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Battle of Ostróda

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Battle in 1628 part of the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629)
Battle of Ostróda
Part of Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629)
Date23 October 1628
LocationOstróda, modern-day Poland
Result Polish–Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Swedish Empire Swedish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Stanisław Koniecpolski
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Jakub Butler		 Swedish Empire Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin (POW)
Strength
2,700 cavalry
800 infantry		 1,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
Unknown 250–350 killed
50 POWs

The Battle of Ostróda was a battle that took place on the 23rd of October 1628 in Ostróda during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth commanded by Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski and Jakub Butler against the Swedish Empire commanded by colonel Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin. It resulted in a Polish victory.

Prelude

After the loss of Brodnica, Hetman Koniecpolski started the Polish-Swedish War against the Swedish Empire. During the march from Osa, the Swedes lost over 5,000 people. As one of the Swedish officers wrote: "Our Swedes are leaving the ranks every day, and the foreigners are so discouraged that a revolt is expected any day now... There is misery in the country. There is such a shortage of good accommodation that only four houses can be found on the shelf. The roads are so terrible that you can barely cover half a mile a day with guns. The enemy is cutting from the rear and cutting off all supplies."

Timeline of the battle

Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)
Prussian campaign (1626–1629)
Armed operations in 1626
Armed operations in 1627
Armed operations in 1628
Armed operations in 1629
Livonian campaign (1626–1629)

Koniecpolski, thanks to intercepting enemy correspondence, learned about the march from Pasłęk of a cavalry regiment under the command of Colonel Baudissin. He decided to set up an ambush on the road connecting Miłomłyn and Ostróda. Polish forces numbered approximately 3,500 soldiers. They included a regiment of dragoons under the command of Jakub Butler, a few light cavalry banners and hussar banners.

The regiment numbered several hundred people, mainly German mercenaries, who, together with their commander, left the Danish army and joined the Swedish army. These regiments became some of the finest German cavalry regiments in Swedish service between 1626 and 1634. It is known that at the beginning of the campaign it had 1,500 horsemen, grouped in 12 companies, but during the fighting it suffered heavy losses and in October it numbered just over a thousand soldiers. The regiment reached the Swedish camp located in Miłomłyn, from where it was sent by the Swedish king to Ostróda in order to obtain provisions and secure heavy guns left there by the Swedes.

There was a clash between Piławki and Faltyjanki, likely near the water mill, which is found in a ravine near the road. The mill was burned down during the battles. The Swedes encountered Polish cavalry crossing the ford. Baudissin, unaware of the Polish advantage, decided to attack them. The reiters chased down after the Polish troops retreating towards the ravine, but during the charge they came under fire from Colonel Butler's troops hidden in the forest. Baudissin, leading the charge, was wounded, while his regiment was dependent on several Polish (hussar) banners, previously hidden behind trees. Thanks to the approaching darkness, most of the reiters managed to break out of the encirclement. During the fight, the German mercenaries suffered heavy losses.

Losses

250 soldiers died, other sources saying that the entire regiment of 350 soldiers were killed (although they should be treated with caution) and the colonel himself along with 50 soldiers were taken prisoner. As Hetman Koniecpolski wrote with joy, "Baudis (...) fell into our hands with many of his considerable soldiers, and his regiment, which cost Gustav's strength and made many promises from him, is abolished." The Swedes admitted to the loss of three Cornets (however the hetman does not mention this in the letter), and when Baudissin was exchanged for Polish prisoners and returned to the Swedish army, he was reprimanded for using 'German tactics' (i.e. caracole) in the face of Polish cavalry.

Aftermath

Koniecpolski decided to retreat, considering the position near Ostróda too inconvenient to defend. The captured commander provided the hetman with information about the financing of Swedish troops by the Dutch. The clash had no major strategic importance. Baudissin's regiment, despite suffering heavy losses, was not completely destroyed. He later participated in the Battle of Górzno and the Battle of Trzciana. During the Thirty Years' War, he was promoted to the rank of general of cavalry in the Swedish army. He then served in the Saxon army. The day after the battle, Ostróda was occupied by Swedish troops numbering 4,000 soldiers under the command of King Gustavus Adolphus.

References

  1. "Butler [Butlar, Buttler, Buthler, Putler, Budler], James [Johann Christian] Freiherr von | Der Dreißigjährige Krieg in Selbstzeugnissen, Chroniken und Berichten" (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  2. ^ Bożejewicz, Arkadiusz (2018). Starcie pod Ostródą 23 października 1628 r. Przykład "małej wojny" w wielkim konflikcie [Battle of Ostróda on October 23, 1628. An example of a "small war" in a great conflict] (in Polish) (Do szarży marsz, marsz… Studia z dziejów kawalerii, t. 7 ed.). Toruń: The Nicolaus Copernicus University Press.
  3. ^ Podhorodecki, Leszek (2011). Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski. Warszawa: Bellona. p. 176. ISBN 978-83-11-12048-8.
  4. Korzon, Tadeusz (1912). Dzieje wojen i wojskowości w Polsce [The history of wars and military affairs in Poland] (in Polish). pp. 253–254.
  5. Przyłecki, Stanisław (1842). Pamiętniki o Koniecpolskich: przyczynek do dziejów polskich XVII wieku [Memoirs of the Koniecpolski family: a contribution to the Polish history of the 17th century] (in Polish).
  6. "Butler [Butlar, Buttler, Buthler, Putler, Budler], James [Johann Christian] Freiherr von | Der Dreißigjährige Krieg in Selbstzeugnissen, Chroniken und Berichten" (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  7. Bożejewicz, Arkadiusz (2019), Budzyński, Piotr; Dawczyk, Maciej; Gryglewski, Krzysztof; Owczarek, Michał (eds.), "Bitwa pod Kamieńcem Podolskim 22 października 1633 roku – próba charakterystyki", Vade Nobiscum, tom XX/2019. Studia z historii politycznej i wojskowej, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, doi:10.18778/8142-717-3.07, ISBN 978-83-8142-717-3
  8. Müller, Johannes (2010). Dzieje Ostródy. Ostróda. p. 91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Adolf, Gustaf (1790). Lettres et mémoires de Gustav Adolphe de ses ministres et de ses généraux sur les guerres des Suédois en Pologne et en Allemagne: depuis 1625 jusqu'en 1632 avec un appendice relatif aux campagnes de 1633 et de 1634 : Collection tirée des archives de Suède. p. 84.
  10. Górski, Konstanty (1888). Wojna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ze Szwecyją za panowania Zygmunta III-ego, od roku 1621-ego do roku 1629-ego [War of the Republic of Poland with Sweden during the reign of Sigismund III, from 1621 to 1629] (in Polish). Warsaw.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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