Polish soldier of 3rd Lithuanian Infantry Regiment in 1792

Battle of Mir was one of the first battles of the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservativ ...

. It took place in the town of

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

, which is now part of Belarus, on June 11, 1792. Despite

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n numerical superiority (8,000–10,000 against 5,500), they were defeated. Boris Mellin's

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

encamped at the village of Świerżeń Stary (10 June N.S.). On 11 June he attacked the Polish-Lithuanians hiding in Mir. The Russian '' jaeger''

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

was the first to enter the place. The Polish-Lithuanians cleared it. F. Buxhoeveden with the Smolensk

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 ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

pursued General Bielak at a distance of and captured 2 cannons. L. Bennigsen with the Izyum Regiment and a battalion of the Murom Infantry Regiment pursued at a distance of up to 10,000 men under

Józef Judycki Józef Judycki (died 1797) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth noble. Marshal of the Lithuanian Tribunal in 1777, Lithuanian Great Guard (''strażnik wielki litewski'') from 1776, Lithuanian Great Quartermaster (''oboźny wielki litewski'') fro ...

, who had fled to

Słonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of 48,402. ...

. The Russian army of B. Mellin defeated the Lithuanian force under General Judycki. The confrontation could have gone the other way if the 900 troops under

Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician, writer, public intellectual, and patron of the arts. He was involved in public education and active in the period that has been terme ...

and Tomasz Wawrzecki were used to augment the defence; instead Judycki called a two-hour counsel. This gave time for the Russian forces to regroup and they were then able to prepare a final counterattack. On that day there was also an assault and conquest of the Mir Castle Complex by Mellin's corps. Judycki left his troops and resorted to

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. Disgraced Judycki was relieved of command soon afterwards, on June 17, to be replaced by Michał Zabiełło.

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