Battle Of Ochmatów (1644)
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The Battle of Okhmativ or Battle of Ochmatów () of 30 January 1644 refers to the engagement between the Polish forces under
hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
Stanisław Koniecpolski Stanisław Koniecpolski (1591 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...
and the
horde Horde may refer to: History * Orda (organization), a historic sociopolitical and military structure in steppe nomad cultures such as the Turks and Mongols ** Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s ** Wings of the Golden Hor ...
of
Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...
under
Tugay Bey Mirza Tughai Bey, Tuhay Bey (; ; ; died June 1651), also spelled Togay Bey, was a notable military leader and politician of the Crimean Tatars. Biography Toğay descended from the Arğıns - one of noble Crimean families, and his full name is ...
. Koniecpolski dealt a crushing defeat to Tugay Bey's forces near Okhmativ. This was the greatest Polish victory over the Tatars in the first half of the 17th century, and brought international fame and recognition to Koniecpolski.


Background

After several years of relative quiet, the
Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...
, united after a civil war, began raiding the Polish border in strength in the early 1640s. Provoked by a
Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
raid, a large Tatar raiding force began assembling in late 1643 near
Ochakiv Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...
. In response, Polish military commander, Grand Crown Hetman,
Stanisław Koniecpolski Stanisław Koniecpolski (1591 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...
, ordered his forces to concentrate near
Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...
for 27 December. With the Tatars evading scouts, he split his forces around the possible incursion points. In early January Koniecpolski became aware of the
horde Horde may refer to: History * Orda (organization), a historic sociopolitical and military structure in steppe nomad cultures such as the Turks and Mongols ** Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s ** Wings of the Golden Hor ...
movement.


Opposing forces

Estimates of the Tatar army, commanded by Tugay Bey, supported by Murtaza aga, Ahmed murza, Temir aga and Omer aga, are between 10,000 and 20,000;
Leszek Podhorodecki Leszek Podhorodecki (1934 – 7 December 2000) was a Polish historian and writer. A secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ...
notes that the 20,000 to 40,000 estimates are exaggerated. Koniecposki had an army of some 19,130 soldiers (60% of them, magnates' private armies; Koniecpolski's own forces numbered 2,200), divided into two main groups; one under his own command, and the other, under
Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Prince Jeremi Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, nicknamed ''Hammer on the Cossacks'' (), was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince of Vyshnivets, Lubny and Khorol in the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...
. According to Frost, Jeremi had a permanent force of 1,500-3,000, and could quickly raise 2,000 more, 6,000 in an emergency;Frost 2004, p. 18 of the 19,130 troops present at the battle, there were 3,500 regulars, 4,000
Registered Cossacks Registered Cossacks (, ) comprised special Cossack units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army in the 16th and 17th centuries. Registered Cossacks became a military formation of the Commonwealth army beginning in 1572 soon after the ...
and 11,530 private troops. Other notable Polish participants in the battle included Marcin Kalinowski, Samuel Korecki,
Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...
, Stanisław Potocki,
Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, statesman and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown f ...
, and Krzysztof Grodzicki.


Battle

Koniecpolski's intelligence on the enemy was better, and Tugay Bey mistakenly believed he had a much larger numerical advantage than he really had. At first, he had only his own corps of about 10,000, that began the fighting defensively. The battle was slowed down by heavy mists, during which Wiśniowiecki arrived, giving the Poles a numerical parity, if not superiority. After the Polish attack, Tugay Bey ordered a retreat, which turned into a rout. The pursuit continued for a day, and many Tatars drowned near Sina Woda when the ice gave way. The Tatars lost over 4,000 people, mostly during the retreat; the Polish casualties were "minimal".


Aftermath

The battle was the Commonwealth's greatest victory over the Tatars in the first half of the 17th century, and it brought international fame to Koniecpolski, who had not only predicted the time and place of the Tatar attack but had destroyed their forces before they could deploy their usual tactic of splitting their main forces into multiple highly-mobile units ( czambuls). The victory led King
Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym * Włodzis ...
to consider an offensive war against the Tatars. Koniecpolski supported a limited war against the
Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...
but opposed the King's plan to wage war on the entire Ottoman Empire as an unrealistic folly. He set out his strategic views in a plan titled "''Dyskurs o zniesieniu Tatarow krymskich''" (Discourse on Destruction of the Crimean Tartars). Koniecpolski also strongly urged a coalition with Moscow for such a campaign. King Władysław IV continued to push for a crusade against Turkey, but it had little internal support and failed to achieve anything except to spread false hopes among the Cossacks, to whom he promised privileges and money in exchange for their participation in his crusade.


References


Bibliography

* * * *
''Winged Hussars''
Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Ochmatow (1644) Conflicts in 1644 1644 in Europe Okhmativ Okhmativ Zaporozhian Cossacks Cossacks History of Cherkasy Oblast