The Battle of Zhvanets, or the siege of Zhvanets ( pl, Bitwa pod Żwańcem) was one of battles of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. It took place between late August and mid-December 1653, when forces of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, together with King

Jan Kazimierz Waza John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

were surrounded in and near Zhvanets by

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

and

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

, commanded Bohdan Khmelnytsky. The siege ended when Poles agreed to renew the

Treaty of Zboriv The Treaty of Zboriv was signed on August 18, 1649, after the Battle of Zboriv when the Crown forces of about 25,000, led by King John II Casimir of Poland, clashed against a combined force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars, led by Hetman Bohdan Kh ...

Background

Despite poor quality of Polish soldiers and their officers, as cream of the Polish Army had been murdered in the

Batih massacre The Batoh (Batih) massacre (Polish: ''Rzeź polskich jeńców pod Batohem'') was a mass execution of Polish captives after the Battle of Batih on near Ladyzhyn (now in Ukraine). It was carried out by Ukrainian Cossacks under the command of Hetm ...

(June 1652), the spring offensive of 1653 progressed successfully. The situation changed when Khmelnytsky’s Cossacks joined forces with Tatars commanded personally by

Islam III Giray Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

. When news of this reached King Jan Kazimierz Waza, he decided to abandon his positions in

Bar, Ukraine Bar ( uk, Бар; pl, Bar; russian: Бар) is a town located on the Riv River in the Vinnytsia Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bar Raion (district), and is part of the historic region of Podolia. Th ...

, and head towards Zhvanets, to await Moldavian and Transilvanian reinforcements. Polish forces camped at the confluence of the and the Dniestr rivers, building a pontoon bridge over the Dniester, to keep in touch with

Bucovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

. The reinforcements were inadequate:

George II Rakoczi George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

sent 2000 soldiers, while

Gheorghe Stefan Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu * Gheorghe Albu * Gheorghe Alexandrescu * Gheorghe Andriev * Gheorghe Apostol ...

, only 1000.

The siege

Bohdan Khmelnytsky decided not to make a frontal attack of the Polish camp. Instead, he chose a long-lasting siege, which began in late August 1653, and dragged on throughout autumn into December. As time went by and the weather worsened, Polish defenders began to starve, and a number of soldiers fled their positions in search of food. The situation was anxiously observed by Khan Islam III Giray, who did not wish for complete destruction of Polish forces, as this would eventually strengthen the Cossacks, who, despite the temporary alliance, were his traditional enemies. Furthermore, in late autumn news from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

came: the Russians wanted to protect Ukraine, and wage war against Poland. Under the circumstances, on December 16, 1653, Poles and Tatars agreed to an oral truce. Khmelnytsky had to end the siege: his only achievement was that the Poles agreed to renew the

. Polish Army finally left the camp, while Cossacks headed towards

Pereyaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta and Trubizh rivers ...

, where the

Treaty of Pereyaslav The Pereiaslav AgreementPereyaslav Agreement

was signed in 1654.

References

*Władysław Andrzej Serczyk: Na płonącej Ukrainie. Dzieje Kozaczyzny 1648-1651. Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza, 1998, p. 328-329. . * Maciej Franz: Wojskowość Kozaczyzny Zaporoskiej w XVI-XVII wieku. Geneza i charakter. Toruń: Adam Marszałek, 2004, p. 222. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Zhvanets Conflicts in 1653 1653 in Europe Zhvanets