Battle of Wallhof

Battle of the 1626 Polish-Swedish war

56°31′00″N 24°44′00″E / 56.51667°N 24.73333°E / 56.51667; 24.73333Result Swedish victoryBelligerents

Swedish Empire

Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthCommanders and leaders Gustavus Adolphus Jan Stanisław SapiehaStrength 2,800 infantry,
2,100 cavalry,
6 cannons^[1] between 2,000 and 7,000 men (infantry & cavalry)
5 cannonsCasualties and losses Very light, some sources claim not a single man dead or missing 1,000 killed or wounded
150 men captured along with 3 cannons^[2]

Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)

Prussia
Wallhof
Bauska
Mitau
Gniew
Selburg
Wenden
Puck
Czarne
Dirschau
Oliwa
Treiden
Danzig
Vistula
Ostród
Górzno
Trzciana
Weichselsmünde

Battle of Wallhof (Latvian: Valles kauja, also known as Battle of Walmozja) was fought between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 7 January 1626.

History

Swedish forces consisting of 4,900 men (2,100 of them cavalry) with six guns under Gustavus II Adolphus ambushed and took by surprise a Polish-Lithuanian force of 2,000–7,000 men (sources differ) with three guns under Jan Stanisław Sapieha. Polish-Lithuanian casualties amounted to between 500 and 1,000 or between 1,000 and 2,300 killed, wounded, or captured;^[3]^[4] their commander collapsed from mental illness after this defeat.^[4]
The Swedish king Gustav claimed: "not a single man is missing; everyone is where they should be" which is hard to believe, but to have suffered very small casualties is most likely true.

In the battle Gustavus Adolphus' reformed tactics, utilising close cooperation between infantry and cavalry, were tried for the first time. It was also the first time the Swedish cavalry successfully withstood the Polish cavalry.

The Swedes attacked the Lithuanian camp at dawn and, since the camp was located between two woods, the Lithuanian cavalry could not outflank the Swedes. Instead, the Swedes used the woods to fire upon the Lithuanian cavalry charge.^[5]^: 106

The battle depicted on a contemporary engraving with the format 290 mm x 1070 mm.

References

^ twojahistoria.pl
^ Leszek Podhorodecki, "Rapier i koncerz", Warszawa 1985, ISBN 83-05-11452-X, pp. 142–144
^ Wallhof i Nordisk familjebok (2:a upplagan, 1921)
^ ^a ^b Podhorodecki, Leszek (1985). Rapier i koncerz. Warsaw. ISBN 83-05-11452-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Frost, R.I., 2000, The Northern Wars, 1558-1721, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, ISBN 9780582064294

Sources

[1]
https://twojahistoria.pl/encyklopedia/leksykon-bitew/bitwa-pod-walmojzami-16-stycznia-1626/
"Wallhof" in Nordisk familjebok (2nd edition, 1921)
Sundberg, Ulf: Svenska krig 1521–1814, pp. 109–112, Hjalmarson & Högberg Bokförlag, Stockholm 2002, ISBN 91-89660-10-2
Gullberg, Tom: Krigen kring Östersjön – Lejonet vaknar 1611–1660, pp. 50–52, Schildts Förlags AB, Helsinki 2008, ISBN 978-951-50-1822-9