Battle of Kobyłka

TheBattle of Kobyłkatook place between theRussian Empire's armed forcesunder the leadership ofSuvorovandPolishrebels underStanisław Mokronowskinorth-east ofWarsaw(atKobyłka), on 26 October 1794. It was part of theKościuszko Uprisingand ended with the rebels' defeat.

Battle of Kobyłka
Part of theKościuszko Uprising
Schematic of the Battle of Kobyłka The history of the cavalryby M. Markov
Date October 26, 1794 (15thOS) Location Kobyłka,Masovian Voivodeship Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia	Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Suvorov Ivan Fersen	Stanisław Mokronowski Jan Meyen Arnold Byszewski(POW) Col. Wolan (POW)
Strength
Up to 4,000	Byszewski:2,500 Wolan:1,000
Casualties and losses
153 killed and wounded	450 dead and 846 captured acc. to Polish source Almost all of Meyen's unit acc. to Russian source (incl. 1,073 prisoners of war, 9 cannons & 1standard)

Battle

When Suvorov received information fromStanisławówthat the insurgent detachments were at Kobyłka andOkuniew,he immediately sentGeneral Fersen'scavalry to Okuniew, and himself with 10,000 moved to Kobyłka.

Polish forces of the Mokronowski'scolumnwere under General Meyen's command, but Meyen left his detachment at the very beginning and go toWarsaw;the Poles remained under the command of General Byszewski,adjutant-generalofthe Polish king.

Russian GeneralGeorgy Ivanovich Shevichforced the Polish column to retreat in two separate sub-columns, which both laid down their arms; one of them,ColonelWolan's, followed the forest road (the right flank; it surrendered first), and the other, Byszewski's own, the great road to Warsaw. Particularly noteworthy on the Russian side was the saber strike from the dismountedlight cavalryandcarabineers;Suvorov later said to aFrench emigrantwho had joined theRussianservice: "If you were at Kobyłka, you would see thingsI have never seen either".Fersen, on the other hand, found no Poles in Okuniew, however, he sent to Suvorov 2Cossackcavalryregimentsin support, who took part in aflanking manoeuvreagainst Wolan. This battle is also notable for being won by the Russians almost exclusively bycavalry,with the exception of onejaegerbattalion.

In this battle, captured Polish officers asked Suvorov to feed them, as being in constant and hurried movement for several days, they were always hungry. Suvorov ordered to feed them as well as the captive soldiers with anything possible, which was performed by thePereyaslav Horse-Jaeger Regiment,and the soldiers willingly shared with the prisoners of the meagre stock, which they had with them.

Sources

• Markov, M. (1890).История конницы. Часть 4-я. От Фридриха Великого до введения нарезного оружия. Отдел I[The history of the cavalry. Part 4. From Frederick the Great to the introduction of rifled weapons. Section 1].Tver:Типо-Литография Ф. С. Муравьёва.
• Petrushevsky, Alexander(1884).Generalissimo Prince Suvorov(in Russian). Vol. 2 (1st ed.). St. Petersburg: Типография М. М. Стасюлевича.Retrieved27 October2023.
• Orlov, Nikolay Aleksandrovich(1894).Штурм Праги Суворовым в 1794 году[The storming of Praga by Suvorov in 1794]. St. Petersburg: Типография Штаба войск Гвардии и Петербургского военного округа.ISBN978-5-4460-5018-5.Retrieved7 October2023.
• Velichko, Konstantin I.;Novitsky, Vasily F.;Schwarz, Alexey V. von; Apushkin, Vladimir A.; Schoultz, Gustav K. von (1913).Военная энциклопедия Сытина[Sytin Military Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Vol. 13. Кобленц – Круз. Moscow: Типография Т-ва И. Д. Сытина. p. 4.Retrieved25 September2023.
• Bujalski, Mirosław (2004)."Ostatnia bitwa Powstania Kościuszkowskiego".Niedziela(in Polish). 43/2004.Retrieved2017-08-18.