The Battle of Prostki was fought near Prostki (German: ''Prostken''),

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

(today in

Ełk County __NOTOC__ Ełk County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) on October 8, 1656, between forces of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and allied

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

commanded by

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Wincenty Gosiewski on one side, and on the other allied Swedish and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

forces commanded by Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck, reinforced by the cavalry of Prince

Bogusław Radziwiłł Bogusław Radziwiłł (; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Polish princely magnate and a member of the Polish-Lithuanian ''szlachta'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwiłł magnate family. By birth he was an Imperial Prince of the ...

. The Commonwealth forces won the battle, annihilating enemy forces and taking Radziwiłł captive.

Background

In the late summer of 1656 Swedish and Brandenburgian armies left

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, retreating towards the northwest. Polish-Lithuanian commanders then decided to invade the

, which had been a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

state to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and which, as Brandenburg-Prussia, had been an ally of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

(see Treaty of Königsberg (1656). The objective of the invasion was to make “The Great Elector”, Frederick Wilhelm, end the alliance with Sweden. Polish-Lithuanian forces were commanded by Lithuanian Field

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski. They were supported by a unit of

, under Subchan Ghazi Aga. All together Gosiewski’s army had some 8,000-10,000 men (including 2,000 Tatars). In early October 1656 it crossed the

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

River, either near

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

or Wizna, and headed northwards to Lyck (Ełk). Prussian commandant Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck concentrated his forces near Wąsosz. His army had probably 3,500 men, mostly

reiter ''Reiter'' or ''Schwarze Reiter'' ("black riders", anglicized ''swart reiters'') were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. Cont ...

s and

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. Waldeck reached Prostken (Prostki) on October 6 and camped on the eastern bank of the Ełk River, near a bridge that he planned to defend. He also got in touch with Bogusław Radziwilł, whose cavalry unit of 800 was stationed in Rajgród. Furthermore, additional Prussian units were stationed at some distance from Lyck. Upon hearing of the invasion, they set off to help Waldeck, but only some 1,000 men reached Prostken before the battle. A unit of 2,000 men and 12 cannons left Lyck on October 8, which was too late.

Battle

On the morning of October 8 first Tatar and then Polish-Lithuanian units reached the village, while main forces were some two hours behind them. Gosiewski, who enjoyed numerical superiority over the enemy, decided to make the Prussians abandon their positions behind the river and destroy them in an open field. At the same time, he sent Tatars towards Lyck to face the Prussian reinforcements. In the first stage of the battle Polish-Lithuanian pretended to retreat after an initial clash. This worked, as the Prussians crossed the river, while Waldeck, upon receiving news of Tatars, sent a cavalry unit of 500 towards Lyck. This unit was reinforced by the cavalry of Bogusław Radziwiłł, which soon afterwards clashed with the Tatars. When the main Polish-Lithuanian force attacked the Prussians, Waldeck ordered his troops to return behind the river. Gosiewski attacked the Prussians, forcing them to retreat. Meanwhile, the Tatars crossed the Elk and attacked the camp. Soon afterwards they were joined by the Commonwealth forces. The unit of Bogusław Radziwiłł was completely destroyed, while Radziwiłł himself was captured. Prince Waldeck, with 500 soldiers, managed to escape, as the Tatars, Poles and Lithuanians were too busy looting the Prussian camp. Altogether, the battle lasted approximately five hours.

Aftermath

After the victory Gosiewski sent a letter to Frederick Wilhelm, urging him to abandon the Swedes. The Great Elector rejected this, which resulted in widespread looting and destruction of the southeastern corner of the Duchy of Prussia, together with the neighboring Polish counties of Wizna and Rajgród. Gosiewski then marched with his army to Lithuania, while the Tatars returned to Crimea.

References

* ''Mała Encyklopedia Wojskowa'', 1967, 1st edition * Jacek Płosiński, ''Potop szwedzki na Podlasiu 1655-1657'', Inforteditions Publishing,

, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Prostki Prostki Prostki Prostki Prostki 1656 in Europe 1656 in Prussia Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth