Battle of Racławice

Battle of Racławice
	Part of the Kościuszko Uprising
	; "Battle of Racławice", Jan Matejko 465 × 897 cm. Kraków's National Museum.
Date	4 April 1794
Location	Racławice, Lesser Poland
Result	Polish victory
Belligerents
Poland-Lithuania; (Kościuszko's rebels)	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Tadeusz Kościuszko; Józef Zajączek; Antoni Madaliński	Fyodor Denisov; Alexander Tormasov
Strength
5,000[1]; 11 guns	3,000[1]; 12 guns
Casualties and losses
200-250[1]	800[1]; 12 guns captured

The Battle of Racławice was one of the first battles of the Polish-Lithuanian Kościuszko Uprising against Russia. It was fought on 4 April 1794 near the village of Racławice in Lesser Poland.[1]^: 185

Battle of Racławice on a 19th-century sketch by Michał Stachowicz

The battle site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated May 1, 2004. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Battle

General Denisov, with 2,500 troops, had planned to attack the Poles from the south, while Tormasov's force of 3,000 troops blocked Kościuszko.[1]^: 185 Encountering Tormasov's force first, Kościuszko occupied a nearby hill, General Antoni Madalinski on his right and General Józef Zajączek on his left.[1]^: 185 Not waiting any longer, Tormasov attacked the hill by 15:00, setting up their cannon.[1]^: 185 Kosciuszko inspired his peasant brigade with shouts of "My boys, take that artillery! For God, and the Fatherland! Go forward with faith!"[1]^: 185

The first group of serfs captured three twelve-pound cannons and the second wave captured eight more cannons.[1]^: 186 Moving to his left flank, Kosciuszko led a bayonet charge when the Russians fled, followed closely by the scythemen.[1]^: 186

The Polish Order of Battle was as follows:

unit	superior	soldiers
2 battalions	Infantry Regiment of Czapski	400 bayonets
2 battalions	Infantry Regiment of Wodzicki	400 bayonets
2 battalions	Infantry Regiment of Ożarowski	400 bayonets
1 battalion	Infantry Regiment of Raczyński	200 bayonets
10 squadrons of cavalry	under Antoni Madaliński	400 sabres
10 squadrons of cavalry	under Magnet	400 sabres
4 cavalry squadrons	under Biernacki	160 sabres
2 auxiliary cavalry squadrons	Duchy of Württemberg	80 sabres
2440 men altogether

In addition, Lesser Poland fielded approximately 2,000 peasants armed with war scythes and pikes, known as kosynierzy, as well as 11 cannon. The outcome of the battle was a tactical Polish victory, with Kościuszko defeating the numerically inferior enemy. However, his forces were too small to undertake a successful pursuit, and the Corps of General Denisov evaded destruction and continued to operate in Lesser Poland.

Aftermath

Kościuszko marched back to Kraków and made camp in the fields of Bosutow.[1]^: 185 After the battle, Kościuszko paraded before his troops in a sukmana, a traditional attire worn in Lesser Poland, in honour of the bravery of the peasants, whose charge ensured the quick capture of the Russian artillery.[1]^: 186 He also praised Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki, a peasant who was the first to capture the cannon (he is visible in Matejko's painting, above).[2] He smothered its fuse with his hat before it fired.[1]^: 185 In return he received an award of nobility, his freedom, a tract of land and made standard-bearer.[1]^: 186

The victory was subsequently promoted in Poland as a major success and helped in spreading the Kościuszko Uprising to other areas of Poland and instigating the Warsaw Uprising of 1794. Also, the participation of peasant volunteers was seen by many as the starting point of the Polish peasantry's political evolution from serfs to equally entitled citizens of the nation.

Legacy

Emblem of the 303rd Squadron

Racławice Panorama in Wrocław

Military

The red cap worn by Kościuszko's soldiers and the homemade war scythes were later featured on the emblem of the RAF's 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadron, which took part in the Battle of Britain.

The Battle of Racławice is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "RACŁAWICE 4 IV 1794".

Art

Jan Matejko's painting entitled "Kościuszko at Racławice" depicts the battle and is on display at the Sukiennice Museum, a branch of the National Museum in Kraków.[3] A monumental panorama (measuring 15 x 114 meters) known as the Racławice Panorama was completed a century after the battle in 1894, and is currently on display in Wrocław as a branch of the National Museum in Wrocław.[4]

References

Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9780312388027
Smaczniak, Anthony; Piotrowski, Wallace (2000). "The Military Genius of Tadeusz Kosciuszko". Info Poland. Polish Academic Information Center, University at Buffalo. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
"The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice - National Museum in Krakow". mnk.pl. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
"History". Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu. Retrieved 2022-02-14.

50°18′38″N 20°13′44″E

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[Storozynski-1] Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9780312388027

[Smaczniak-2] Smaczniak, Anthony; Piotrowski, Wallace (2000). "The Military Genius of Tadeusz Kosciuszko". Info Poland. Polish Academic Information Center, University at Buffalo. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

[3] "The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice - National Museum in Krakow". mnk.pl. Retrieved 2022-02-14.

[4] "History". Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu. Retrieved 2022-02-14.