The 4th Lithuanian Vanguard Regiment () was a military unit of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

. The full name was ''4th Lithuanian Advance Guard Regiment of Josef Bielak''.

History

Origins

Formed in 1733 by gathering all cavalry

banners A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

of the

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Potocki The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...

family, mostly composed of

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. Aleksander Ułan commanded the regiment in 1734.

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

This regiment was leased to the

Royal Saxon Army The Royal Saxon Army (german: Königlich Sächsische Armee) was the military force of the Electorate (1682–1807) and later the Kingdom of Saxony (1807–1918). A regular Saxon army was first established in 1682 and it continued to exist until the ...

during the

Wettin dynasty The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its orig ...

's reign and continuously fought in the War of Polish Succession (1734-1738), War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years War (1756-1763).

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

In 1764, it was summoned by the Sejm of 1764 to return to Lithuania.

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� ...

The regiment fought against the Wettin dynasty's supporters.

1772-1792

The regiment was stationed in

Kamieniec Litewski Kamieniec may refer to several places: Poland *Kamieniec, Gmina Kłecko in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) * Kamieniec, Gmina Trzemeszno in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) *Kamieniec, Grodzisk Wielkopolski County i ...

(1782-87) and

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(1790 onwards).

War in Defence of the Constitution War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

The regiment fought in the battles of Swierzenic,

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

and .

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 ...

Under Józef Bielak's command, the regiment took part in the battles of Izabelin, Mscibow, Brzesc, Dereczyn,

Maciejowice Maciejowice is a village in Garwolin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Maciejowice. It lies in northeastern corner of historic Lesser Poland, approximately so ...

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

Uniforms

In 1776-89, all the officers and soldiers in the regiment had white cockades, with the officers also having white plumes. The towarzycz had red belts and plumes, meanwhile, the rankers had only white belts.

Commanders

Pułkowniks: * Sichodziński (1733-1756), * Czymbaj Murza Rudnicki (1756-1764), * gen. mjr. Józef Bielak (17 April 1764 - 1794 eath * (1794).

External links

The 4th Lithuanian Vanguard Regiment is linked to Graf Rudnicki Uhlans

References

* {{Military of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1717-1795 Cavalry regiments of Lithuania Military units and formations established in 1733