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The Battle of Racławice was one of the first battles of the Polish-Lithuanian
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 ...
against
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
. It was fought on 4 April 1794 near the village of Racławice in
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...
.Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press, The battle site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''
Pomnik historii Historic Monument ( pl, pomnik historii) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, '' zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared such by the President o ...
''), as designated May 1, 2004. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.


Battle

General Denisov, with 2,500 troops, had planned to attack the Poles from the south, while Tormasov's force of 3,000 troops blocked Kościuszko. Encountering Tormasov's force first, Kościuszko occupied a nearby hill, General Antoni Madalinski on his right and General
Józef Zajączek Prince Józef Zajączek (; 1 November 1752 – 28 August 1826) was a Polish general and politician. Zajączek started his career in the Army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, an aide-de-camp to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki. He ...
on his left. Not waiting any longer, Tormasov attacked the hill by 3:00 PM, setting up their cannon. Kosciuszko inspired his peasant brigade with shouts of "My boys, take that artillery! For God, and the Fatherland! Go forward with faith!" The first group of serfs captured three twelve-pound cannons and the second wave captured eight more cannons. Moving to his left flank, Kosciuszko led a bayonet charge when the Russians fled, followed closely by the scythemen. The Polish Order of Battle was as follows: In addition, Lesser Poland fielded approximately 2,000 peasants armed with
war scythe A war scythe or military scythe is a form of pole weapon with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears a superficial resemblance to that of an agricultural scythe from which it is like ...
s and pikes, known as
kosynierzy Scythemen, also known as scythe-bearers is the term for soldiers (often peasants and townspeople) armed with straightened war scythes. First appearing in the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, scythemen quickly became one of the symbols of the struggl ...
, as well as 11 cannon. The outcome of the battle was a tactical Polish victory, with Kościuszko defeating the numerically inferior enemy. However, his forces were too small to undertake a successful pursuit, and the Corps of General Denisov evaded destruction and continued to operate in Lesser Poland.


Aftermath

Kościuszko marched back to Kraków and made camp in the fields of Bosutow. After the battle, Kościuszko paraded before his troops in a ''
sukmana A sukmana is a type of traditional coat once worn by peasants in Poland, and some other Central European countries, as well as Hungary (where it was known as ''szokmány''). It was particularly common from the 18th to early 20th centuries. It was ...
'', a traditional attire worn in Lesser Poland, in honour of the bravery of the peasants, whose charge ensured the quick capture of the Russian
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...
. He also praised
Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki Wojciech Bartos(z) Głowacki (1758–1794), known also as Bartosz Głowacki, was a Polish peasant and the most famous member of the kosynierzy (peasant volunteer infantry) during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Born as Wojciech Bartosz, he beca ...
, a peasant who was the first to capture the cannon (he is visible in Matejko's painting, above). He smothered its fuse with his hat before it fired. In return he received an award of nobility, his freedom, a tract of land and made standard-bearer. The victory was subsequently promoted in Poland as a major success and helped in spreading the Kościuszko Uprising to other areas of Poland and instigating the Warsaw Uprising of 1794. Also, the participation of peasant volunteers was seen by many as the starting point of the Polish peasantry's political evolution from serfs to equally entitled citizens of the nation.


Legacy


Military

The red cap worn by Kościuszko's soldiers and the homemade war scythes were later featured on the emblem of the RAF's 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadron, which took part in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...
. The Battle of Racławice is commemorated on the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected af ...
, with the inscription "RACŁAWICE 4 IV 1794".


Art

Jan Matejko's painting entitled "Kościuszko at Racławice" depicts the battle and is on display at the Sukiennice Museum, a branch of the National Museum in Kraków. A monumental
panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
(measuring 15 x 114 meters) known as the Racławice Panorama was completed a century after the battle in 1894, and is currently on display in
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
as a branch of the National Museum in Wrocław.


See also

* The Racławice Panorama


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Raclawice Raclawice 1794 in Poland