The Battle of Polonka (Połonka, Palonka) took place near Polonka (Połonka in Polish, Palonka in Belarusian, in modern

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

) during the Polish-Russian War (1658-1667) on 29 June 1660 between Polish-Lithuanian and Russian forces. Polish-Lithuanian army under

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 ...

and

Paweł Jan Sapieha Paul John Sapieha () (1609–1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). Sapieha became a Hussar Rotmistrz in 1633, courtier in 1635, Obozny of Lithuania in 1638, Podstoli of Lithuania in 1645, voivode of the Vitebsk Voivodeshi ...

forced a Russian retreat through a carefully planned Polish hussar ambush and several tactically effective flanking maneuvers.Frost, R.I., 2000, The Northern Wars, 1558-1721, Harlow: Pearspn Education Limited, The Russian defeat also meant they had to abandon the Siege of Lyakhavichy (Lachowicze).

Background

In late June 1660, after the

Treaty of Oliva The Treaty or Peace of Oliva (; ; ) was one of the peace treaties ending the Second Northern War (1655–1660).Frost (2000), p. 183 It was signed on .Evans (2008), p. 55 The Treaty of Oliva, the Treaty of Copenhagen in the same year, and the T ...

, a Lithuanian army commanded by Paweł Jan Sapieha attacked Russians, who occupied most of the territory of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. The Lithuanians were supported by Polish units under Stefan Czarniecki, and their target was to end the siege of Lachowicze. Polish - Lithuanian units, which altogether had 13,000 men and 2 cannons, set off from Słonim. Facing them was a Russian army under Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky (Tararui), who had unknown number of soldiers (some estimates claim 24,000; while some claim only 8,500). On the morning of 28 June Polish front units, marching towards

Baranowicze Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

, crossed the Połonka river, east of the town of Połonka. Here, Poles encountered a Russian unit, and a skirmish began. When main Russian forces arrived, the Poles withdrew behind the river, and Polish - Lithuanian army began preparations for the battle. Poles were placed on the right flank, Lithuanians on the left, while central front was protected by mixed, Polish-Lithuanian units, together with artillery.

Battle

First to attack were the Russians, who stormed the Polonka river

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

. They were met with a heavy fire of the Polish-Lithuanian

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 ...

s, and then a Polish hussar unit counterattacked, pushing the Russians back to their starting positions. Khovansky then decided to attack Lithuanian flank, using his cavalry. The Lithuanians, however, fiercely resisted the assault, and did not retreat to the river swamp. When dragoons of Stefan Czarniecki captured eastern bank of the levee, whole Polish - Lithuanian army carried out a frontal assault. Cavalry unit of Colonel Gabriel Wojnillowicz, which had been hidden behind Polish lines, bypassed the swamp and attacked left wing of the Russians. The

Polish hussars The Polish hussars (; ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were an elite heavy cavalry formation active in Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived fr ...

and '' pancerni'' cavalry forced the Russian foot out of prepared positions, while the Commonwealth cavalry on the right attacked the Russian rear, which drove off the Muscovite horse and left the Russian infantry exposed. The Russians retreated towards Polock, and on the way they were chased by the Lithuanians, who killed hundreds. Khovansky himself managed to survive, together with a small cavalry group. Russian infantry, which remained at the battleground, was massacred or captured by the Commonwealth forces.

References

Battle of Połonka at portalwiedzy.onet.pl

''Winged Hussars''
Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Polonka Conflicts in 1660 1660 in Europe Polonka 1660 Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth