemble his men. The battle was thus a decisive victory for the Russians.

Aftermath

Many historians argue that the defeat at Lanckorona was sabotage on the part of Dumouriez as he was privately outspoken against the Polish nation and its Roman Catholic aspirations. Dumouriez was noted as calling Poland an "Asiatic nation" and relying on his French and European volunteers which lost the battle instead of "Asiats". This interpretation is lent weight by Dumouriez's later betrayal of

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...

when he passed on the plans for the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in 1793.Nash, Gary; Hodges, Graham Russell Gao (2012). Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull. Basic Books. p. 328. . Antoine-Charles du Houx and

Baron de Vioménil Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...

replaced Dumouriez in the

army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lanckorona Conflicts in 1771 1771 in Europe

Bar Confederation Alexander Suvorov