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Battle of Chojnice (1656)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Chojnice (Battle of Konitz) was a surprise nighttime attack followed by a run-and-chase battle
during The Deluge.
in Gdańsk
who was conducting diplomatic negotiations with French
King Louis XIV's envoy
Antoine de Lumbres. Polish Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga wanted to join her husband there but she needed the Polish armies to open a passage to Gdańsk through the blockading Swedish armies. Charles X Gustav of Sweden
was willing to allow her to cross over to her husband but she refused this courtesy, relying instead on her regimentarz
Stefan Czarnieckki, stationed with his division at Piotrków Trybunalski
. Czarniecki came to Wolbórz
where she was stationed and together they began the so called 'Gdańsk expedition'. On or about January 1, 1657, Czarniecki with his division and the queen and her courtiers with her own wagon train in his wagon train came to Chojnice. Also army divisions of grand Crown hetman Stanisław Rewera Potocki and field crown hetman Stanisław Lanckoroński joined them at Chojnice about the same time. Polish cavalry companies settled in the surrounding countryside, occupying villages and being separated one from another by distance, need for fodder and food, and winter snows.
One version goes like this: the Swedish King must have received information about this winter concentration of Polish army divisions at Chojnice during the last days of 1656 and apparently started marching towards them with his own forces, perhaps intending to surprise them in their winter lodgings. Swedish army came up to Chojnice on the night of January 2, 1657, and the first to attack was the Swedish vanguard under Rutger von Ascheberg
, commanding almost 1000 horsemen/reitars. His command attacked immediately the following Polish formations: pułk of prince Konstanty Wiśniowiecki
, banners of Jan Sobieski and Koniecpolski. Polish losses, listed for the battle, were sustained during that phase of the battle -according to des Noyers' reports. Runaways from the Wisniowiecki's command spread the alarm across the entire town of Chojnice and surrounding Polish war camps. It gave ample time to other Polish units to assemble and meet the enemy on equal terms and use their numerical superiority.
Ar some moment heavy night fighting reached the queen's wagon train and she had to seek shelter, perhaps in the town itself. Once her majesty queen was safe she then gave blessing to Czarniecki so he could come to the rescue of prince Wisniowiecki pulk. And perhaps other Polish army divisions came to give more coordinated response to the Swedish vanguard onslaught, and as the break of dawn of January 3, 1657 was slowly approaching. Perhaps at that moment quite victorious Swedish commander must have realized that he had stepped into the hornets' nest and begun hasty retreat - according to des Noyers bride abattue. His retreat was towards the old Teutonic Knights
fortress at Czŀuchów, in Swedish hands, and to his king's army, still in route to the Chojnice battlefield. The surprise night attack came to cost him dearly, as Czarniecki division had come to pursue him, and Swedish command never turned their head to face their pursuers, and his retreat turned into run-and-chase battle, and the Swedish cavalry became Polish prey, thus sustaining 300 dead and many taken prisoners - including 50 Frenchmen serving with the Swedes, and amongst other trophies Poles captured 3 cornet banners. Swedish cavalry found refuge in the Czŀuchów castle and the fortress soldiers fired their artillery at the pursuing Polish cavalry who then abandoned their pursuit, unprepared to assault this old Teutonic stronghold and perhaps in light of the king Charles X Gustav forces on a march towards Chojnice. Therefore shortly after their disengagement from the pursuit of the Swedish cavalry, the Polish commanders decided to avoid any further engagement with the Swedes and to withdraw their force and wagon trains from Chojnice towards Nakło nad Notecią, which they reached on January 7, 1658.
Polish army sustained light casualties: less than 50 killed and wounded, and 9 taken prisoner, number of horses and wagons were also taken in the initial surprise attack.
According to other sources, the Swedish cavalry troops of 950 men reached some villages outside Chojnice early on December 25, 1656. In these villages, Polish troops had stopped for the night. After covering a bridge with straw to decrease the sound from the hoofs of the horses, the Swedish cavalry sneaked across the bridge and attacked their unknowing enemies. They put houses on fire and slaughtered Polish soldiers that heavy with sleep came out. When the morning came, the Swedish force had killed more than 3,000 Polish soldiers and captured 2,600 riding animals. Soon afterwards the main Swedish army reached the area and initiated a bombardment of Chojnice. After the surrender of Chojnice on 1 January 1657, the Swedish had reached their goal and trapped the Polish king in Gdańsk.
As a token of his appreciation, king Charles Gustav gave Rutger von Ascheberg a rapier he had used in battle. von Ascheberg also received valuable jewellry and an estate in Prussia
.
near Nakło, Polish commanders and the queen haggled a bit about the pay for their soldiers, who had demanded it. Marie Louise Gonzaga decided to pay soldiers from her own sources. As a result Czarniecki (with 6000 cavalry) and the queen (and her wagon train and courtiers) went on to complete their Gdańsk Expedition and eventually joined their Polish king at Gdańsk unmolested. The other Polish commanders stayed south of Gdansk Pomerania
. They were to fight many more battles against the Swedes and their allies in the upcoming months and years.
Other sources claim something different. After trapping king John Casimir in Gdańsk, the Swedish army tried to stop Polish cavalry trying to break through and rescue the king. The cavalry was led by Stefan Czarniecki and financed by the queen herself. She had tried to convince the leaders of the Polish army to rescue the king, but they had been unwilling to agree, blaming the soldiers that were hungry and had not received their pay. After some relatively small encounters, the Polish stopped their efforts. Then, the Swedish troops were sent to relieve the besieged Tykocin
. A renewed and daring attempt from Czarniecki, in which he and 2,000 chosen horsemen rode 280 kilometres in three days, was a success. They reached Gdańsk and rescued their king.
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
during The Deluge.
Prelude
Towards the end of 1656, the Swedish army was blocking Polish King John CasimirJohn II Casimir of Poland
John II Casimir was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania during the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Duke of Opole in Upper Silesia, and titular King of Sweden 1648–1660. In Poland, he is known and commonly referred as Jan Kazimierz. His parents were Sigismund III Vasa and...
in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
who was conducting diplomatic negotiations with French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
King Louis XIV's envoy
Envoy
Envoy may refer to:*an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary*a Special Envoy*a diplomat in general*Envoy , the British Vauxhall cars for Canadian market in 1960-'70*Envoy , a document reader and document file format...
Antoine de Lumbres. Polish Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga wanted to join her husband there but she needed the Polish armies to open a passage to Gdańsk through the blockading Swedish armies. Charles X Gustav of Sweden
Charles X Gustav of Sweden
Charles X Gustav also Carl Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who...
was willing to allow her to cross over to her husband but she refused this courtesy, relying instead on her regimentarz
Regimentarz
Regimentarz was a military commander since the 16th century in Poland, of an army group or substitute of Hetman, nominated by the King or the Sejm....
Stefan Czarnieckki, stationed with his division at Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski is a city in central Poland with 80,738 inhabitants . It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , and previously was the capital of Piotrków Voivodeship...
. Czarniecki came to Wolbórz
Wolbórz
Wolbórz is a town in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Wolbórz. It lies approximately north-east of Piotrków Trybunalski and south-east of the regional capital Łódź....
where she was stationed and together they began the so called 'Gdańsk expedition'. On or about January 1, 1657, Czarniecki with his division and the queen and her courtiers with her own wagon train in his wagon train came to Chojnice. Also army divisions of grand Crown hetman Stanisław Rewera Potocki and field crown hetman Stanisław Lanckoroński joined them at Chojnice about the same time. Polish cavalry companies settled in the surrounding countryside, occupying villages and being separated one from another by distance, need for fodder and food, and winter snows.
Battle
Different sources give different renditions of the battle.One version goes like this: the Swedish King must have received information about this winter concentration of Polish army divisions at Chojnice during the last days of 1656 and apparently started marching towards them with his own forces, perhaps intending to surprise them in their winter lodgings. Swedish army came up to Chojnice on the night of January 2, 1657, and the first to attack was the Swedish vanguard under Rutger von Ascheberg
Rutger von Ascheberg
Count Rutger von Ascheberg was a soldier, officer and civil servant in Swedish service, being appointed Lieutenant General in 1670, General in 1674, Field Marshal in 1678, Governor General of the Scanian provinces, in 1680, and Royal Councilor in 1681.-Biography:Ascheberg was born on the estate...
, commanding almost 1000 horsemen/reitars. His command attacked immediately the following Polish formations: pułk of prince Konstanty Wiśniowiecki
Konstanty Wisniowiecki
Prince Konstanty Wiśniowiecki , Wojewoda Belski 1636, Wojewoda Ruski 1638, and Starosta Czerkaski i Kamionecki was a wealthy, powerful and influential magnate, experienced in both politics and warfare....
, banners of Jan Sobieski and Koniecpolski. Polish losses, listed for the battle, were sustained during that phase of the battle -according to des Noyers' reports. Runaways from the Wisniowiecki's command spread the alarm across the entire town of Chojnice and surrounding Polish war camps. It gave ample time to other Polish units to assemble and meet the enemy on equal terms and use their numerical superiority.
Ar some moment heavy night fighting reached the queen's wagon train and she had to seek shelter, perhaps in the town itself. Once her majesty queen was safe she then gave blessing to Czarniecki so he could come to the rescue of prince Wisniowiecki pulk. And perhaps other Polish army divisions came to give more coordinated response to the Swedish vanguard onslaught, and as the break of dawn of January 3, 1657 was slowly approaching. Perhaps at that moment quite victorious Swedish commander must have realized that he had stepped into the hornets' nest and begun hasty retreat - according to des Noyers bride abattue. His retreat was towards the old Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
fortress at Czŀuchów, in Swedish hands, and to his king's army, still in route to the Chojnice battlefield. The surprise night attack came to cost him dearly, as Czarniecki division had come to pursue him, and Swedish command never turned their head to face their pursuers, and his retreat turned into run-and-chase battle, and the Swedish cavalry became Polish prey, thus sustaining 300 dead and many taken prisoners - including 50 Frenchmen serving with the Swedes, and amongst other trophies Poles captured 3 cornet banners. Swedish cavalry found refuge in the Czŀuchów castle and the fortress soldiers fired their artillery at the pursuing Polish cavalry who then abandoned their pursuit, unprepared to assault this old Teutonic stronghold and perhaps in light of the king Charles X Gustav forces on a march towards Chojnice. Therefore shortly after their disengagement from the pursuit of the Swedish cavalry, the Polish commanders decided to avoid any further engagement with the Swedes and to withdraw their force and wagon trains from Chojnice towards Nakło nad Notecią, which they reached on January 7, 1658.
Polish army sustained light casualties: less than 50 killed and wounded, and 9 taken prisoner, number of horses and wagons were also taken in the initial surprise attack.
According to other sources, the Swedish cavalry troops of 950 men reached some villages outside Chojnice early on December 25, 1656. In these villages, Polish troops had stopped for the night. After covering a bridge with straw to decrease the sound from the hoofs of the horses, the Swedish cavalry sneaked across the bridge and attacked their unknowing enemies. They put houses on fire and slaughtered Polish soldiers that heavy with sleep came out. When the morning came, the Swedish force had killed more than 3,000 Polish soldiers and captured 2,600 riding animals. Soon afterwards the main Swedish army reached the area and initiated a bombardment of Chojnice. After the surrender of Chojnice on 1 January 1657, the Swedish had reached their goal and trapped the Polish king in Gdańsk.
As a token of his appreciation, king Charles Gustav gave Rutger von Ascheberg a rapier he had used in battle. von Ascheberg also received valuable jewellry and an estate in Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
Aftermath
From their camp at KcyniaKcynia
Kcynia is a town in Nakło County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,712 inhabitants .Kcynia is the birthplace of Jan Czochralski....
near Nakło, Polish commanders and the queen haggled a bit about the pay for their soldiers, who had demanded it. Marie Louise Gonzaga decided to pay soldiers from her own sources. As a result Czarniecki (with 6000 cavalry) and the queen (and her wagon train and courtiers) went on to complete their Gdańsk Expedition and eventually joined their Polish king at Gdańsk unmolested. The other Polish commanders stayed south of Gdansk Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. They were to fight many more battles against the Swedes and their allies in the upcoming months and years.
Other sources claim something different. After trapping king John Casimir in Gdańsk, the Swedish army tried to stop Polish cavalry trying to break through and rescue the king. The cavalry was led by Stefan Czarniecki and financed by the queen herself. She had tried to convince the leaders of the Polish army to rescue the king, but they had been unwilling to agree, blaming the soldiers that were hungry and had not received their pay. After some relatively small encounters, the Polish stopped their efforts. Then, the Swedish troops were sent to relieve the besieged Tykocin
Tykocin
Tykocin is an old, smaller size town in north-eastern Poland, with 1,800 inhabitants , located on the Narew river. Tykocin has been situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship since 1999. Previously, it belonged to Białystok Voivodeship...
. A renewed and daring attempt from Czarniecki, in which he and 2,000 chosen horsemen rode 280 kilometres in three days, was a success. They reached Gdańsk and rescued their king.