The Battle of Gdow () took place on February 26, 1846, near Gdow, in the Free City of Krakow. It was the only significant battle of the Krakow Uprising. A rebel unit of 380 men, commanded by Jakub Suchorzewski, was defeated by a 480-strong Austrian Army detachment led by

Ludwig von Benedek Ludwig August Ritter von Benedek (14 July 1804 – 27 April 1881), also known as Lajos Benedek, with the Hungarian form of Ludwig, was an Austro-Hungarian general ( Feldzeugmeister), best known for commanding the imperial army in 1866 in t ...

. The Austrians were supported by approximately 500 local peasants (see

Galician slaughter The Galician Peasant Uprising of 1846, also known as the Galician Rabacja, Galician Slaughter, or the Szela uprising (; or ''Rabacja galicyjska''), was a two-month uprising of impoverished Austrian Galician peasants that led to the suppressio ...

). Rebel losses were estimated at 154 killed, while Austrian losses were minimal. Battle_of_Gdow_Painting

Background

After the Krakow Uprising began, an Austrian detachment under Colonel Ludwig von Benedek departed from

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

toward Krakow. Von Benedek's unit consisted of nearly 500 men, including 330 infantry and 150 cavalry. Along the way, his forces were reinforced by local peasants from villages such as Marszowice, Nieznanowice, and Pierzchów. The peasants were promised a

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

of salt and 5 zlotys for each captured rebel.

Battle

Meanwhile, a rebel unit of 380 men, mostly residents of Krakow and local

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

, under Colonel Jakub Suchorzewski, gathered in Łazany, 8 km southeast of

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

. On the morning of February 26, the insurgents reached Gdów and dispersed throughout the town in search of food.

Bolesław Limanowski Bolesław Limanowski (; 18 October 1835 – 15 February 1935) was a Polish socialist politician, as well as historian and journalist and advocate of Agrarianism. He was one of the first people to promote socialist ideas in Poland. Political act ...

wrote that Suchorzewski did not expect the Austrians to find him so quickly, which is why he allowed his soldiers to rest. Suchorzewski himself went to a local manor for a meal and was reportedly not even in Gdów during the battle. The Austrian troops first encountered a few insurgents standing guard at the bridge over the Raba. After exchanging fire, the Poles quickly retreated to the center of Gdów, where they warned the rest of the insurgents about the approaching enemy. Many of the insurgents, drunk and disorganized, fled from the inn and houses, crowding in the town center. Meanwhile, von Benedek launched a flanking maneuver, surrounding a unit of

kosynierzy Scythemen, also known as scythe-bearers is the term for soldiers (often peasants and townspeople) armed with war scythes. First appearing in the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, scythemen quickly became one of the symbols of the struggle for Poli ...

near the cemetery wall. They were then attacked by enraged peasants, and only a few were saved by the Austrians, who intervened too late. Suchorzewski fled to

Dobczyce Dobczyce is a town in southern Poland, situated since 1999 in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (previously in Kraków Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998). As of December 2021, the town has a population of 6,388. There is a large dam with Lake Dobczyce ...

, taking with him the rebel funds. Altogether, the rebels suffered 154 casualties, all of whom were buried in three pits at the cemetery. The survivors fled to Krakow, and the next day, the Austrians entered

References

Sources

* Mała Encyklopedia Wojskowa, 1967, Wydanie I * Jerzy Zdrada, ''Historia Polski 1795-1914'', Warszawa 2007 * Julius Kreipner, ''Geschichte des K.und K.Infanterie-Regimentes Nr. 34 für immerwährende Zeiten Wilhelm I. Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preussen, 1733-1900'', Kosice 1900

Background

Battle

References

Sources

See also