The Battle of Panasówka, which took place on September 3, 1863, near the village of Panasówka (currently

Biłgoraj County Biłgoraj County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. It was established on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its adminis ...

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

), was one of the largest battles of 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 ...

. A unit of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

insurgents of some 1,200 defeated here a

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

detachment. The Poles were supported by some 40 Hungarian volunteers under Count Edward Nyáry, who himself was wounded and died. Polish insurgents were divided into two units. One was commanded by Colonel Marcin “Lelewel” Borelowski and consisted of some 700–800 irregulars. The second unit was led by Kajetan “Ćwiek” Cieszkowski and had some 400 irregulars. Facing them was a Russian unit under a Major named Sternberg, which had up to 3,000 soldiers, including

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, 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 borde ...

and four cannons. Borelowski placed his soldiers on the Polak hill, and this location is now marked with a commemorative monument with tablets in Polish and Hungarian languages. After an artillery barrage, Russian infantry attacked Polish positions, but the Russians were stopped by

Polish cavalry The Polish cavalry () can trace its origins back to the days of medieval cavalry knights. Poland is mostly a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment. The knights and heavy cavalry gradually evolved in ...

, and their attack collapsed. Sometime later, the Poles counterattacked, breaking through Russian lines, and destroying the cannons. One of the Polish infantry units was commanded by a Hungarian aristocrat, Major Edward Nyáry, who was hit by bullets in the leg, and then in the stomach. Heavily wounded, Nyáry died the next day in a military hospital. After the battle, Polish units split again into two groups. Borelowski and his men marched towards the village of Batorz, while Cieszkowski headed northwest. A mass grave of those who were killed in the battle is located near Panasówka, along the road to

Zwierzyniec Zwierzyniec () is a town on the Wieprz river in the Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has 3,324 inhabitants (2004). Zwierzyniec is the northernmost town of the Roztocze National Park. The park comprises some of the last remaining s ...

. Count Nyáry has a separate tomb. Poles lost some 35 dead, while Russian losses amounted to 300.

References

Sources

* Jan Buraczyński, ''Roztocze. Dzieje osadnictwa'', Lublin 2008, s. 346–347, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Panasowka Conflicts in 1863 1863 in Poland Panasowka September 1863