Battle of Racławice

Battle

General Denisov, with 2,500 troops, had planned to attack the Poles from south, while Tormasov's force of 3,000 troops blocked Kosciuszko. Encountering Tormasov's force first, Kosciuszko occupied a nearby hill, General Antoni Madalinski on his right and General Józef Zajączek on his left. Not waiting any longer, Tormasov attacked the hill by 3:00 PM, setting up their cannon. Kosciuszko inspired his peasant brigade with shouts of "My boys, take that artillery! For God, and the Fatherland! Go forward with faith!"

The first group of serfs captured three twelve-pound cannons and the second wave captured eight more cannons. Moving to his left flank, Kosciuszko led a bayonet charge when the Russians fled, followed closely by the scythemen.

The Polish Order of Battle was as follows:

In addition, Lesser Poland fielded approximately 2,000 peasants armed with war scythes and pikes, known as kosynierzy, as well as 11 cannon. The outcome of the battle was a tactical Polish victory, with Kościuszko defeating the numerically inferior enemy. However, his forces were too small to undertake a successful pursuit, and the Corps of General Denisov evaded destruction and continued to operate in Lesser Poland.

Aftermath

Kosciuszko marched back to Kraków and made camp in the fields of Bosutow.

After the battle, Kościuszko paraded before his troops in a sukmana, a traditional attire worn in Lesser Poland, in honour of the bravery of the peasants, whose charge ensured the quick capture of the Russian artillery. He also praised Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki, a peasant who was the first to capture the cannon (he is visible in Matejko's painting, above). He smothered its fuse with his hat before it fired. In return he received an award of nobility, his freedom, a tract of land and made standard-bearer.

The victory was subsequently promoted in Poland as a major success and helped in spreading the Kościuszko Uprising to other areas of Poland and instigating the Warsaw Uprising of 1794. Also, the participation of peasant volunteers was seen by many as the starting point of the political evolution of Polish peasantry from serfs to equally entitled citizens of the nation.

Legacy

Both the red cap worn by his soldiers and the homemade war scythes were later featured on the emblem of the RAF's 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadron, which took part in the Battle of Britain.

The Battle of Racławice is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "RACŁAWICE 4 IV 1794".