Battle of Kircholm
Part of the Polish-Swedish War (1600–1611)
A 1630 painting by Pieter Snayers
Date September 27 (or September 17 Old Style), 1605 Location Kircholm now known as Salaspils, Latvia Result Decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth	Sweden
Commanders
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Grand Hetman of Lithuania	Charles IX, King of Sweden
Strength
1,300 infantry 2,500 cavalry 5 guns	9,000 infantry 2,000 cavalry 11 guns
Casualties and losses
100 dead 200 wounded	5,000 dead/wounded, 500 captured[1]

The Battle of Kircholm (September 27, 1605, or September 17 in the Old Style calendar then in use in Protestant countries) was one of the major battles in the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1611. Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Salaspils ( (Kirchholm is a city 18 Kilometers to the south-east of Riga, Latvia that gained city rights in 1993 Salaspils ( (Kirchholm is a city 18 Kilometers to the south-east of Riga, Latvia that gained city rights in 1993 Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Biography He was the son of Jan Hieronim (Hieronymus Chodkiewicz Ruthenian (or Lithuanian Ruthenian rooted Castellan of Vilnius (Vilna Field and Great Hetmans From the end of 16th century there were two hetmans in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and two hetmans in the Crown: a Field Hetman Charles IX (Karl IX ( 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year The battle was decided in 20 minutes by the devastating charge of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cavalry, the Winged Hussars. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on The Polish Hussars (Husaria were the main part of the Polish Army (and later the Polish-Lithuanian Army) between the 16th and 18th centuries The battle ended in the decisive victory of Polish-Lithuanian forces, and is remembered as the greatest ever triumph of Commonwealth cavalry.

History

Eve of the Battle

Positions of both sides after the initial Swedish advance

On September 27, 1605, the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish forces met near the small town of Kircholm (now Salaspils in Latvia, some 18 km. Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Salaspils ( (Kirchholm is a city 18 Kilometers to the south-east of Riga, Latvia that gained city rights in 1993 Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. South East of Riga). Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. The forces of Charles IX of Sweden were numerically superior and were composed of 11,000 infantry (8500 pikeman, 2500 musketeer), 3,000 cavalry and 11 cannons. Charles IX (Karl IX ( 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists A pike is a Pole weapon, a very long thrusting Spear used two-handed and used extensively by Infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as A musketeer (mousquetaire was an early modern type of Infantry Soldier equipped with a Musket. The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural The Swedish army included a few thousand German and Dutch mercenaries and even a few hundred Scots. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.

The Polish Crown declined to raise funds for defence, although Lithuanian Hetman Chodkiewicz promised to pay out army wages from his own fortune, thereby gathering at least some army. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania army under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was composed of roughly 1,300 infantry (1040 pikeman and 260 musketeer), 2,500 cavalry and only 5 cannons. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Biography He was the son of Jan Hieronim (Hieronymus Chodkiewicz Ruthenian (or Lithuanian Ruthenian rooted Castellan of Vilnius (Vilna However, the Polish-Lithuanian forces were well-rested and their cavalry comprised mostly of superbly trained Winged Hussars or heavy cavalry armed with lances, while the Swedish cavalry were less-well trained, armed with pistols and carbines, on poorer horses, and tired after a long night's march in torrential rain. The Polish Hussars (Husaria were the main part of the Polish Army (and later the Polish-Lithuanian Army) between the 16th and 18th centuries The term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different Pole weapons based on the Spear. Most of the hussars were from Grand Duchy of Lithuania, about 200 were from the Polish Crown, most of them mercenaries or close personal allies of Chodkiewicz. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje The Polish-Lithuanian forces were also aided by a small number of Tatars and Polish-Lithuanian Cossack horse (a class of light cavalry at this date not to be confused with the Russian Cossacks), used mostly for reconnaissance. Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups The Cossacks (Каза́ки́ Kazaki; Козаки́ Kozaki; Kozacy are a group of martial people living in the southern Steppe regions of Eastern

Deployment

The Swedish forces seem to have been deployed in a checkerboard formation, made up of the infantry regiments formed into 7 or 8 well-spaced independent blocks, with intersecting fields of fire. A checkerboard (or chequerboard) is a board on which American checkers is played A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. The flanks were covered by the Swedish and German cavalry and the cannons were placed in front of the cavalry.

Polish-Lithuanian Hussar, by Józef Brandt. Józef Brandt (b Szczebrzeszyn, 1841 - Radom, 1915 was a Polish painter, best known for his paintings of battles

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz deployed his forces in the traditional deep Polish-Lithuanian battle formation - the so called "Old Polish Order" - with the left wing significantly stronger and commanded by Dąbrowa, while the right wing was composed of a smaller number of Hussars under Jan Paweł Sapieha and the centre, which included Hetman Chodkiewicz's own company of 300 hussars led by Woyna and a powerful formation of reiters sent by the Duke of Courland. Biography He was the son of Jan Hieronim (Hieronymus Chodkiewicz Ruthenian (or Lithuanian Ruthenian rooted Castellan of Vilnius (Vilna WING "ESPN 1410" is a commercial AM radio station in Dayton Ohio operating with 5000 watts at 1410 kHz with studios offices and transmitter located on David Hussar (original Hungarian spelling huszár, plural huszárok, Husaria refers to a number of types of Light cavalry created in Hungary Hetman was the title of the second highest military commander (after the Monarch) used in 15th to 18th century Poland, Ukraine and Grand Reiters ( German: Reiter, or horserider shortened from the original “Schwarze Reiter”--literally "black riders" for the colour of their armour were Courland (Kurzeme Kurland Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Kuršas Kuramaa Kurlandia Курляндия Курляндія Kuurinmaa is one of the historical The Polish-Lithuanian infantry, mostly armed in Hungarian haiduk-style, drew up in the centre. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Hajduk were Hungarian irregular or Mercenary Soldiers in the 16th and 17th centuries and a liveried bodyguard of the Polish-Lithuanian Some 280 hussars were left as a general reserve under Lacki.

Battle

Chodkiewicz, having smaller forces (approximately a 1:3 disadvantage), used a feint to lure the Swedes off their high position. Feint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of Fencing. The Swedes under Charles thought that the Lithuanians were retreating and therefore advanced, spreading out their formations to give chase. This is what Chodkiewicz was waiting for. The Commonwealth forces now gave fire with their infantry causing the Swedes some losses, at which point the Hussars quickly re-grouped their battle formations and charged at the Swedish lines.

The battle started with the Polish-Lithuanian cavalry charge on the Swedish left flank. At the same time approximately 300 Polish-Lithuanian Hussars charged the Swedish infantry in the centre to prevent them from interfering with the cavalry action on both their flanks. According to one contemporary source "Carolomachia" cavalry went on attack with the Lithuanian battlecry, "Mušk!" (approximate English translation would be "strike" or "beat"). After the Swedish cavalry was pushed back, Chodkiewicz ordered his left wing and all of his reserves to attack the opposing right Swedish flank. The Swedish reiters were beaten back on both wings and the infantry in the centre was attacked from three sides simultaneously. Reiters ( German: Reiter, or horserider shortened from the original “Schwarze Reiter”--literally "black riders" for the colour of their armour were Quickly, with Swedish horsemen running back into their own infantry, the Swedes were in panic, and the whole army collapsed in flight. It was at this point that the Swedes suffered their heaviest casualties.

Polish-Lithuanian Hussar, by T. Benda

The fighting lasted barely 20 to 30 minutes, yet the Swedish defeat was utter and complete. The army of Charles IX had lost at least half, perhaps as much as two-thirds, its original strength. Charles IX (Karl IX ( 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death The Polish-Lithuanian losses numbered only about 100 dead and 200 wounded, although the Hussars, in particular, lost a large part of their trained battle horses.

As in all crushing victories in this period, the larger part of the Swedish losses were suffered during the retreat, made more difficult by the dense forests and marshes on the route back to Riga. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. The Poles and Lithuanians spared few. Polish-Lithuanian casualties were light, in large part due to the speed of the victory. During the hussar's charges it was the horses that took the greatest damage, the riders being largely protected by the body and heads of their horses.

After the battle of Kircholm by January Suchodolski

Aftermath

After the defeat, the Swedish king was forced to abandon the siege of Riga and withdraw by ship back across the Baltic Sea to Sweden and to relinquish control of northern Latvia and Estonia. January Suchodolski ( Grodno, September 19, 1797 &ndash March 20, 1875, Boimie near Siedlce) was a Polish Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region However, the Commonwealth proved unable to exploit the victory fully because there was no money for the troops, who had not been paid for months. Without pay they could not buy food or fodder for their horses or replenish their military supplies, and so the campaign faltered. An additional factor was the large number of trained horses lost during the battle, which proved difficult to replace.

A truce was eventually signed in 1611, but by 1617 war broke out again, and finally in 1621 the new Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, landed near Riga and took the city with a brief siege, wiping away - in Swedish eyes - much of the shame suffered at Kircholm. For the other Swedish kings known as Gustavus Adolphus see Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden or Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava.

External links

• (Polish) Kircholm 1605 - a popular study (in pdf format) of the 1605 campaign in Livonia, prepared on the occasion of 400th anniversary of the battle. Includes a chapter about the anniversary commemorations at Salaspils, Latvia on 27 September 2005