The Battle of Nisko was one of battles of the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge ( pl, potop szwedzki, lt, švedų tvanas) was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce ...

that took place on March 28, 1656. It resulted in a victory of Swedish forces, commanded by King

Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

. The battle took place during a Swedish raid of southern part of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

, in which King

tried to finally destroy Polish forces loyal to King

John II Casimir Vasa 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 ...

. The badly organized Swedish campaign was terminated after the

Battle of Jaroslaw A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, when Charles X Gustav ordered a retreat toward central Poland. At the same time, Polish forces concentrated near

Lwow Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

began guerrilla attacks on the Swedish Army. The retreat took place in adverse weather conditions, and Swedish losses were high. On March 28, 1656, the Swedish Army camped near

Nisko Nisko is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland on the San River, with a population of 15,534 inhabitants as of 2 June 2009. Together with neighbouring city of Stalowa Wola, Nisko creates a small agglomeration. Nisko has been ...

. Hungry soldiers began combing the area in search of food, while those sick and wounded remained at lightly guarded camp.

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 Commo ...

decided to take advantage of this, and his cavalry entered the camp. Alarm was raised by Swedish drummers, and units which had scattered in the countryside returned to camp. According to the plan, a Polish unit under Colonel Aleksander Hilary Polubinski was to attack the camp from the rear. However, due to a misunderstanding, Polubinski failed to appear at Nisko. Therefore, after some time, a Polish division faced entire Swedish Army. Czarniecki’s forces were forced to flee, and the

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

was almost captured by the enemy. The Polish plan failed, while Swedish soldiers once again proved their professionalism. Nevertheless, after the skirmish, remaining Polish banners, loyal to Charles Gustav, switched sides and returned their allegiance to John II Casimir Vasa. A few days later, the Swedish Army was blocked by Poles and Lithuanians in the confluence of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

and

San river The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, a tributary of the river Vistula, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,42 ...

References

Sources

* Miroslaw Nagielski, Warszawa 1656, Wydawnictwo Bellona, Warszawa 1990, * Leszek Podhorodecki, Rapier i koncerz, Warszawa 1985, {{ISBN, 83-05-11452-X * J. Levin Carlbom. Karl X Gustafs Polska Krig och Öfvergången till det 2ndra Sundskriget. Göteborg, Centraltryckeriet, Oscar Ericson.

1656 in Poland