Battles of Lanckorona

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Battles of Lanckorona
Part of Bar Confederation
"Prayer of the Bar Confederation before the battle of Lanckorona" Painting by Artur Grottger
Date 22 February 1771 (first battle) 23 May 1771 (second battle) Location Lanckorona, Kraków Voivodeship, Poland Result Eventual Russian Victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Bar Confederation
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Suvorov	Charles François Dumouriez
Strength
4,000	1,300 18 cannons

Two of the main battles of the Bar Confederation took place on the plains before Lanckorona, a small settlement 27km (17 mi) southwest of the Polish capital Kraków.

First Battle[]

On 22 February 1771, the Bar Confederates defended Lanckorona and its Castle from the Russian army led by Alexander Suvorov. The Russians were forced to retreat after a surprising victory for the significantly outnumbered Polish army.^{[citation needed]}

Second Battle[]

The second battle before the mount of Lanckorona, and one of the greatest clashes of Polish and Russian forces during the Bar Confederation, took place on 23 May 1771. A Polish formation of 1,300 men including French and European volunteers with 18 cannons was suddenly attacked by 4,000 Russians commanded again by general Alexander Suvorov.^{[citation needed]}

The Russian forces executed a surprise attack in the early hours of the morning. The new commander on the Polish side, French envoy lieutenant-colonel Charles François Dumouriez^[1] was caught off guard and was unable to assemble his men. The battle was thus a decisive victory for the Russians.^[2]

Aftermath[]

Many historians argue that the defeat at Lanckorona was sabotage on the part of Dumouriez as he was privately outspoken against the Polish nation and its Roman Catholic aspirations. Dumouriez was noted as calling Poland an "Asiatic nation" and relying on his French and European volunteers which lost the battle instead of "Asiats".^[3] This interpretation is lent weight by Dumouriez's later betrayal of Tadeusz Kościuszko when he passed on the plans for the Kościuszko Uprising to Prussia in 1793.^[4] and replaced Dumouriez in the Bar Confederation army.

References[]

Coordinates: 49°50′45″N 19°42′56″E / 49.845699°N 19.715431°E / 49.845699; 19.715431