Battle of Kalnyk

The Battle of Kalnyk took place on 21 October 1671, during the Polish-Cossack-Tatar war of 1666-1671. The Polish crown hetman Jan Sobieski defeated the Cossack-Tatar army, which was coming to the aid of Kalnik, besieged by the Poles. Despite the victory, Sobieski failed to take Kalnik and retreated to Bratslav.

Background
After the victory in the battle of Bratslav, the Polish crown hetman Jan Sobieski decided to seize the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dniester. On 11 September 1671 he sent 2 thousand soldiers to capture Vinnitsa, which was taken at dawn on 14 September. The townspeople and Cossacks, locked in the Jesuit monastery (there were no other fortifications), put up stubborn resistance. Only after 6 hours of storming, when most of the defenders were killed, the monastery fell. However, 120 Cossacks, sheltered under the roof of the church, continued to fight until morning. When 23 were left alive, they decided to surrender: the centurion and seven chiefs were sent to Bar, the rest were beheaded. The town was destroyed, and a significant part of women and children were taken prisoner by the soldiers (by order of J. Sobieski they were later released).

Sobieski's successful actions were facilitated by diversions against the Belgorod Tatars by Mikhail Khanenko and Ivan Serko and the defection of Colonel Mikhail Zelensky and Colonel Pavel Lisitsa of Bratslav to his side.

The military council of the Polish command on 29 September 1671 adopted a plan of attack deep into Ukraine. On 1 October Jan Sobieski went to Mogilev. Having received information about his approach, O. Gogol on 3 October expressed readiness to surrender the city. Having learned that Bratslav had surrendered to Khanenko, the crown hetman sent the main forces of the army there, and himself with 1200 horsemen arrived in Mogilev on 7 October. Leaving the garrison there, he went to Bratslav and on 12 October held a meeting under its walls with the participation of M. Khanenko, I. Serko, M. Zelensky and P. Lisitsa, at which M. Khanenko's proposal to occupy Kalnik was accepted.

Battle
The Polish army's attempts to seize Kalnik on 17–18 October failed, and Jan Sobieski began its blockade. The soldiers burnt all the surrounding farms and bread fields. Doroshenko sent 1 thousand Cossacks led by Colonel Yarema Petranovski and 2 thousand Tatars to help the Kalnyk people, who arrived on 20 October.

The next day the Polish cavalry defeated the Tatars near the town. In the battle for the dam near the town, 500 out of 2000 Tatars were killed or drowned in the deep pond. Despite the victory, the Poles failed to capture Kalnik - the Polish army retreats to Bratslav.

Consequences
On 27 October in the Polish camp near Ilyintsi 1 thousand Cossacks held a council, which elected a new hetman. Mikhail Khanenko became the new hetman. He was presented with kleinodes sent by the king, although some of those present wished to see Ivan Sirko in his place. Having learnt that Nuradin-sultan Safa-Girey was coming to Doroshenko's aid, and the expected Lithuanian army would not come to his aid, Jan Sobieski went to Bratslav, where on 1 November he announced the end of the campaign. Surrendering the command to Dmitry Vishnevetsky, he left for Lviv. In turn, the Polish hetman handed over the leadership of the Kiev army to the Kiev chorunge Stanislav Vizhytsky.

The invasion of the Poles into Cossack Ukraine and the siege of Bratslav became a challenge for the Ottoman Empire. Already in October Mehmed IV warned the king not to attack "the Cossack power with all its districts", demanded to withdraw troops, threatening to start a war.

At the very end of the year Doroshenko received solid help from his Tatar allies: 26000 Tatars and several thousand Turks came. Having received help, Doroshenko started to reclaim Podolia. He started severe repressions against those who had voluntarily defected to the Poles.

Literature

 * Leszek Podhorodecki, «Chanat Krymski i jego stosunki z Polską w XV-XVIIIw.», Warszawa 1987, ISBN 83-05-11618-2, str. 214
 * Наталія Яковенко, Нарис історії України з найдавніших часів до кінця XVIII ст. Розділ V. КОЗАЦЬКА ЕРА--§ 2. Руїна (1658—1686)--Андрусівське розполовинення
 * Смолій В. А., Степанков В. М. Українська національна революція XVII ст. (1648—1676 рр.). — (Сер. Україна крізь віки) Т.7. — К.: Альтернативи, 1999. — 352 с. ISBN 966-7217-26-4
 * ДМИТРО ДОРОШЕНКО НАРИС ІСТОРІЇ УКРАЇНИ 1966 Видавництво «ДНІПРОВА ХВИЛЯ» — Мюнхен/«ГЛОБУС» КИЇВ 1992 Том 2, розділ 4
 * Літопис Самовидця. видання підготував Я. І. Дзира. — Київ: «Наукова думка», 1971. — 208 с
 * Літопис гадяцького полковника Григорія Грабянки / Пер. із староукр. — К.: Т-во «Знання» України, 1992, — 192 с
 * Величко С. В. Літопис. Т. 1. / Пер. з книжної української мови, вст. стаття, комент. В. О. Шевчука; Відп. ред. О. В. Мишанич.— К.: *Дніпро, 1991.— 371 с.; Літопис. Т. 2. / Пер. з книжної української мови, комент. В. О. Шевчука; Відп. ред. О. В. Мишанич.— К.: Дніпро, 1991.— 642 с.

Links

 * Официальный сайт села Кальник и Кальницкого казацкого полка