Transylvanian campaign into Poland (1657)

In March 1657, Charles X Gustav of Sweden commenced a new offensive into the south of Poland. Although there are some disputes over the size of his force, it was not large and likely consisted of around 4,000 Swedes and 3,000 Brandenburgers divided into four regiments under Georg von Waldeck totaling to around 7,000 men. Charles had ordered his field artillery and musketeers to be on horeback so they would be able to keep up with the Swedish cavalry. During this campaign, however, Charles had gained two new allies, being Prince George Rákóczi of Transylvania and Bohdan Khmelnytsky of the Cossack Hetmanate. The latter having in February sent Colonel Anton Zhdanovich of Kiev with three Cossack regiments to link up with the Transylvanian Prince and the Swedish king. Khmelnytsky had planned to fight in the campaign himself, but an illness prevented this. Rákóczi marched north into the Commonwealth with a large army split into three divisions under respectively John Kemény, Péter Huszár, and Ferenc Ispán. Rákóczi was quickly joined by a Cossack contingent under the command of Anton Zhdanovich. and Charles X Gustav meeting in 1657 Dispute over the strength of the Transylvanian and Cossack army Both contemporary and modern historians disagree with exactly how many men Rákóczi brought with him for the campaign. Patrick Gordon, who was a contemporary writer, claims that his army consisted of 20,000 Transylvanians, 5,000 Moldavians, 6,000 Cossacks, and 30 cannons, along with a supply train of around 1,000 wagons. Due to the Cossacks being allied with the Transylvanians, the total strength of the Transylvanian army, using this claim, comes out to 30,000. Other sources, including Erik Dahlbergh writings, claim that the total strength of the Transylvanian army was 24,000. He also mentioned a Cossack force of 2,000, but it is unlikely that this number refers to the entire Cossack army since it is this number that accompanied Rákóczi to a meeting with Charles Gustav. Dahlbergh also claims that the Cossack army consisted of upwards of 35,000 men, but this number may very likely refer to the total number of fighting men in the Hetmanate. The figure of 6,000 Cossacks claimed by Gordon corresponds to the three regiments which Zhdanovich brought from Kiev. It is then likely that the 2,000 Cossacks mentioned by Dahlbergh was one of Zhdanovich's regiments. Swedish command The command of the Swedish troops was divided into 2 groups. The Swedish king himself took personal and overall command of the 7,000 strong army, while the Generals Adolf Johan av Pfalz, Jerzy Niemirycz, and Johan Benedikt von Schönleben led the 4,000 Swedish troops. == Campaign ==

In the beginning of the campaign during new years, Rákóczi wanted to besiege L'vov (modern day Lviv), but he lacked both the necessary equipment and experience for extensive siege operations, which would be needed for a siege of the city. When Rákóczi received a signal for help from Paul Würtz in Krakow, which had already been besieged by Lubormirski for five months, he decided to march towards the city instead. Not wishing to engage in a battle with the Transylvanians, Lubomirski lifted his siege and retreated towards the north-east, after this, Rákóczi relieved the Swedish garrison. following along the Vistula river. Rákóczi followed the Polish army, until he linked up with the Swedish army in the area around Sandomierz on 11 April. After taking control over central Poland, the allied armies marched against Lithuania. King Charles chose Węgrów, which was also a Protestant centre in Poland, as his headquarters. When the allies arrived there, they were met with reinforcements from the Swedish army led by General Jacob Kasimir De la Gardie and a German force of 3,000 led by Georg von Waldeck. While in the city, the allies received news of a forced crossing of the Bug River by the Commonwealth troops and their advance towards Brest. After deliberating, the allied commanders decided to give chase. Their plan was to annihilate the 12,000 strong Polish army led by the Hetmans Sapieha and Stanislaw Potocki. The combat skills of the Transylvanian army was "less than desired". Moreover, their movement was slowed by their large supply train and poor ability to build bridges. When the two armies had to cross the Vistula in the middle of April, the Swedes were forced to build a pontoon bridge for the Transylvanians, since their own attempt had ended in the bridge collapsing. During the construction of the pontoon bridge, multiple Polish snipers harassed the Swedes. At one point, when King Charles, who had disregarded the warnings regarding the snipers, moved closer to the proceedings, a Pole in Swedish service shouted to the snipers that the King of Sweden had arrived, and requested them not to harm him. He also indicated that Charles was there with his hand. On the opposite side of the river, the Polish officers quickly ordered their men to cease their fire, greeted the Swedish king with all honours expected by a royal visitor, and promptly retreated. When the bridge had been finished, it still took the Transylvanian army three days to completely cross the river. King Charles sent Dahlbergh ahead of the two armies for reconnaissance, since one of Dahlberghs tasks was to carry out intelligence gathering. Dahlbergh commanded a joint cavalry force, which consisted of 120 men taken from the Swedish Life Guard of Horse, who were also known as "blackcoats", along with 100 Swedish cavalry, 200 Transylvanians under the command of Ferenc Ispán, and 200 Cossacks. Because of the slowness of the Transylvanians, the Polish troops easily avoided combat. Due to this, there was little that Charles and Rákóczi could do except following the fast-moving Poles. Siege of Brest On 16 May, after a bombardment of the city, the allies captured Brest, While Rákóczi himself managed to escape, his entire army of 25,000 was annihilated in less than 5 months, with the survivors enslaved by the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate and taken to Crimea. == Aftermath ==

After Rákóczi had been defeated, he formally withdrew from the Commonwealth and renounced all of his claims on the Polish throne. == References & Notes==

References Bibliography • • • Notes