Battle of Gniew

Battle of Gniew
Part of the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)
DateSeptember 22 – October 1, 1626
Location
Gniew (Mewe), Poland
53°50′00″N 18°50′00″E / 53.833333°N 18.833333°E / 53.833333; 18.833333
Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Swedish Empire Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Commanders and leaders
Swedish Empire Gustavus Adolphus Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund III Vasa
Strength

22 September:
1,700 cavalry
8,150 infantry – 74 guns

29 September:
12,100 men (10,000 infantry, 2,100 cavalry)

22 September:
6,780 cavalry
4,430 infantry – 20 guns

29 September:
14,500 men (mainly cavalry)
Casualties and losses

Polish claim: 22 September - 360-500 dead[1][2]
29 September losses were about equal to those of the Poles[3][1]

1 October - 30 dead[4]

22 September 13-50 dead[5][1][2]
29 September 18-43 dead[1][6]

Swedish claim: 1 October - 500 dead[4]

The Battle of Gniew[7] or the Battle of Mewe[8] was fought during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629), between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 22 September with initial skirmishes, to the main battle of October 1 1626. Both the Swedish and Polish army were commanded by their kings – Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Sigismund III Vasa. The battle ended indecisively. However, Polish and Swedish armies had different objectives. Sigismund Vasa wanted to protect Gdańsk from besieging. Gustav had to protect Gniew, which was important for the prestige of his army. The battle ended in a Swedish victory.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

  1. ^ a b c d Diariusz Woyny Pruskiey 1626
  2. ^ a b Radziwiłł 1848, p. 22.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vägen till Stormakt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Sundberg, Ulf: Svenska krig 1521-1814, Hjalmarson & Högberg Bokförlag, Stockholm 2002, ISBN 91-89660-10-2
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Niezwykłe bitwy i szarże husarii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Żurkowski 1860, p. 111.
  7. ^ Bajer, Peter Paul (March 2, 2012). Scots in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 16th to 18th Centuries: The Formation and Disappearance of an Ethnic Group. BRILL. p. 466. ISBN 978-90-04-21247-3.
  8. ^ a b Frost, Robert I. (2000). The Northern Wars: War, State, and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721. Longman. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-582-06430-0.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Warrior Kings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Roberts, Michael (1958). Gustavus Adolphus: 1626-1632. Longmans, Green.
  11. ^ Scott, Franklin Daniel (1988). Sweden, the Nation's History. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-1489-8.
  12. ^ Roberts, Michael (July 10, 2014). Gustavas Adolphus. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-89576-3.
  13. ^ Essen, Michael (2020). The Lion from the North: The Swedish Army During the Thirty Years' War. Helion & Company. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-80451-106-0. As a result, the Commonwealth siege of Mewe was lifted, and Sigismund retreated. The defeat at Mewe was not his only problem.
  14. ^ Brumwell, Stephen (2009). The Art of War: Great commanders of the modern world: Gustavus Adolphus 1594–1632. Quercus. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-847-24260-0.