The Battle of Chroberz, one of many skirmishes of the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, took place on March 17, 1863, near the village of

Chroberz Chroberz is a village in Poland with 964 inhabitants (2005). It is situated in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Pińczów County, Gmina Złota. In the years of 1975–1998 Chroberz administratively belonged to Kielce Voivodeship. It lies approxima ...

in southwestern corner of Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

. A party of 3000 Polish insurgents commanded by

Marian Langiewicz Marian Langiewicz, full name Marian Antoni Melchior Langiewicz (; 5 August 1827, Krotoszyn – 11 May 1887, Istanbul), was a Polish patriot notable as a military leader of the January Uprising in 1863. Biography He was born in the province of ...

, clashed with units of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. The Poles managed to defeat the enemy, with heavy losses on both sides. After the victorious Battle of Skala, Polish insurgents, who had tried to cross the border with nearby

Austrian Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

, turned northwards and headed towards

Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , ...

. When Poles were camping in Chroberz, they found out about a Russian unit, which marched towards them from Pinczów, along the

Nida river The Nida is a river in central Poland, a left tributary of the Vistula river, into which it flows near Nowy Korczyn). The Nida has a length of 154 kilometres and a basin area of 3,844 km2.François Rochebrune François Rochebrune (Polish: ''Franciszek Rochebrune'') (born 1 June or 1 January 1830, died 19 November 1870 (some sources state 1871)) was a French soldier who served in the French Zouaves during the Crimean War. He then lived in Poland for t ...

and his

Zouaves of Death Zouaves of Death (Polish: ''Żuawi śmierci'') were a Polish military unit during the January Uprising, formed in February 1863 from volunteers in Ojców, Poland, by the Frenchman François Rochebrune (Polish: ''Franciszek Rochebrune''). He based ...

to cover the march of the main group of Polish forces. When another Russian unit appeared on the left bank of the Nida, Langiewicz sent there infantry under Colonel

Dionizy Czachowski Dionizy Feliks Czachowski (born April 6, 1810 in Niedabyl, died November 6, 1863 in Jawor Solecki) was a Polish general and commander of the Sandomierz Voivodeship during the January Uprising in Congress Poland. Dionizy, through his mother, ...

. Meanwhile, Rochebrune burned a bridge over the Nida, and joined Langiewicz. All Polish forces began to retreat, protected by Czachowski's infantry. The Russians followed them, and the battle continued for several hours. All together, Polish rebels lost 300 men, Russian forces also recorded 300 killed and wounded.

Sources

Stefan Kieniewicz Stefan Kieniewicz (20 September 1907, in Dereszewicze – 2 May 1992, in Konstancin) was a Polish historian and university professor, notable for his works on the 19th-century history of Poland. During his work at various universities he became ...

: Powstanie styczniowe. Warszawa:

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

, 1983. .

1863 in Poland

March 1863 events {{Russia-battle-stub