Battle Of Shklow (1654)
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The Battle of Szkłów or battle of Shkloŭ or battle of Shklov on August 12, 1654 was one of the first battles of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67); it ended with a indecisive, however, by other sources. A small Polish–Lithuanian force of about 6,000–7,000 under Great Lithuanian Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł surprised a numerically superior
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n force (of 40,000; some estimates speak of 70,000, but they are likely too high) under
knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...
Yakov Cherkassky near
Shklow Shklow is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Shklow District. It has a Train station, railway station on the line between Orsha and Mogilev. In 20 ...
(). The battle took place during a
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
. The Russian forces, due to their surprise, were engaged by the Poles unprepared and in smaller portions, which were defeated in turn. Eventually the Poles forced the entire Russian army to retreat; the losses are estimated at 700 for the Poles and 7,000 for the Russians (although they may be overestimated for both sides).


Prelude

The conflict was triggered by the Khmelnytsky Rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks against 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 ...
. The Cossack leader,
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...
, derived his main foreign support from
Alexis of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...
and promised his allegiance in recompense. Although the
Zemsky Sobor The ''Zemsky Sobor'' ( rus, зе́мский собо́р, p=ˈzʲemskʲɪj sɐˈbor, t=assembly of the land) was a parliament of the Tsardom of Russia's estates of the realm active during the 16th and 17th centuries. The assembly represented ...
of 1651 was poised to accept the Cossacks into the Moscow
sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...
and to enter the war against Poland on their side, the Tsar waited until 1653, when a new popular assembly eventually authorized the unification of
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
with
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...
. After the Cossacks ratified this agreement at the Pereyaslav Rada the Russo-Polish War became inevitable. In July 1654 the Russian army of 40,000 (nominally under the Tsar, but in fact commanded by Princes , Nikita Odoevsky and Mikhail Temkin-Rostovsky) captured the border forts of Bely and Dorogobuzh and laid siege to
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
.Kubala L. WOJNA MOSKIEWSKA. R. 1654–1655. SZKICE HISTORYCZNE, SER.III, WARSZAWA, 1910: Chapter VII, Bitwa pod Szkłowem i pod Szepielewiczami
also available as
The Russian position at Smolensk was endangered as long as Great Lithuanian Hetman, Prince Janusz Radziwiłł with 10,000 men held
Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...
, slightly to the west. Cherkassky decided to seek out Radziwiłł and defeat him. The Russian army which besieged Smolensk didn't risk a storm of the city as long as a Lithuanian army of Janusz Radziwiłł operated in the east. It was decided to send an army towards Radziwiłł which was supposed to block him. The army led by took
Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...
and faced the Lithuanian forces.


Battle

The battle is described quite differently in Polish and Russian accounts, each side claiming it as their victory. According to Polish account, Radziwiłł became aware that the Russian army would be crossing the Dniepr river; he had about 2,000 cavalry and some few thousands of infantry (including the more mobile
dragoons 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 ...
; about 4,000–5,000). Around 2 pm he was informed that the Russians were close and their first units had started to cross the river; his main force also had the benefit of not being seen by the Russians. In the meantime, a
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
began, creating confusion. Polish cavalry, including the Winged Hussars, launched repeated attacks on the Russian forces that had crossed the river, pushing them back. Russian attempts to cross the river were repeatedly forced back into the water, and attempts to outflank the Polish forces were stopped by the infantry, which took positions along the river and fired at the Russian forces which attempted to cross the river elsewhere. After five or so hours, both sides attempted a major push, and the Poles again were victorious; the Russians, having sustained much higher casualties than the Poles (about 7,000 compared to 700), were demoralized and abandoned attempts to cross the river. The same source claims that among their dead was
knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...
Yury Baryatinsky which is obviously wrong. Russian sources give a different account. According to them, after having discovered the Lithuanian army, a detachment under Prince Yury Baryatinsky was involved in the fighting with the Lithuanians while the
voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...
s of the main army led by Cherkassky sent Baryatinski their cavalry as reinforcement. The rest of the army which consisted of infantry,
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 supply wagons, also began to move to the battle site. Baryatinsky conducted several attacks on the army of the Great Hetman. Having learned about the approach of the main army of Cherkassky, Radziwiłł decided to retreat. Cherkassky didn't pursue the Lithuanians.Курбатов О. А. Очерки развития тактики русской конницы «сотенной службы» (сер. 16 – сер. 17 вв.). // Военная археология, Выпуск 2, в печати


Significance

Szkłów was the last (if dubious) victory of Janusz Radziwiłł, a powerful and ambitious
magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
. Cherkassky retreated temporarily but only to merge with another Russian army under Aleksey Trubetskoy; later that month Radziwiłł would face defeat at the battle of Szepielewicze (Shepeleviche). That battle would mark Russian victory in Lithuania. Shklov was taken by the Russians in September 1654. The besieged Polish–Lithuanian garrison of
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
found itself in an isolated situation and lost its hopes to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. This forced the garrison to surrender (see Siege of Smolensk (1654)). A few months later Janusz Radziwiłł would defect from Polish side to that of the invading Swedes, and would eventually die fighting for them, remembered as a traitor in Polish historiography.


References


Further reading

* Беляев И. Д. Книга сеунчей 162 и 163 гг. 1654 июня 10 – февраль 1655 г. // Временник Общества истории и древностей российских. – М.: Университетская типография, 1854. – Т. 18. – С. 7. * Piotr Borawski, "Tatarzy w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej", 1986, , p. 139 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Szklow 1654 Conflicts in 1654 1654 in Europe Szklow Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth