Battle of Berestechko

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Khmelnytsky Uprising
Żółte Wody • Korsuń • Piławce • Zbaraż • Zboriv • Beresteczko • Batoh • Kiev

The Battle of Berestechko (Beresteczko) in Volhynia, Ukraine, one of the largest battles of the 17th century, part of the Chmielnicki Uprising, lasted from June 28 to June 30, 1651, between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army under King Jan II Casimir and Cossack and Ukrainian peasant forces, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and their Crimean Tatar allies. The Polish army had around 150,000 troops, the Cossacks around 100,000 plus 40,000 Crimean Tatar cavalry. Both sides had about 40,000 cavalry each. Fighting was close; with the core of excellent Cossack infantry making up for the weakness of their cavalry, much of the decisive fighting was by the infantry and dismounted dragoons of each side. The battle was won by the Poles after the Crimean Tatars, dispirited by the death of their leader Toğay bey, deserted the battlefield. As a result, Khmelnytsky was forced to sign the Treaty of Bila Tserkva with the Poles.

[edit] Polish noble families

Members of the szlachta families had the personal obligation to defend the country with men from their towns and villages. The officers and their supplied men for this battle were:^{[citation needed]}