The Battle of Byczyna, also known as the Battle of Pitschen (german: Pitschen; pl, Byczyna), was the deciding battle of the 1587–1588

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...

, which erupted after two rival candidates were elected to the Polish throne. The two opposing sides had forces nearly evenly matched, with armies about 6,000 strong, roughly half infantry and half cavalry. The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Polish-Swedish faction, led by the Swedish-born king-elect

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

, over the army of his rival to the throne,

Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria Maximilian III of Austria, briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the throne (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. Biography Born in Wiener Neustadt, Maximilian ...

. Taking place near the Silesian town of Pitschen (modern

Byczyna Byczyna (Latin: ''Bicina'', ''Bicinium''; german: Pitschen) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,490 inhabitants as of December 2021. History The town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as ...

), then just a few kilometres outside the territory of Poland–Lithuania, on 24 January 1588, Sigismund's supporters were commanded by

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and Great Crown Hetman

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( la, Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Cha ...

. Besides the commanders, notable participants included

Stanisław Stadnicki Stanisław Stadnicki (c. 1551 in Nowy Żmigród or Dubiecko – 1610 in Tarnawiec), a Polish nobleman, Lord Starosta of Sigulda, Żygwulsko (Sigulda), a known wikt:troublemaker, troublemaker, called 'the Devil of Łańcut' (Polish: ''diabeł łań ...

on Maximilian's side, and

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, magnate, military commander and a chancellor of the Polish crown of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, who took part in many campaigns ...

on Sigismund's. The army of the Polish-Austrian (or

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

) faction was largely annihilated, the Archduke was captured and his cause came to an abrupt end. He subsequently renounced his claim to the Polish throne.

Background

In 1586, following the death of the previous Polish king, Stefan Bathory, the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

duke

and

, took part in the election to the joint Polish–Lithuanian throne. Each of the two candidates had supporters in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

with the two opposing sides gathered around the pro-Sigismund

and Great Crown Hetman

and the

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Stanisław Karnkowski on one side and the pro-Maximilian

Zborowski family Zborowski (feminine Zborowska, plural Zborowscy) is a Polish surname. It may refer to: * Andriy Zborovskyi (born 1986), Ukrainian footballer * Eliot Zborowski (1858–1903), American racing driver * Helmut Zborowski (1905–1969), Austrian aircraf ...

on the other. The rivalry between the Zamoyski and Zborowski families dated years past and tensions during the elections ran high. Sigismund, supported by Zamoyski and the former king's wife,

Anna Jagiellon Anna Jagiellon ( pl, Anna Jagiellonka, lt, Ona Jogailaitė; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bona ...

, was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on 19 August 1587 and recognized as such by the ''

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follow ...

'', the Primate Karnkowski. The election was disputed, however, by Maximilian and opponents of Sigismund chose not to respect the election outcome, decreeing that Maximilian was the rightful monarch three days later on 22 August. The Zborowski family called for a

rokosz A rokosz () originally was a gathering of all the Polish ''szlachta'' (nobility), not merely of deputies, for a ''sejm''. The term was introduced to the Polish language from Hungary, where analogous gatherings took place at a field called Rákos ...

(legitimate right to rebel) and the election ended in chaos, with several killed and many wounded. For both the Zamoyski and Zborowski families, losing was not an option, as they knew the losing side would likely pay a severe price, from confiscations and loss of prestige to a possible death sentence for treason. Neither Sigismund nor Maximilian were present in the Commonwealth at that time. After receiving news of the election, both Sigismund and Maximilian made haste for Poland. Sigismund arrived at Danzig (Gdańsk) on 28 September and, after approximately two weeks, he had departed to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

, where he arrived on 9 December and was crowned on 27 December. Maximilian attempted to resolve the dispute by bringing a military force to Poland, thereby starting the

. After a failed attempt to take Kraków in late 1587, successfully defended by Zamoyski, he retreated to gather more reinforcements but was pursued by the forces loyal to Sigismund. Zamoyski at first wanted to avoid a large battle, as he hoped for more reinforcements and supplies, but, when it became apparent that Maximilian would be reinforced first, he decided to press an attack. He also received the king's permission to cross the border and attack Maximilian in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

. Zamoyski divided his army into several regiments that were able to march quickly, at approximately 24 kilometers a day. He reformed his army after a week near

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (adm ...

. In the meantime, on 22 January 1588, Maximilian crossed the border into his own territory, towards

(Pitschen).

Opposing forces

Each side had comparable forces: Maximilian had about 6,500 men, about half of which (3,290) were infantry. His forces consisted primarily of

Silesians Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

, and

Moravians Moravians ( cs, Moravané or colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavic ethnographic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Si ...

, with artillery consisting of four heavy and a dozen or so lighter pieces. Zamoyski's forces numbered about 6,000, including 3,700 cavalry, 2,300 infantry, and several cannon. Maximilian's Polish supporters included 600 cavalry under the command of the "devil of

Łańcut Łańcut (, approximately "wine-suit"; yi, לאַנצוט, Lantzut; uk, Ла́ньцут, Lánʹtsut; german: Landshut) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship ( ...

. Another of Maximilian's notable Polish supporters at the battle was the poet Adam Czahrowski. Overall Maximilian's forces held the advantage in infantry, while Zamoyski's was in cavalry. The Poles favored cavalry, which had supreme mobility and used effective charging tactics, but also meant that their infantry was geared too much towards cavalry support.

The battle

On the night of 24 January the Archduke's army took positions east of the small town of Byczyna on the royal road leading into Poland. They felt secure in their camp, on the Habsburg side of the border, and did not expect the Poles to cross. Zamoyski marshaled his forces into three lines and was able to position them at an angle to the opponent's line. The exact position of the Polish Army is unknown, but part of the Polish right flank, moving quietly in the dense mist, encircled Maximilian's left flank. After the mist began to clear the Archduke realized his force was being flanked and his retreat to Byczyna was threatened. He ordered an attack, but a miscommunication of his orders confused part of his army and the Hungarian regiment began to retreat. The Polish left wing, under command of future Hetman

, dispersed the opposing units. The battle saw more infantry action than many others of the Commonwealth but, even so, the

Polish cavalry The Polish cavalry ( pl, jazda, kawaleria, konnica) 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 heav ...

( Polish winged hussars) played a major part. The battle began with some duels between elears (cavalry champions), soon followed by Polish cavalry charges on the left flank and in the center, which did not result in any significant breakthroughs for either side. Zamoyski is said to have commanded the battle very well, turning it at several points. Eventually a Polish hussar counterattack on the left flank mauled Maximilian's Hungarian cavalry and forced his army to start giving ground. The bloody retreat quickly turned into a general rout during which the Archduke's army suffered heavy casualties. The entire battle lasted approximately one to two hours. Maximilian took refuge in Byczyna, but the Poles took control of his artillery and turned the guns on the town. Before the Polish forces began their assault, Maximilian surrendered and was taken prisoner. The battle, therefore, ended up being the decisive victory for the Polish-Swedish faction.

Aftermath

Exact casualties are unknown, but the Archduke's army suffered heavier losses, estimated at about 2,000, whereas the Poles lost about 1,000 men. Żółkiewski captured an enemy

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

, but received a knee wound which lamed him for life. After the intervention of a papal envoy Maximilian was released, but only after spending thirteen months as a "guest" of Zamoyski. In the Treaty of Bytom and Będzin (signed on 9 March 1589) Maximilian was to renounce the Polish crown and

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

had to pledge not to make any alliances against Poland with Muscovy or Sweden. The town of Lubowla, taken early in the conflict by Maximilian, was returned to Poland. Upon his return to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

he failed to honor his pledge and renounce his claim to the Polish crown and would not do so until 1598.

References

External links

*
Bitwa pod Byczyną
Muzeum Historii Polski (includes a map)
''Winged Hussars''
Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Byczyna 1588 in the Holy Roman Empire

1588 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth