The Battle of Ponary heights (Russian: Сражение на Понарских высотах; Polish: Bitwa pod Ponarami), also knowing Battle of Vilnius was one of the most important events of the November uprising, when on June 19, 1831, Gelgud's corps was defeated near Vilna, ending the war in Lithuania.
| Battle of Ponary heights | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of November Uprising | |||||||
 Battle plan | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russia |
 Congress Poland | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Dmitri Osten-Sacken |
Antoni Giełgud Francis Rolland | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 24,000, 70 cannons | 24,000, 26 cannons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 364 | 2,000 dead, wounded and captured | ||||||
Background
editStarting in 1831, uprisings in support of the Poles spread throughout Lithuania, but the latter could not strike with all their might in this region after the defeat near Ostrołęka. Therefore, only Gelgud went on an expedition to Vilna with 12,000 men.[1]
Actions in Lithuania
editIn Lithuania, another 12,000 rebels joined the Poles. However, Gelgud made several mistakes and delayed the attack Russian Russian reinforcements managed to arrive in Vilna, they lined up at the front and took up convenient defensive positions, the forces were equal: 24,000 rebels against 24,000 Russians.[2]
The place of battle
editThe Russians took up quite strong positions, but they were narrow and it was impossible to deploy enough troops, the escape routes were also blocked, which means that the slightest failure would lead to disaster.[3]
Battle
editGelgood's inept command led to inconsistencies along the entire front, instead of a joint attack, the Poles engaged in battles in parts, the infantry attacked before the artillery deployed and suffered heavy losses. The roundabout measures also failed, Rolland stumbled upon the Russian guard and returned having lost part of the troops.[3] Russian gradually turned to attacks, but the actions of the cavalry were not so successful, the cavalry battle ended with the victory of the Poles, and the Russian cavalry in a scattered form led them to the positions of the artillery, the battle could have been lost, but the infantry hit the main troops of Roland in time, the Poles turned into a stampede.[3] The pursuit could not be organized due to the orders of the high command, although with it the entire corps of 20,000 could be exterminated. The main reason for the defeat of the Poles lay in the inability to conduct joint actions, while the Russians acted very harmoniously.[4] Gelgood reached the Prussian border and wanted to cross it, but was killed by his own soldiers.[5]
Aftermath
edit
Polish-Lithuanian forces lost up to 2,000, but government army lost only 364 men.[4][6] Most of the Lithuanian rebels dispersed after the battle, which was a heavy defeat that put an end to the uprising in Lithuania.[7]
References
edit- ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 399.
- ^ Kernosovsky 1938, p. 193.
- ^ a b c Velichko et al. 1915.
- ^ a b Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 400.
- ^ ГЕЛГУД by Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- ^ Kozłowski & Wrzosek 1984, p. 226.
- ^ Kozłowski & Wrzosek 1984, p. 227.
Bibliography
edit- Egorshina, O.; Petrova, A. (2023). История русской армии [The history of the Russian Army] (in Russian). Moscow: Edition of the Russian Imperial Library. ISBN 978-5-699-42397-2.
- Kernosovsky, Anton (1938). История русской армии [History of the Russian army].
- Kozłowski, Eligiusz; Wrzosek, Mieczysław (1984). Historia oręża polskiego 1795-1939 (in Polish). Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna. ISBN 83-214-0339-5.
- Velichko, Konstantin I.; Novitsky, Vasily F.; Schwarz, Alexey V. von; Apushkin, Vladimir A.; Schoultz, Gustav K. von (1915). Военная энциклопедия [Military Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Vol. XVIII:Паукер - Порт-Артур. Moscow: Типография Т-ва И. Д. Сытина.