The battle of Warsaw (Polish: Bitwa pod Warszawą, Russian: Варшавская битва), also known as the battle and storming of Warsaw, was fought in September 1831 between Imperial Russia and Poland. After a two-day assault on the city's western fortifications, the Polish defences collapsed and the city was evacuated. It was the largest battle and the final episode of the Polish–Russian War of 1830–31, better known as the November Uprising.
After almost a year of heavy fighting, a large Russian force crossed the Vistula and besieged the capital of Poland on 20 August. Although the siege was partially lifted soon afterwards and a successful sortie allowed a communication route between the city and the rest of Poland, a large Russian force remained on the left bank of the Vistula and continued to threaten the city. Russian commander Ivan Paskevich counted on Polish surrender as his Polish counterpart, Jan Krukowiecki, was known to be a member of the moderate political forces, willing to negotiate with Russian tsar Nicholas I, who had been deposed from the Polish throne in January 1831 by the Sejm (Polish parliament). When a less conciliatory faction gained power in Warsaw and the Russian offer of surrender was refused, Paskevich ordered his forces to launch an assault against Warsaw's western defences.
The assault started on 6 September 1831. Russian forces surprised the Poles by attacking the strongest Polish position in the suburb of Wola. Despite staunch defence of some of the ramparts, especially Fort 54 and Fort 56, after the first day the outer line of Polish defences had been breached by Russian infantry and artillery. In a heroic stand at the Wola redoubt, only 11 Polish defenders remained alive out of a garrison of 3,500. The following day fights resumed, but this time Russian artillery was close enough to shell the western boroughs of the city itself. Although losses were similar on both sides, Polish authorities decided not to risk another Massacre of Praga and ordered the evacuation of the city. On this day, Karl Wilhelm von Toll temporarily replaced Paskevich as commander in chief until he recovered. On 8 September 1831 Warsaw lay in Russian hands, and the remainder of the Polish Army retreated to Modlin. The November Uprising ended soon afterwards, with the remnants of the Polish Army crossing the borders of Prussia and Austria, to avoid being captured by the Russians.
In the 19th century the fight for Warsaw became one of the icons of Polish culture, described by, among others, Polish romantic poets Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki. It was also the main inspiration behind Chopin's Revolutionary Étude, initially called the Étude on the Bombardment of Warsaw. The fall of Warsaw also garnered sympathy for the Poles and their quest for independence.
Background
In 1830 a series of revolutions struck Europe: the July Revolution in France, the Belgian Revolution and smaller revolts in Italy threatened to overthrow the framework of European politics established at the Congress of Vienna. As the Russian tsars were among the strongest advocates of that status quo, the uprising in Poland and the ousting of the tsar as the king of Poland by the Sejm and Senate of Poland on 25 January 1831 were considered a serious irritant. Russia could not send its armies to Belgium or France before the rebellion in Poland was quelled. For that reason the capture of Warsaw was Russia's main target in the war from the start of hostilities.
In the course of the uprising, the army of Russia unsuccessfully tried to capture the capital of Poland on two occasions. First in February 1831, forces under Field Marshal Hans Karl von Diebitsch stormed the eastern suburb of Praga. After a bloody battle at Grochów, the Polish Army successfully retreated to Warsaw, and the capital remained in Polish hands.
Unable to capture Warsaw by a frontal assault, von Diebitsch devised a plan to outflank it and enter the city from the west. In early 1831 he sent his forces upstream on the Vistula, where the Russian divisions were to cross the river and head back north, towards Warsaw. The new plan was thwarted by the Polish defence in three successive battles around Wawer, Dębe Wielkie and Iganie. The Russians withdrew towards Siedlce, where von Diebitsch fell ill and died of cholera.
The successor of von Diebitsch as Commander in Chief of Russian forces in Poland, Count Ivan Paskevich, decided to wait for the Polish forces on other fronts to be defeated before he resumed his march on Warsaw. In June 1831 General Antoni Giełgud's attack on Wilno failed, and his corps was forced to cross the border with Prussia to avoid complete destruction. Only a small detachment under General Henryk Dembiński managed to rejoin the main Polish force. This secured Paskevich's northern flank and allowed his forces to devise a new plan of attack. Instead of attacking the city directly and risking yet another defeat, he intended to surround Warsaw, cut it off from other Polish-controlled areas, and force it into submission.
Between 17 and 21 July 1831 he crossed the Vistula near Osiek with his main force, and moved towards Warsaw through Gąbin and Łowicz. Meanwhile, other Russian forces from other theatres were also directed towards the city. General Gregor von Rosen's Corps (12,000 men and 34 guns) marched almost unopposed from Brześć Litewski and reached Praga on 10 August. General Theodor von Rüdiger's corps (12,000 men and 42 guns) crossed the Upper Vistula at Józefów on 7 August and captured Radom.
The new Commander in Chief of the Polish Army, Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki, was also hesitant to fight a major battle. Instead, he ordered Warsaw to be fortified and allowed the Russians to cross the Vistula unopposed. In his opinion, the war could only be won diplomatically, by interventions of the United Kingdom, Austria and France. Should those fail, Skrzynecki believed Warsaw would hold out at least several weeks under a siege, after which the main bulk of the Polish Army would still be intact to fight a decisive battle against the Russians, who by then would be cut off from their rear by the Vistula. On 10 August 1831 Skrzynecki was forced to resign and was replaced by Henryk Dembiński, the military governor of Warsaw.
Prelude
Battlefield
In the late 18th century and early 19th century Warsaw grew quickly. As Poland was going through a period of turmoil and constant devastating wars, it lacked modern permanent fortifications. To make up for it, three lines of earthworks, ramparts and palisades were constructed on both sides of the Vistula. The earthworks, usually several metres high and constructed mostly of sand and clay, were reinforced with gabions and surrounded by a dry moat, a stockade and a line of trous de loup.
The inner, third line ran approximately along the former Lubomirski Ramparts, demolished only a couple of years before. It was a continuous line of earthworks 3 metres (9.8 ft) high, strengthened by numerous forts and fortified houses.
The second line of defences consisted of forts 400 to 600 metres (1,300 to 2,000 ft) in front of the inner line of defences. The strongest forts were along the road towards Kalisz.
The first, outer line of defences consisted of smaller forts and ramparts running along a semi-circular line from Szopy, through Rakowiec, Wola and Parysów to the banks of the Vistula. The fortified outposts of the outer line were 1.5 to 3 kilometres (0.93 to 1.86 mi) in front of the third line. Their purpose was to withstand the initial attacks and divide the attacking Russian forces into smaller groups. There were five large groups of earthworks in the outer line:
The space between the large fortifications was covered by a series of smaller redans (chevron-shaped forts) and barkans (trapezoidal forts). The strongest fortification in the outer line of defences was Fort 56 in the suburb of Wola, built around the St Lawrence's Church. It was supported by Lunette 57 in front of it, and two forts (54 and 55) to the south of it. The headquarters was in Fort 73 between Rakowiec and the Jerozolimskie Gate.
Polish headquarters decided to man the outer line of defences, the furthest from the densely populated areas. The reason was that in the 1830s 53 per cent of buildings (out of 3,148 houses in Warsaw) were made of wood and a fire could easily destroy the city. In case the enemy broke through all three lines of defences, the city centre was also fortified with 30 barricades, embrasures cut through the walls of several buildings and mines hidden beneath major street crossings.
Opposing forces
Russian Army
By 20 August 1831 Warsaw was almost entirely encircled by the Russians. Count Paskevich had at his disposal a formidable force. His main force on the left bank of the Vistula consisted of between 54,000 and 55,000 soldiers, supported by 324 guns of various calibres. A further 7000 soldiers and 20 guns guarded the river crossings. The II Corps under General Cyprian von Kreutz (21,000 soldiers, 90 guns) was heading towards the city from Osiek while von Rüdiger's corps was tied down around Radom, fighting a large Polish corps under General Samuel Różycki.
By 5 September 1831, the main Russian force rose to 78,500 men at arms, including 2,000 sappers, 54,000 infantry, and 17,200 cavalry. Russian artillery outnumbered the Polish and had 382 cannons and 8 mortars operated by 7,300 men. The forces assaulting Warsaw were divided as follows:
- I Infantry Corps (General Peter von der Pahlen) – 11,300 infantry, 424 cavalry, 66 cannon and 4 mortars
- II Infantry Corps (General Cyprian Kreutz) – 11,200 infantry, 1110 cavalry, 68 cannon and 4 mortars
- Corps of Imperial Guard (in reserve, Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich) – 15,700 infantry, 56 cannon
- Grenadier Corps (General Ivan Shakhovskoy) – 11,000 infantry, 40 cannon
- Cavalry Corps (General Jan de Witte) – 8,500 cavalry, 40 cannon
- artillery reserve – 60 cannon
- 2nd Light Division (General Karl Gustav von Strandmann) – 1,400 infantry, 484 cavalry, 875 Cossacks and 6 cannons
The Russian force was superior, but faced severe logistical problems. Count Paskevich's army was too big to sustain on food confiscated from captured lands. It relied on provisions transported from Russia, either directly through Polish territory or theoretically neutral Prussia. The epidemic of cholera brought to Poland and East Prussia by Russian soldiers forced the Prussian authorities to close their borders to Russian transports. To avoid starving his army, Paskevich ordered two permanent bridges built across the Vistula, in Góra and Podgórze. Only the latter one had been completed by the start of the Russian assault of Warsaw.
Polish Army
The Polish Army in early September 1831 had around 62,000 men. The garrison of Warsaw numbered 31,100 infantry and 3,800 cavalry. It was divided into the following units:
- I Corps (General Jan Nepomucen Umiński) – 18,100 infantry, 1,400 cavalry, 34 guns
- Reserve Corps (General Henryk Dembiński) – 11,500 infantry, 1,700 cavalry, 12 guns
- Garrison of Warsaw and Praga – 1,361 infantry, 524 cavalry
The artillery included 228 pieces of artillery of all types and 21 Congreve rocket batteries, manned by 4554 soldiers of the regular army and 200 members of the National Guard.
The crew was insufficient to man all the defences, and some forts had to be abandoned. The Engineering Committee predicted that Warsaw's fortifications would require at least 60,000 troops to be fully manned. There were 15,000 able-bodied members of the Security Guard (Straż Bezpieczeństwa), the National Guard (Gwardia Narodowa) and the Jewish City Guard (Gwardia Miejska Starozakonna) militias willing to join the fight, but the army refused to provide them with arms for fear of losing control over the unruly plebeians.
The city was home to over 175,000 civilians and refugees, and the defenders were low on food supplies. Ammunition supplies were excellent and would "allow the Polish Army to fight not one, but three major battles". The Warsaw Arsenal alone stored 3 million rounds of ammunition and 60,000 cannonballs, 200 shots per cannon.
The cholera epidemic struck Warsaw between 16 May and 20 August; 4,734 people fell ill and 2,524 died. On 15 August a riot broke out in the city, with up to 3,000 civilians and soldiers killing suspected spies and traitors. Between 36 and 60 people were killed. Order was restored, but the situation in the besieged city remained fragile.
Training, equipment and morale
Both sides were trained in a similar manner and used similar equipment. The standard rifle for both sides was the Model 1808 flintlock musket (a copy of the Charleville musket) and its modification, the Model 1826 Musket, with effective range not exceeding 250 metres (820 ft). Some units of the Polish infantry were still armed with hunting rifles or war scythes, but contrary to common misconception the scythe-wielding kosynierzy were but a small minority of Polish forces. The artillery used by both sides was mostly six-pounder and twelve-pounder licornes; heavier artillery included twenty-pounders ("half-pood") and 10-pounders ("quarter-pood") cannons. Apart from Russian-made artillery, both sides also used to a lesser extent foreign guns. The forces of both sides were a mixture of old, battle-hardened soldiers trained in regular units before the war, and new, unproven recruits.