Battle of the Basya (Basia) River took place between 24 September and 10 October 1660, between the 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 ...

and the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...

, allied with the Cossacks and

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

, near in the modern

Mahilyow Voblast Mogilev Region or Mogilev Oblast or Mahiliow Voblasts ( be, link=no, Магілёўская вобласць; ''Mahiloŭskaja voblasć''; russian: link=no, Могилёвская область; ''Mogilyovskaya Oblast''), is a region (''oblast'' ...

. Russian army of about 15,000 under met the Polish force of about 24,000 under

Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate holding one of the highest offices in the Com ...

. The first skirmishes were between the cavalleries of both sides with Russians being victorious. A full-scale battle took place on 28 September on a big field near the village Gubarev. Supported by the artillery, the Russian infantry launched a successful attack on the center of the Polish forces which were seriously decimated. On the flanks, however, the Polish cavalry began to prevail over the Russian one and forced it to retreat in disorder, allowing the main body of the Russian army to be surrounded. However, the Russians continued to fight and didn't abandon the field until the end of Polish attacks and their withdrawal. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The hostilities resumed on 10 October after Russians received reinforcement by 900 men of voyevoda Maxim Rtishchev. The army of Dolgorukov managed to throw a forthcoming force of Michał Kazimierz Pac back to its camp but could not use this success further. Both armies found themselves in a stalemate and the slow approach of the winter in a ravaged environment was seen as a threat to both sides. The hostilities on the Basya river ended when the Poles heard the news of Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), Ivan Khovansky campaign and decided to leave. Dolgorukov had no order of the Tsar to pursuit the Poles and stayed, awaiting reinforcement from his brother. Strategically, the 1660 campaign showed that the Commonwealth was not able to decide the war on its own even after signing peace with Sweden.

References

* Malov A.V. ''Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)''. Moscow: Exprint, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Basya Conflicts in 1660 1660 in Europe Battles of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667), Basya