Battle of Shepeleviche


The Battle of Shepeleviche or Battle of Ciecierzyn on 24 August 1654 was one of the first battles of the Russo-Polish War. It ended with a Russian victory.

Battle

A small Polish–Lithuanian force of about 5,000 under Great Lithuanian Hetman Janusz Radziwiłł stopped the Russian force under knyaz Yakov Cherkassky at Shklow and camped at Hołowczyn. He learned that a Russian force under knyaz Aleksey Trubetskoy crossed Drut River near Ciecierzyn on 23 August. Radziwiłl was joined by the Field Lithuanian Hetman Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski with 3,000 strong forces, increasing the Polish–Lithuanian army to about 6,000–8,000.
Radziwiłł and Gosiewski then tried to stop a numerically superior Russian force of 15,000 near Shepelevichy. Trubetskoy forces also included Cherkassky's. He took positions near Bialynichy. This time the even larger Russian army managed to outflank him, with Russian infantry holding Shepelevichy and cavalry attacking from the rear. Radziwiłł ordered a retreat, on the 24 August the retreating Polish army was defeated and its artillery was captured by the Russians.

Aftermath

Radziwiłł with a remainder of his forces retreated to Minsk. His defeat meant that Russians faced no opposition in Lithuania, and they were able to take Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev, advancing to the Berezina River. Russian forces were able to advance and take Smolensk as well as Orsha which they held till 1661.