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Battle of Vitebsk
	Part of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
	; Michał Kazimierz Pac
Date	5–6 June 1664
Location	Vitebsk
Result	Polish–Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Michał Kazimierz Pac	Ivan Nikitich Khovansky
Strength
About 3,000 troops	3,749 or 5,000–6,000 troops
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Vitebsk, part of the Russo–Polish War of 1654–1667, took place on 5–6 June 1664 near Vitebsk. It was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth led by Michał Kazimierz Pac against the Tsardom of Russia led by Ivan Nikitich Khovansky. It ended with a Polish–Lithuanian victory.

Prelude

During the Khmelnytsky Uprising, the Pereiaslav Agreement was signed between the Cossack Hetmanate and the Tsardom of Russia in January 1654.^[7] The Russo–Polish War began right after (partially due to the Pereiaslav Agreement),^[8] with the Russians having a force entering the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with a force of 40,000.^[9] It started with the Battle of Shklow, which ended up inconclusive (although victory is claimed by both sides).^[10] Janusz Radziwiłł was defeated at the Battle of Shepeleviche right after^[11] where he became wounded (and then retreated to Minsk).^[12] The Russians then managed to take Smolensk (in the Siege of Smolensk),^[13] which they had failed to take in the earlier Smolensk War.^[14] The Russians continued to rapidly advance towards the Vistula.^[15] Vitebsk, along with Polotsk had similar importance to Smolensk lost in 1664, leading to the battle.^[16]

Battle

The Russians gathered near Vitebsk, feeding themselves by bringing food and "collecting fodder" on the spot until summer.^[3] On the c. 5th of June, the first clashes occurred.^[1] On 6 June, the main battle broke out. At first, Khovansky had managed to capture the Hetman Banner of Kazimierz Pac, although what followed this event was a repulsed Russian attack on the Polish–Lithuanian convoy, due to the Russian cavalry not attacking with infantry support, causing them to be overturned. Many of Khovansky's horsemen didn't just retreat the camp, but went home from the battlefield.^[2] The regiments of Khovansky, greatly thinned by desertion, who had almost only infantry left, were defeated by Kazimierz Pac's army.^[3]

Aftermath

The Russian failure led to change of command: Prince Yu. A Dolgorukov replacing Khovansky.^[3] Although Khovansky had lost the battle, his campaign had a negative impact on John II Casimir. Pursued by Russian troops, the Polish army continued their difficult retreat after the Siege of Hlukhiv.^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b Бабятыньскі, Конрад (2008). Кар'ера і вайсковая дзейнасць гетмана ВКЛ Міхала Казіміра Паца//Беларускі гістарычны агляд. Minsk. pp. 28–29.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Курбатов О. А. Морально-психологические аспекты тактики русской конницы в середине XVII века // Военно-историческая антропология. Ежегодник, 2003 / 2004. Новые научные направления. 2005. pp. 193–213.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Курбатов, О. А. (2002). Из истории военных реформ в России во 2-й половине XVII века. Реорганизация конницы на материалах Новгородского разряда 1650-х — 1660-х гг./Диссертация на соискание ученой степени кандидата исторических наук. p. 163.
^ Bobiatyński 2008, p. 233.
^ По состоянию на 8 апреля 1664. Акты Московского государства, изданные Императорскою Академиею наук (3rd ed.). 1901. p. 562.
^ Bobiatyński 2008, p. 234.
^ Glaser, Amelia M. Stories of Khmelnytsky : competing literary legacies of the 1648 Ukrainian Cossack uprising. Stanford: Stanford University Press. p. 18.
^ Stevens 1995, p. 28.
^ Stevens 1995, p. 7.
^ Grabowski, Ambroży (1845). Ojczyste spominki w pismach do dziejow dawnej Polski; diaryusze, relacye, pamietniki ... (in Polish). J. Cypcer. pp. 114–115.
^ Konopczyński, Władysław (1936). Dzieje Polski nowożytnej (in Polish). Skład głowny u Gebethnera i Wolffa. p. 19.
^ Young, William (2004). International politics and warfare in the age of Louis XIV and Peter the Great: a guide to the historical literature. New York, NY: Universe. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-595-32992-2.
^ Frost, Robert I. (2000). The northern wars: war, state, and society in northeastern Europe, 1558-1721. Modern wars in perspective. Harlow, England ; New York: Longman. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-582-06430-0.
^ Wyrozumski, Jerzy; Gierowski, Józef Andrzej; Buszko, Józef (1979). Historia Polski (Wyd. 2 ed.). Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawn. Nauk. pp. 235–236. ISBN 978-83-01-00172-8.
^ Childs, John (1 April 2001). Warfare in the 17th Century. p. 113.
^ Augustyniak, Urszula (2008). Historia Polski, 1572-1795 [History of Poland, 1572-1795] (in Polish). p. 61.
^ "АНТУАН ГРАМОН->ИЗ ИСТОРИИ МОСКОВСКОГО ПОХОДА ЯНА КАЗИМИРА->ТЕКСТ". www.vostlit.info.

Bibliography

Stevens, Carol Belkin (1995), Soldiers on the steppe: army reform and social change in early modern Russia, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press
Bobiatyński, Konrad Artur (2008), Kampania letnia 1664 roku na terytorium Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego – nieznany fragment wojny Rzeczypospolitej z Moskwą 1654–1667, [w:] Wojsko , wojskowość , miasta...