Battle of Pyliavtsi; September 23, 1648) was the third significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising

Khmelnytsky Uprising

The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...

. Near the site of the present-day village of Pyliava

Pyliava

Pyliava is a village in central Ukraine. It is located in the Starosyniavskyi Raion of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast , by the river Ikva....

 in south-central Ukraine, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

 forces met a numerically superior force of Cossack

Cossack

Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...

s and Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...

 under the command of Bohdan Khmelnytsky

Bohdan Khmelnytsky

Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...

 and Tugay Bey. The Commonwealth forces were dealt a third consecutive defeat.

Before the battle

Khmelnytsky was moving slowly towards the Volyn, while waiting for the Polish diplomatic delegation. During this time a new Polish army was gathered in the southern Volyn and started to advance against cossack forces. Khmelnytsky directed his troops right against it, while sending for Tatar reinforcements. The Polish army and Cossacks met by the small castle near Pyliava village (Podolie

Podolie

Podolie is a village and municipality in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in the Trenčín Region of western Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 180 metres and covers an area of 17.266km². It has a population of about 2056 people....

). Khmelnytsky engaged in negotiations while awaiting for the requested help. Upon the arrival of the Tatar forces he started the battle.

The battle