The Battle of Genėtiniai (21 April 1863) took place during the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. The battle was fought by Lithuanian insurgents led by Zygmunt Sierakowski against the units of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

under Major Kavro near the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n village of , located about west of

Raguva Raguva () is a small town in Panevėžys County, in northeastern Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the ...

Background

Throughout April, Samogitian rebel groups gathered in the forests of Kremeciškiai (in what is now

Kėdainiai District Municipality Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

). They were led by

Zygmunt Sierakowski Zygmunt Erazm Gaspar Józef Sierakowski (, ; 19 May 1826, – 27 June 1863, Vilnius) was a Polish leader of the January Uprising in lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Biography Youth and ed ...

himself, whose

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

was . On April 18, the rebels of

Bolesław Kołyszko Bolesław Kajetan Kołyszko alias ''Rutkowski'', ''Szyszka'' (; 1838 – 9 June Old Style date">O.S. 28 May1863) was one of the Polish people">Polish- Lithuanians">Lithuanian leaders in the January Uprising. Early life Kołyszko was born into ...

joined Sierakowski, while Antanas Mackevičius' joined on the night from April 18 to 19. Mackevičius' platoon consisted mostly of villagers. A group of the Imperial Russian army, composed of several infantry companies, an Uhlan squadron and Cossacks, under Major Kavro, marched to

's forests.

Preparation

Sierakowski, commanding more than 300 people, went to Raguva's forests through

Truskava Truskava is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Se ...

, and

Vadokliai Vadokliai is a small town in Panevėžys County, in northeastern Lithuania. Its variant names include Vadoklia, Vadoklių, Vadoklyay, Vadukle (Yiddish), and Wodakle (Polish). History The earliest mention of Vadokliai can be found in the Livonian ...

. At the Genėtiniai Village, they took a good position in the bushes. Along the swampy meadow, there ran a poor road. The rebels' left wing was led by Kołyszko, the middle by Sierakowski, and in the right wing were the

scythemen 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 ...

led by Mackevičius. They had to attack the confused enemy and cut off his retreat. The well-conceived ambush was a great success.

Battle

The insurgents allowed the leading Cossacks to pass by without. Then came the infantry, which was seated in carriages and did not expect to meet the enemy in such an unfavourable position. Suddenly, there were shots. The enemy soldiers were immediately confused. Although the Russian infantry's shooting was directed by officers and non-commissioned officers, they fired poorly. Seeing falling friends, slain and wounded, the Russians began attacking the right wing of the rebels seeking to shake off the enemy and withdraw. Here they were met by Mackevičius with his scythemen. The Russians tried to attack the rebels with bayonets, but the scythemen repulsed the enemy's attacks as many as six times. Wanting to withdraw, the Russians completely disintegrated and began fleeing to the swamps. The swamps were wet and the fugitives quickly got sunk up to the knees and even deeper. Many Russians were shot here, with their good-quality rifles and ammunition passing into rebel hands.

Outcome

The battle ended with the complete defeat of the enemy. More than 40 Russian soldiers were killed and 60 injured. A large number of good rifles and considerable booty passed to rebel hands. Sierakowski's position was so comfortable that the insurgents' casualties were only 2 killed and 4 injured.

Legacy

The battle is commemorated with a plaque at the battle-site.

References

Sources

Ginietyny 1863 in Poland Ginietyny Military history of Lithuania April 1863 * {{Cite web, last=Labutis, first=Gintaras, date=4 May 2013, title=Laiko juosta: žymiausi 1863 metų sukilimo mūšiai, url=https://www.bernardinai.lt/2013-03-27-laiko-juosta-zymiausi-1863-metu-sukilimo-musiai/, website= Bernardinai.lt, language=Lithuanian