Battle of Jarosław (1656)

Battle of Jarosław Part of Second Northern War / The Deluge Date March 15, 1656 Location Jarosław, Poland Result Polish-Lithuanian victory Belligerents Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sweden Commanders and leaders Stefan Czarniecki Charles X Gustav of Sweden Casualties and losses Small Heavy

The Deluge Ujście Danzig Sobota Żarnów 1st Kraków Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki Wojnicz Krosno Jasna Góra Radom Gołąb Jarosław Nisko Zamość Sandomierz Warka Kłecko 1st Warsaw Kcynia Tykocin 2nd Warsaw Łowicz Lubrze 2nd Kraków Prostken Filipów Chojnice Magierów Czarny Ostrów Skałat Toruń Szkudy Grudziądz Second Northern War Theaters "Swedish Deluge" Russo-Swedish (1656–58) Pomerania Dano-Swedish (1657–58) Dano-Swedish (1658–60) Norway Peach Tree War Battles Ujście Danzig Sobota Żarnów 1st Cracow Nowy Dwór Wojnicz Krosno Jasna Góra Radom Gołąb Jarosław Nisko Zamość Sandomierz Warka Kłecko 1st Warsaw Kcynia Tykocin 2nd Warsaw Dyneburg Kokenhusen Riga Łowicz Lubrze 2nd Cracow Prostki/Prostken Filipów Chojnice Walk Magierów Czarny Ostrów Skałat March Across the Belts Toruń Kolding Szkudy Copenhagen Sound Ebeltoft Grudziądz Nyborg Treaties

The Battle of Jarosław took place during the Deluge (part of the Second Northern War) in March 15, 1656. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under the command of Stefan Czarniecki defeated the Swedish forces commanded by Charles X Gustav of Sweden.

After the Battle of Golab, the Swedish army under King Charles X Gustav marched towards Lwow, where Polish forces concentrated, and where King Jan Kazimierz stayed. In early March 1656, Charles X Gustav received news that up to 20,000 Polish-Lithuanian soldiers concentrated in Red Ruthenia. The Swedish King realized that his forces were not adequate to face the enemy, so he ordered a retreat towards the San river. Furthermore, the Swedes were constantly attacked by Polish guerrilla forces.

On March 11, first Swedish units reached the town of Jaroslaw, where they defeated a regiment of Hetman Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, which guarded the river crossings. Soon afterwards, the division of Stefan Czarniecki arrived in the area, surprising the Swedes, as they thought it had been destroyed in the Battle of Golab.

In a skirmish, which took place near Wielkie Oczy, Czarniecki destroyed a 1,000 strong unit of the reiters, commanded by Colonel Peter Hammerskjold. Then he attacked Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, who came to rescue the reitars. The skirmish ended in a Swedish defeat, and Douglas with his soldiers fled to Jaroslaw. Soon afterwards, Czarniecki attacked the town itself, clashing with Swedish guards, who oversaw labourers working on improvements of the town fortifications. Since Charles Gustav was well aware of Czarniecki’s presence, he called reinforcements from units stationed in local villages. Arrival of main Swedish forces resulted in Polish retreat into the local forests.

The battle, or rather the series of skirmishes, had a significant impact on those Polish units, which still remained loyal to Charles Gustav. After the battle, several such regiments abandoned the Swedes, while Charles Gustav came to the conclusion that a further march towards southeast was fruitless. A tactical retreat towards Sandomierz was ordered, and soon afterwards, the Swedish army was encircled in the confluence of the San and the Vistula.

References

• Leszek Podhorodecki: Rapier i koncerz. Warszawa: 1985. ISBN 83-05-11452-X.
• Tadeusz M. Nowak, Jan Wimmer: Historia oręża polskiego 963-1795. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1981. ISBN 83-214-0133-3.

Coordinates: 50°01′00″N 22°40′00″E / 50.016667°N 22.666667°E / 50.016667; 22.666667