Battle of Radom (1656)
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| Battle of Radom (1656) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Northern War of 1655–1660 and the Deluge | |||||||
 Contemporary oil painting of the battle | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Swedish Empire |
 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Rutger von Ascheberg |
Stanisław Witowski | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 250[2]–300[3] | 1,500–2,000[4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
14 killed[2] 18 wounded[2] | 100–560 killed or captured[5] | ||||||
The Battle of Radom was fought on 2 February (O.S.) / 12 February (N.S.), as part of the Second Northern War and the Deluge, between the forces of the Swedish Empire commanded by Rutger von Ascheberg against the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth commanded by Stanisław Witowski.
Battle
In the morning, the manor house was attacked by a significantly larger Polish force, reportedly between 1,500[6] and 2,000 men[5] – in part consisting of levies with improvised weapons – under Stanisław Witowski. Ascheberg and his men repulsed repeated Polish attacks.[6]
According to some sources, Witowski managed to set the manor house on fire in the evening which finally compelled the Swedes to break out and fight their way through the attackers, moving under the cover of darkness. The Poles were unable to stop or pursue them.[6] Other sources claim that, as the fire was unable to dislodge the Swedes, Witowski initiated negotiations with the Swedish commander; the negotiations ended as the Poles launched a last-ditch assault on the manor, once again being repulsed. This allowed Ascheberg to then continue to Radom.[5]