Battle of Saločiai (, , ) was a battle fought during the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

on July 29, 1794, between the troops of

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, ...

under the command of General Prince

Romuald Giedroyć Romuald Giedroyć (; ; 7 February 1750 – 15 October 1824) was a Polish-Lithuanian prince from the princely Giedroyć family, who fought in the Bar Confederation, War of 1792 and the Uprising of 1794 as part of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army ...

and the Russian troops of Prince Sergei Fedorovich Golitsyn.

Battle

Early in the morning, after four o'clock, the insurgents came across the Russians in formation, who, trusting in their numerical superiority, began to attack. The Lithuanians greeted the enemy infantry with a massive and very effective artillery fire, which embarrassed the overconfident Russians. Then, for almost four hours, an exchange of artillery fire was conducted. The Lithuanian artillerymen showed better training, because they blew up two of the enemy's ammunition wagons while losing only one. General Giedroyć pushed his entire infantry into the attack, including pikemen and scythemen. This unexpected attack completely discouraged the Russians, who, having formed a square, began to withdraw from the square. This retreat assured Giedroyc of the possibility of completely crushing the enemy. Staking everything on one card, the general pushed his cavalry to the rear of the Russians, and once again threw the infantry supported by artillery fire to the side of the square. The violent attack led to the breaking of the square and the panicky escape of the Russians. The retreat ended only beyond the

Mūša River The Mūša (; German: Muhsse) is a river in Northern Lithuania and Southern Latvia ( Zemgale region). At its confluence with the river Nemunėlis () in Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, in which many Russian soldiers drowned. Giedroyc was content with collecting weapons, ammunition and a large amount of equipment from the battlefield. Only the recovery of the Russian cannons and ammunition wagons sunk in the retreat had to be postponed, as they were protected by fire from the opposite bank. The battle of Saločiai demonstrated the great determination and bravery of the insurgent army, which, despite being several times superior in men and firearms, defeated the regular tsarist troops.

References

{{coord missing, Lithuania Battles of the Kościuszko Uprising 1794 in Poland 1794 in Lithuania