Battle of Khotyn (1621) - Battle

Battle

The Polish-Lithuanian army arrived near Khotyn around 20 August and started entrenching itself near the Khotyn Fortress, blocking the path of the Ottoman march. The army, following a common Commonwealth defense strategy when facing large Ottoman forces, employed deep defences by building separate field works in front of the camp's defences. These field works were designed to allow the use of cavalry counterattacks, especially crucial since the Commonwealth relied heavily on its elite Polish Hussars and Ukrainian Cossacks. A semicircle of field fortifications was created, with the fortress behind them, and with borders on the Dniester River. The circle was divided into three sections: right, commanded by Hetman Chodkiewicz; central, commanded by Prince Władysław; and left, under Regimentarz Lubomirski. In addition, two fortified camps were set in front of the main defence line: the Cossacks' and the mercenaries' (the famous Lisowczycy unit).

On 27 August a Ukrainian Cossack cavalry detachment carried out a suicidal raid, delaying the approaching Ottoman forces and inflicting casualties amounting to several times their number before being nearly annihilated. On 31 August Ottoman cavalry, in turn, struck at the Ukrainian Cossack forces outside camp, trying without success to scatter them and cut them off from the main Polish-Lithuanian forces. By 2 September the main Ottoman army had arrived, and the siege began.

On 2 September the Ottomans tried to breach the unfinished Cossack camp, but Ukrainian Cossacks—having received reinforcements from the Polish-Lithuanian army—held. On 3 September another Ottoman assault, directed at Lubomirski's flank of the main fortifications, was stopped. In the afternoon the big Ottoman forces attacked the Cossack camp. This started a very fierce fight but the Ottomans were repulsed and Cossacks rushed up behind them into the Ottoman camp from where they returned at dusk with the rich loot. The next day September the Ottomans again tried to overrun the Ukrainian Cossacks camp but again failed, and a Commonwealth counterattack managed to destroy several Ottoman guns in their positions. The experienced Commonwealth forces were able to withstand the Ottoman assaults because the Ottoman forces contained too much cavalry and too many inexperienced artillerymen to be efficient.

September 7, Ottoman troops assault four times on Cossack camp, Osmans assaults were repulsed. At noon, the Ottoman soldiers stormed the Polish camp (Which was not attacked so far). Janissary using the lack of vigilance (Poles then slept) on the right flank of the Polish Army, stormed into the entrenchments and cut down about a hundred infantrymen. Janissaries were repulsed, but it was expected a new assault. Around 10,000 Ottomans moved to attack but then Chodkiewicz, went to the counterattack three squadrons of hussars and one squadron of reiters (together 600-650 men), which led personally. Sipahi could not stand impact and rushed to the chaotic escaping and Poles pursued them to the camp. Ottomans losses amounted more than 500 killed and Polish losses amounted to 30 killed. Charge of the Poles completed breakdown and rushed Ottoman cavalry and had a huge impact on the morale of the Ottoman army.

September 10, during a meeting, Chodkiewicz proposed night attack, everyone agreed with him. Assault prepared for the night with 12 to September 13, but just before the attack, came torrential rain and action had to be canceled.

After several costly (and failed) assaults in the first week of the siege, the Ottomans tried to take the Polish forces by cutting off their supplies and reinforcements and waiting for them to succumb to hunger and disease. A temporary bridge was raised by 14 September over the Dniester River that allowed the Ottomans to stop the Commonwealth fortress from using the river to communicate with another fortress at nearby Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. It also allowed the Ottomans to shift some of their cannons to the other bank of the river and shell Commonwealth forces from the rear. Another Ottoman assault on 15 September was again repulsed.

September 18, At night Cossacks performed the attack, stormed into the Ottoman camp on the Dniester, attack was successful and Ottomans have suffered heavy losses. A similar attack took place on the night of 21 to 22 September. This time the objective was lodging Ohrili Hüseyin Pasha which almost was taken prisoner. Such actions raise the morale of the troops.

Although the Polish defenders were weakened, the Ottomans failed to break their morale. However, the defenders were running low on food and supplies, Ottomans had similar problems. On 24 September, a few days before the siege was to be lifted, the aged Grand Hetman died of exhaustion and illness in the camp. Chodkiewicz's second-in-command, Regimentarz Stanisław Lubomirski, took command of the Polish forces on 23 September, when the ailing hetman passed the command to him. On 25 September Lubomirski ordered his weakened forces to pull back and man a smaller, shorter defensive line; the Ottomans tried another assault hoping for the defenders to be disorganized but, again, the assault failed. A final assault was stopped on 28 September.

The lateness of the season, the loss of approximately 40,000 of his men in battle, the general exhaustion of the Ottoman army and the fact that his large force was also running out of supplies compelled Osman II to accept a request from the defenders to start negotiations, even though the Polish-Lithuanian forces were almost out of supplies (a legend has it that by the end of the siege, the Commonwealth army was down to its last barrel of gunpowder).