Battle of Warsaw (1831)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Russian attack on Warsaw

The siege of Warsaw from August 20 to September 8, 1831 culminated on September 6 with the Battle of Wola . The conflict was the last major military operation of the November uprising. On September 8, the Poles had to capitulate to the overwhelming Russian forces, which then occupied Warsaw.

Battles of the November uprising 1830/31

background

Hans Karl Friedrich Anton von Diebitsch-Sabalkanski
The Russian Commander-in-Chief, Count Paskiewitsch

The revolution that broke out in France and Belgium in July 1830 threatened the outcome of the European policy established by the absolutist monarchs at the Congress of Vienna . The deposition of Tsar Nicholas I as King of Poland was decided by the Sejm and Senate of Poland on January 25, 1831. The Russian Tsar was the strongest supporter of the agreements of 1815 and felt justified in militarily suppressing the Polish uprising. In February 1831, Russian troops under Field Marshal von Diebitsch tried for the first time to break into Warsaw via the eastern suburb of Praga . After the battle of Grochów , fought east of the city on February 25, the main Polish army was able to retreat intact to Warsaw. Unable to take Warsaw by a frontal attack, the Russian troops under Diebitsch tried to outflank the city on a large scale and to attack from the west. On May 26, 1831, the Poles under General Skrzynecki were decisively defeated in the Battle of Ostrołęka .

An epidemic that raged between May 16 and August 20 brought the Russian army alone outside Warsaw, killing 4,734 sick people and 2,524 dead. Field Marshal Diebitsch succumbed to cholera on June 10 in Kłaczkowo . The newly appointed commander in chief, Field Marshal Paskewitsch, had the main Russian army cross the Vistula from July 17th to 19th near Nieszawa not far from Thorn and advanced to the Bzura . On July 21, the Russians marched on via Gąbin in the direction of Warsaw, the avant-garde under General de Witt reached Łowicz on August 1 . The Russian corps of General Baron von Rosen (12,000 men with 34 cannons) marched from the south via Brest-Litovsk to the Polish capital and reached the eastern suburb of Praga on August 10th. The corps of General von Rüdiger (13,000 men with 42 cannons) crossed the upper Vistula near Józefów on August 7th and joined the main army advancing via Radom. The main Polish army, which had moved to the left bank of the Vistula and was concentrated near Sochaczew , could not prevent the Russian movements. The Russian divisions under General Gerstenzweig and Lieutenant General Kreutz arrived opposite the same bank, while the Polish army retreated further and further towards the capital.

Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki

The new commander-in-chief of the Polish army, General Jan Skrzynecki , was reluctant to fight the superior enemy. Instead, he ordered Warsaw to be fortified and allowed the Russians to cross the Vistula unhindered. Skrzynecki believed he could withstand intact for several weeks in Warsaw and wanted to fight a decisive battle against the Russians in the end. Skrzynecki was forced to resign on August 10th, and General Henryk Dembiński was appointed the new military governor of Warsaw. On August 15, a riot broke out in the city with 3,000 suspected civilians, defected soldiers and spies, in which between 36 and 60 people were killed. After the uprising, General Jan Krukowiecki was appointed Governor General of Warsaw and, as President of the new government, restored order. 175,000 civilians and refugees still lived in Warsaw, 3 million rounds of rifle ammunition and 60,000 cannon balls were stored in the arsenal, and there were 200 rounds per cannon. The garrison in the threatened eastern suburb of Praga numbered 1,361 infantry and 524 horsemen.

On August 16, two expeditions were sent from Warsaw, one with about 4,000 riders under General Tomasz Łubieński to the Płock Voivodeship . General Lubienski was supposed to cut off all communications between the main Russian army and the east and to attract the Russian troops used to dampen the Lithuanian uprising. A second Polish corps with 16,000 infantry, 4,000 horsemen and 40 guns was to operate against Brest-Litowsk under General Girolamo Ramorino . Ramorino's troops were supposed to take action against General Rosen, who was concentrated at Siedlec. On August 20th, Polish troops under Łubieński advanced towards Płock, broke through the encirclement of the capital and brought urgently needed supplies back to Warsaw. Other Polish troops under Jan Krukowiecki broke through to Dembiński's main army by mid-August and built a bridgehead on the right bank of the Vistula. The armed forces under Ramorino and Łubieński remained on the right bank of the Vistula and threatened the Russian troops standing there under Generals Rosen and Rüdiger. They forced Paskiewitsch to give up more forces, in the Podlasie the Russian corps of Rosen defeated the Poles under Ramorino in battles near Międzyrzec and Rogoźnica. On August 29, Ramorino's troops were forced to retreat to Siedlce , and Rosen's troops allowed them to retreat to Brest-Litovsk. The withdrawal of regular units under Ramorino and Lubienski weakened Warsaw's line of defense. The occupation was reduced to 28,000 regular soldiers and 10,000 fresh troops, mostly poorly trained and armed. Another 7,000 soldiers and 20 cannons secured the river crossings.

Beginning of the siege

Fortification work in Warsaw

On August 19, after a single skirmish with the Polish rearguard (on August 14 at Sognianow), the Russians had completely enclosed Warsaw on the left bank of the Vistula. Field Marshal Paskiewitsch had secured two bridges at Góra Kalwaria and Podgórze across the Vistula for his supplies.

The fortifications around Warsaw

The Polish headquarters decided to lay the outer line of defense of Warsaw in front of the densely populated areas. 53 percent of the buildings (3,148 houses) were made of wood, a fire could easily destroy the city. The first, outer line of defense around the city of Warsaw consisted of smaller forts and ramparts along a semicircular line along the line of villages from Szopy through Rakowiec, Wola to Pulkow to the bank of the Vistula. The Poles concentrated their main forces on five large sections of the outer line:

  • Królikarnia, Szopy (forts 44 to 47)
  • Rakowiec (forts 48 to 53)
  • Wola (Fort 55 to 57)
  • Parysów (forts 61 and 62)
  • Marymont (Fort 65 and 66)

The strongest fort in the outer defensive area secured the road to Kalisch in the suburb of Wola and was Fort 56, which was concentrated around the Church of St. Lazarus, to the south of which two forts (54 and 55) were fortified as support. Fort 73 was located between Rakowiec and Jerozolimskie Gate. The second line of defense was 400 to 600 meters from the innermost line of defense. On September 4, Paskievitsch sent an envoy to the city, who demanded the surrender and promised free retreat for the revision of the constitution. Only three out of ten members of the Polish commission voted for further negotiations; on September 5, the Russian commander was informed that the Sejm had rejected the application.

Involved troops

Jan Nepomuk Uminski
Kazimierz Małachowski

Polish Army

General Kazimierz Małachowski was Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jan Krukowiecki, General Ignacy Prądzyński acted as Chief of the General Staff . At the beginning of September 1831 the regular Polish garrison in Warsaw numbered around 49 battalions and 40 squadrons with around 35,000 men, including 31,100 infantry and 3,800 cavalry , plus around 20,000 militia . The artillery was one of 94 field and 145 Fortress - guns of all types and 21 Congreve rockets - batteries , manned by 4,550 soldiers of the regular army and 200 members of the Gwardia Narodowa . The Warsaw Defense was insufficiently manned to man all forts, so some fortresses had to be abandoned.

Russian army

Field Marshal Paskiewitsch had 98 battalions, 130 squadrons and 6 Cossack regiments with 78,500 men, including 2,000 pioneers , 54,000 infantry and 17,200 horsemen, General von Toll acted as chief of staff, and Prince Gorchakov was chief of the artillery . The Russian artillery was numerically far superior to the Polish, had 382 guns with a service of 7300 men.

The right wing, which extended to the Vistula, became through the

  • 2nd light division under General Karl Gustav von Strandman captured, with 1,400 infantry and 484 cavalry (3 battalions, 4 squadrons, 6 guns)
  • Guard Cavalry Division under General Georgi Nostitz with 2100 cavalry men (16 squadrons and 16 guns)
  • Division of General Nikolai Muravjow with 3,100 infantry (7 battalions and 16 guns)
Cyprian Kreutz

II Infantry Corps under Cavalry General Cyprian Kreutz with 11,200 infantry and 2,300 riders with 68 cannons (21 battalions, 16 squadrons, 72 artillery pieces)

Peter von der Pahlen

I. Infantry Corps under General of the Cavalry Peter von der Pahlen with 11,300 infantry, 424 horsemen (22 battalions and 66 artillery pieces).

The left wing as far as the lower Vistula was mainly secured by cavalry

  • Cavalry under Lieutenant General Prince Stepan Chilkow with 28 squadrons (2240 ​​cavalry men and 10 cannons)
  • Cossack Division under Major General Anrep (847 horsemen)

reserve

  • Reserve artillery under Colonel Glinka (64 guns)
  • Cavalry corps under General Iwan De Witt with 70 squadrons (8500 cavalry men) and 40 cannons

The battle for Warsaw

On the evening of September 5, Paskiewitsch moved his headquarters from Raszyn to Włochy , and the Russian army moved into attack positions on the line of villages Wolica, Falenty, Dawidy and Raszyn. The Grenadier Division, the Cavalry Corps and the I Corps moved closer via Szamoty, the II Corps was concentrated near Włochy. The infantry division under General Murawjow occupied the fields between Okęcie and Rakowiec, the Guard Cavalry Division advanced on Zbarż to re-establish the loosened encirclement of Warsaw. The Grand Duke's guard troops were brought forward to Wielkie Opacze. The 2nd light division under General Strandmann took positions at Służew on the road towards Lublin , while General Chilkow's cavalry secured towards Chrzanów . The reserves were concentrated in Nadarzyn .

Even before the battle, the Russians achieved numerical superiority on the western front of Warsaw. The armed forces which Field Marshal Paskiewitsch used to attack amounted to 69,400 men, including 54,000 infantry, 15,000 horsemen and 348 cannons. The first meeting facing the Wola district counted 30,200 soldiers, 152 guns; the second meeting was made up of 39,200 soldiers and supported by 196 guns.

Two corps under Generals Jan Umiński and Henryk Dembiński defended the two main sections on the western front, the corps border ran at Fort No. 56. After the Russian main strike fell on the less fortified section of General Umiński, he received around 20,000 men and 30 field artillery assigned. Józef Bem was assigned 64 cannons to the reserve artillery in order to be able to support the section that was later most at risk. Contrary to expectations, the Russians decided to attack the most heavily fortified Polish fort section at Wola and only then to defeat the smaller entrenchments.

Battle of Wola on September 6th

The Polish Commander-in-Chief Jan Krukowiecki

The I. Corps under General von Pahlen's Cavalry advanced on Kalischer Strasse at 5:00 am and began the attack. The II. Corps under Baron Kreutz advanced between Krakauer and Kalischer Strasse and occupied the village of Szczęśliwice, which was set on fire by Uminski. General Muravyov led his grenadier brigade against the half-completed entrenchments at Rakowiec while on the far right wing the troops under General Strandman advanced on Mokotow.

Strong gunfire from the Polish side forced the Russian columns to stop and respond with counterfire at 5:30 a.m. The western and northern fronts of the Polish defenders were covered with 92 artillery pieces of the I. Corps, 30 artillery pieces of the II Corps acted against the southern front. At 6:00 am, 108 pieces of Russian artillery were already concentrated on forts 54, 55 and 57. After the bombardment, the Russian infantry advanced to attack at 7:30 a.m. At that time, two attack columns were formed in the Russian II Infantry Corps. The first, under General Nikolai Sulima, advanced towards Fort 54 in the first meeting with the Lutkowski Brigade (2500 men). The second attack column under General Fyodor Geismar attacked Fort 55 that could be occupied without resistance. The Polish defenders of Fort 54 fired incessantly, but the Russian artillery had a clear view of the top of the wall. The Polish artillery tried to respond to this fire from both the fortress and the second line of fortifications, but the Russian fire caused heavy losses. The Russian soldiers stormed up the earth hill and climbed the parapet. The second column of the II Corps stormed fort 54 head-on, which was defended by two companies of the 1st Infantry Regiment under Captain Franciszek Bobiński. The majority of the Polish occupation was fought down in bayonet combat, between 60 and 80 surviving Poles were taken prisoner. Soon after, the Polish powder magazine caught fire and exploded. Over 100 Russians fell, including the commander of the 13th Regiment, Colonel Ivan Khludenjew. The commander of the attack column, General Fyodor Geismar, was also seriously wounded.

General Józef Bem set out at 8:00 a.m. with 12 cannons to save Wola, positioned them on the road to Płońsk, and then put the Russian batteries under effective fire. This fire allowed a battalion under Major Pyotr Wysocki from the 10th Line Infantry Regiment to briefly penetrate Wola again. The Russians retreated before the counterattack from the south and left 12 cannons under cover of two infantry battalions between the Redoubt and the second Polish line of defense. General Uminski, the commander of the southern sector, concentrated entirely on the fighting around Królikarnia and did not notice that the crew was advancing Wola. General Dembiński, the commander of the 2nd Reserve Corps (5300 infantry, 65 cannons and 1100 cavalry) charged with defending Wola and the right-wing sector of the city, immediately asked for reinforcements, but General Krukowiecki refused them. At around 8:30 a.m., the columns of the 1st Corps (under Alexander von Lüders and Iwan Nabokow) stormed the important Wola Redoute again from three sides: four Martinów battalions from the southwest, four Lüders battalions from the northwest and four battalions of Count Berg from the east. The Russian artillery directed their fire on the second Polish line of defense, preventing the crew of Fort No. 56 from being relieved. A Russian column broke into the fort's walls, but was thrown back into the moat by an attack from St. Lawrence's Church. The same thing happened to the column under Lüders after two Polish counter-attacks. After further successes of Count Berg's troops, panic broke out among the Polish defenders, Major Swiatkowski managed to restore the situation and to push the troops under Lüders and Berg out of the fortress. Despite the loss of forts 54, 55 and 57, General Krukowiecki was still convinced that the attack on Wola would be a diversion and Dembiński refused to reinforce it. Dembiński's call for help faded and forts 54 and 55 remained without the necessary reinforcements.

In the southern section the target of the Russian attack was the positions near Królikarnia. Forces under General von Strandman took Szopy and began attacking Fort 44 and 45. Although Strandman was clearly outnumbered (2900 Russians against 1700 Poles), he was thrown back by the Polish defenders. In the Rakowiec area the forts had already been abandoned by the Poles at the beginning of September due to a lack of men and were occupied without a fight by the Russian division Muravyov. The artillery in position at Czyste in the second line at Works 21, 22 and 23 was commanded by Brigadier General Roman Sołtyk , who fired at the Russians who were able to penetrate from Wola to Rakowiec.

Field Marshal Paskiewitsch, who had observed the effects of the artillery duel, reinforced the following attack with 10 fresh infantry battalions. General Bogusławski, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, sent a battalion of the 10th Line Regiment (Colonel Peter Wysocki) to Fort 56 as immediate reinforcement. Dembinski ordered a brigade under General Franciszek Młokosiewicz to disrupt the movements of the enemy and to bring additional ammunition into the fort. Until then, the crew under Lieutenant Colonel Wodzyński with 800 men had been able to withstand the attacks under Lüders. Including the reinforcements from Colonel Wysocki, the Polish garrison of Fort Wola now numbered 1,660 infantrymen and 10 artillery pieces. In order to stabilize the situation, General Sowiński ordered a counterattack by the 8th Line Regiment to restore fighting on the northern section. The position of the Russian infantry became difficult at times, because 14 Polish guns under General Bem already support the Polish counterattack, which brought the Russians under lossy crossfire. Finally, the counterattack of the 4th Line Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz Majewski) was repulsed.

General Pahlen ordered another 2300 men (5th Infantry Regiment and parts of the Siberian Grenadier Brigade) to attack from the other side. The united troops under Lüders, Martinow and Friedrich von Berg stormed again with 6000 men, about 70 guns supported the action. At the same time, a further 7 battalions (about 3400 men) were to advance against the central and eastern wing of the redoubt from the south. The Russians' northern attack wedge stalled, and General Martinov was seriously wounded. The Siberian regiment penetrated the fort and forced General Sowiński's crew to retreat. Together with the units already involved in the attack, the Russian troops were able to penetrate the inner fortress line of Wola at 10:30 a.m. By 11.30 a.m. most of the defenders had fallen or wounded, including the fort's artillery commander, Captain Krzywicki. General Jozef Sowiński , surrounded by a handful of Polish soldiers, was killed in action. Major Peter Wysocki was also wounded and was caught with a dislocated leg along with 30 officers and about 1200 men. The Russians also attacked the second Polish line, breaking it in several places. Several smaller Russian shock groups tried to penetrate the wooden houses in the Wola district, but were quickly surrounded and fought down. On the Russian side, about 1,000 men were killed in storming the fort. The Polish casualties amounted to around 900 dead and wounded, and another 1,230 soldiers and officers were taken prisoner. 500 soldiers managed to reach the Polish lines. The capture of the fortifications of Wola by the Russians shocked the Poles and triggered a counterattack.

At 1 p.m. Małachowski wanted to attempt a counterattack on Fort 56, but his orders were overridden by Commander-in-Chief Krukowiecki, who feared that the Russians would attack further south near the Jerozolimskie Gate and held together his reserves to do so. By 2 p.m. General Bem had assembled his entire artillery reserve of 64 guns on the narrow front at forts 21, 22 and 23 and began to fire on the guns and infantry of the Russian infantry corps. The subsequent artillery fire kept the forces of the Russian I and II Corps at a distance and finally forced them to give up their attacks and to go back behind the ramparts they had won that morning. The Russian cavalry under General Chilkow intervened several times to storm the Polish artillery positions, but finally had to retreat to Górce. Half of the Russian artillery engaged in an intense artillery duel with the Poles until around 5:00 p.m., while the other half carried out shelling of the suburb of Wola and the Polish positions behind the second line of defense. During this time Russian troops penetrated the southern section of the villages of Szopy and Rakowiec, and General Umiński had to take his troops back to the inner line. The Polish counterattack on Szopy led by General Milberg was successful and the Russians had to go back to Służewiec, while the other attack at Rakowiec collapsed in the fire of the Russian artillery. These events marked the end of the September 6 hostilities and the Russians fortified their new positions.

Paskevich immediately held a council of war with his generals. He had 25,000 fresh troops on hand, but dusk was approaching and he knew that after dark there would be excessive casualties. His chief of staff Karl Wilhelm von Toll and many other generals insisted that the attack on Wola should be brought to an end on the same day, regardless of casualties. But Paskewitsch remained skeptical, he expected a Polish counterattack from the Czyste area to take Wola back and decided to postpone the necessary attacks until the next day.

Paskevich sent an envoy to Warsaw on the subject of an armistice, but the quickly held meeting of the Sejm rejected his offer. General John Krukowiecki, the president of the national government, started negotiations on his own that evening without the approval of parliament and dispatched Ignacy Prądzyński , who appeared at the Russian camp at 3:00 a.m. and agreed to a two-hour ceasefire.

The general storm on September 7th

Ignacy Prądzyński

On September 7th at 9 a.m., Paskewitsch also met Jan Krukowiecki in the Wolska tavern. Paskevich and Grand Duke Michael insisted on the lifting of Poland's independence and offered a general amnesty in exchange for the revocation of the deposition of the Tsar, the armistice should be extended until 1 p.m. in order to be able to continue negotiations. Paskewitsch demanded the unconditional surrender of Warsaw, the Polish army should then be disarmed in Płock. The Polish commander went back to Warsaw to present the offer to the Sejm. This met before noon, Krukowiecki's measures were rejected, the amnesty offered by Paskiewitsch rejected and the negotiations suspended. The negotiations were fierce, Krukowiecki's arbitrary negotiations were interpreted by the majority as treason.

Paskievitsch waited in vain for the answer to the ceasefire, the previous night had already been very cold, the Russian soldiers had no winter clothing and were bivouacked in the open, and the mood seemed to have sunk. Nevertheless, the bombing of the Polish positions was ordered for 13:30: 132 Russian cannons and four mortars, including 94 pieces of artillery corps under Prince Gorchakov, opened fire. The II Infantry Corps was against the forts at Czyste (entrenchments 21 and 22) while the I. Infantry Corps was to attack further north against entrenchments 23 and 24. General Pahlen led 18 battalions and 4 squadrons to the right of the road to Kalisch, to the right of it General Kreutz marched with 16 battalions under General Murawjow to the area behind the village of Rakowiec. 20 battalions under Prince Schachowski, concentrated behind Wola, acted as reserves. Between the mill near Czyste and the Jerozolimskie Gate, 60 guns went up, further to the left of this barrier another 30 field guns.

The infantry attack by the Russians, which started at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, was concentrated between the Wola suburb and the village of Czyste. Five Polish batteries defend the entrances to both suburbs. Two columns were formed from the Russian Grenadier Brigade (1700 men and 16 artillery pieces), Cuirassier Brigade (1300 riders and 16 artillery pieces), the Guard Ulanen Regiment (392 riders) and three cavalry regiments (around 1700 horsemen and 16 artillery pieces). The left column was set up against Fort 72, under Colonel Nikolai Lukasch made up of the infantry regiments Lutsk and Samogitia (1990 men) and the Finnish Guard Regiment (1374 men) as a reserve. The right column was supposed to storm Fort 72 and was ordered by Colonel Roth and consisted of the Nieswiezer Regiment (1278 men), the 4th Jäger Regiment (900 men), Guard Rifle Regiment (1350 men) and the Finnish riflemen (142 men) in reserve. When the Russians began to form three attack columns, the Poles under Uminski believed that the main blow would be directed against the blow at the Jerozolimskie Gate. Uminski strengthened this area with his reserves, including almost the entire 4th Infantry Division, the 2nd Cavalry Division (1,300 men) was brought closer to Czyste. The defense plans of the Poles remained almost unchanged compared to the previous day, only the hill No. 59 was given up, the positions at Czyste and in the area of ​​the Jerozolimskie Tor were reinforced. Generals Małachowski and Dembiński were to attack the flank of the Russians with 3500 infantry, 800 horsemen and 10 artillery pieces at Wola. Colonel Paweł Muchowski gathered his attacking troops in front of hill No. 62 and Mlociny. The Polish Milberg division and all cavalry concentrated in front of the fortifications of the Jerusalem Wall. After it became clear that the Russians would attack further south, the plan was called off and the western sector prepared for defense again. The Poles had 79 field guns and 10 rocket launchers opposite the new attack section.

The Polish Jablonowski Brigade defends the Jerozolimskie Gate

Count Paskewitsch had gone to the front line of battle near Wola, near hill No. 54. Right at the beginning of the attack, his left arm was torn open by a grazing shot. The field marshal was bandaged but did not leave the battlefield immediately. He went back to the grenadier corps and handed over to the chief of the Generaltabes, Count von der Toll, to take charge of the battle.

Graf von der Toll wanted to set the attack columns under Pahlen and Kreutz in motion before 3 p.m., but Paskiewitsch ordered the artillery to fire until 4 p.m. As the end of the day was approaching, von Toll ordered a general attack against both the western and southern fronts of Warsaw to be launched beforehand. There was no more time for adequate preparation by the artillery. Similar to the day before, Toll wanted to overwhelm the defenders with numerical superiority and accepted increased losses from the Polish artillery. In order to divert the Polish artillery at Czyste and to relieve the Russian columns when attacking Fort 21 and 22, Muravyov's troops were to lead the attack on the Jerozolimskie Gate. Muravyov and his division launched a mock attack on the Jerusalem gate and had two columns advance. The first was initially assigned by the Polish Milberg division; but when they received reinforcements, the Poles were thrown back behind the brickworks on the Jerusalem blow. The second Russian column Muravyov followed by Poland to the hill 15, was surrounded by 25 battalions and 12 squadrons and fought free of the light cavalry guard, but then the Polish grapeshot rejected -Fire. On the southern front, the hunters under Major General Strandman attacked again in the direction of Królikarnia in order to ease the pressure on the other sections. The left column suffered considerable losses, but reached Fort 74, where Polish reinforcements reinforced the commander of this sector, General Antoni Wroniecki, in good time. The Russian attackers collided inside the fortress on about 850 Poles. At the same time, a strong Polish column advanced on Mokotower Strasse to threaten the right wing of the Russians. Attacked by the Russian cavalry, they were quickly pushed back against the Mokotower entrenchments, but later held their own against all Russian attacks. After half an hour the Russians finally stormed the walls of Fort 74 and fought down the Polish garrison. In the meantime the right Russian column had approached Fort 72, but was also repulsed and besieged by Polish cavalry. The Russians, on the other hand, formed several infantry squares in vain and were thrown back by the Polish cavalry. In order to relieve the Russian infantry, Count Nostitz sent his cavalry reserve under Colonel Georg von Saß into battle.

Although the Poles were also able to reject the cavalry under Saß, the Russian successes on the main section soon caused panic. The crew of Fort 72 had already given up the cannons there and fought their way back to Fort 73. The crew of Fort 73 under their commanding officer, Colonel Przedpelski, ordered to leave the main wall, which had been smashed by the Russian artillery, and to take up new positions behind it. This enabled the Russian infantry colonists to take Fort 72 and the fortified Karczma Czerwona and advance to Fort 73 without resistance. The panic that followed in the Polish ranks convinced Muravyov to immediately renew his attack with fresh forces.

By 4:45 p.m. Józef Bem's reserve batteries in the inner attack area were free and could take part in the fire against the large Russian battery which Prince Gorchakov had directed against the inner second line of the Poles. General Muravyov, reinforced by a few regiments of guards, renewed his attacks on the Jerusalem strike, but found the most stubborn resistance until the Poles, also pushed on the right flank, had to withdraw. Finally, at 5:00 p.m., two columns of the Kreutz corps advanced towards forts 21 and 22. Mounted Russian artillery opened 200 paces from Fort 22 to cover the defenders at close range. A Russian assault column captured Fort 22, a second penetrated Plant No. 23, and at the end of the battle the entire crew was cut down.

Krukowiecki saw the fighting finally lost and sent Prądzyński again to the Russian headquarters at 5:00 p.m., who was greeted by Grand Duke Michael Pawlowitsch after Paskewitsch had been wounded shortly before. Grand Duke Michael still agreed to allow the Polish army to move freely to Modlin and Płock, to grant an amnesty for all fighters in the uprising and to exchange the prisoners. Meanwhile, the contested Warsaw forts often changed hands; at the end of the fighting, most of them remained in the hands of the Russians. The fire did not stop until midnight, after the Polish General Krukowiecki, although appalled by the Sejm, concluded a surrender, which handed the city, the bridge and the fortifications of Praga, along with all siege guns, into the hands of the Russians. Around midnight, the Russian negotiator, Count von Berg, came to Warsaw to sign the ultimatum between Paskewitsch and Krukowiecki.

The handover of the city on September 8th

After Prądzyński's return, the more liberal wing in the Sejm got a temporary majority. The Russian ultimatum called for Warsaw to be handed over immediately, along with the bridge and the suburb of Praga, otherwise the city was threatened with complete destruction. After a heated debate, the new Polish authorities decided to respect the terms of the ceasefire. Krukowiecki was finally ousted from his office and replaced by Bonawentura Niemojowski as head of government, General Małachowski became commander in chief. Many soldiers, including high-ranking officers, decided to stay in the city and lay down their weapons there. Up to 5,000 soldiers remained in Warsaw, including Generals Krukowiecki, Małachowski, Chrzanowski and Prądzyński. The grocery stores were opened and their contents distributed to civilians before the Russian invasion. On the morning of September 8, the Russian guard marched into the city, Paskevich wrote to the tsar: "Warsaw is at the feet of Her Majesty."

The loss of the Poles in the two days of fighting was estimated at about 4,500 men; but the Russians listed 4,000 prisoners in their reports alone. Other sources put the total Polish casualties at 3800 men for the first day of the battle and 6000 soldiers for the second day of the battle. The number of Polish casualties was later set in the dispatches of the Russian army at 139 officers and 7,745 NCOs and soldiers. In total, the Polish army lost 16,000 soldiers by September 12, this figure includes all deserters in the period immediately after the battle.

The loss of dead and wounded by the Russians is said to have been between 10,000 and 12,000 men. After the battle, 7,000 wounded Russian soldiers in the city and 5,000 men in hospitals outside the city had to be cared for. At the time of the surrender, the Poles were still holding at least 3,000 Russian prisoners of war in Warsaw; the Russians in turn had 2590 Poles in their hands. The Polish historian Tomasz Strzeżek found in his 1998 monograph on the battle that the Russian casualties were 10,559 deaths, including two generals, 16 colonels, 47 officers and 1,767 non-commissioned officers, as well as 1,182 soldiers missing.

consequences

Maciej Rybiński

The Polish army withdrew with about 32,000 soldiers and 91 cannons across the Vistula to the north in the direction of the fortress Modlin . The Sejm and Senate, along with many civilians, also left the city “in grim silence”. Although no supplies of supplies and ammunition arrived from Warsaw, the Modlin Fortress was prepared for a long siege. The magazines still contained over 25,000 cannon balls, almost 900,000 muskets and enough funds to withstand a siege that lasted several months. The Polish government's financial budget also contained more than 6.5 million zlotys .

General Malachowski had decided on September 9th in Modlin to resign the command of command . The national government then elected General Rybinski, who, in the presence of President Niemojowski, offered the supreme command to General Bem, who also refused. When Malachowski assured that he had given General Ramorino the specific order to unite with the main army on the road to Kamienczyk , Rybinski finally accepted the command. When Paskewitsch learned that the Polish army had refused the requested arms extension, he sent Count von Berg to Modlin to negotiate, in order to give the troops under Rosen and Rüdiger time to victoriously end the fighting with the Poles under Ramorino and RosETZski. On September 13, a Russian column appeared at Novydwor (Modlin), another under General Doktorow at Nasielsk . As soon as the new generalissimo heard of this movement, he sent General Uminski's corps with Milberg's division against Sierok , another division under General Walenty Andrychiewicz against the Wkra near Borkowo, and the cavalry against Popielzyn. These dispositions alone forced the Polish corps to quickly retreat via Pultusk to Ostrolenka , with an infantry regiment and a few squadrons of cavalry only being left behind in Makow. The withdrawal struggles of the Poles mostly ended at the beginning of October with border crossings to Prussia and Galicia.

Field Marshal Paskewitsch was made Prince of Warsaw by the Tsar and appointed governor of Poland, and on February 26, 1832 he implemented the Organic Statute that united Poland with Russia.

literature

  • Johann Baptist Schels : The storming of Warsaw on September 6th and 7th, 1831 , Anton Strauss and widow, Vienna 1838
  • Ernst Freymund: History of our days - All the remarkable events of our time , Schweizerbarts Verlag, Stuttgart 1831, pp. 217–242
  • Wilhelm von Willisen: Theory of the Great War The Russian-Polish campaign of 1831, published by Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig 1868,
  • Austrian military magazine 1838, Volume 3, pp. 227-272
  • Streffleurs military magazine, No. 10, Anton Strauss Hofdruckerei, Vienna 1836, pp. 3-60

Web links