Three-day Battle of Warsaw

Course of events

From 28 to 30 July, Commonwealth troops fought a combined Swedish-Brandenburg army. The allies won the field battle, but the war continued.¹

A closer look

The museum estimates John Casimir’s army at about 35,000 and the Swedish-Brandenburg army at roughly 20,000 with 47 guns. On the second day Tatar troops struck near Białołęka and the hussars charged, but other cavalry did not support the attack. At night the king ordered a retreat across the Vistula, moving infantry and artillery first under cavalry cover.¹

Day one: the advance guards meet

On 28 July John II Casimir crossed to the east bank of the Vistula. Swedish troops arrived from the direction of Nowy Dwór only in the afternoon. Lithuanian cavalry routed a Swedish scouting party in the first encounters. The Polish Army Museum estimates a Commonwealth force of about 35,000, including roughly 950 hussars, against about 20,000 Swedish and Brandenburg troops with 47 guns.¹

Day two: attacks that failed to combine

Tatar cavalry was to circle from Nieporęt and strike the enemy's rear near Białołęka while Commonwealth forces attacked its front. Brandenburg troops occupied hills protecting that flank. The Tatars struck the camp, and Charles X Gustav sent reiters under Horn against them. The Polish Army Museum calls him Gustav, but the Swedish biographical dictionary confirms Henrik Horn at the battle while the older Field Marshal Gustav was in Sweden; the museum's first name therefore appears mistaken.¹²³ The hussars also charged, but other cavalry did not support them.

Withdrawal and consequence

The king decided to withdraw overnight. Infantry and guns crossed to the west bank of the Vistula under cavalry cover. Swedish and Brandenburg troops won the field but did not destroy the Commonwealth army. The museum concludes that even this large battle did not decide the war.¹