Battle of Warsaw (1656) - Third Day

Third Day

The third day was when the Commonwealth forces were finally defeated. The planned retreat was poorly executed and on most parts a failure. During the night, horses and infantry started to cause a traffic jam on the bridge across to the Warsaw-side of the river.

At sunrise, around 4 a.m., the allied forces got into battle position while the Polish forces, led by John II Casimir himself, readied themselves. Around 8 a.m. the allied forces started their attack. Field Marshal von Sparr began an hour-long bombardment and followed with a pike charge against the now demoralized and unorganized Commonwealth forces. Frederick William led a cavalry charge to the right and broke deep into the rear of the Polish lines, causing a general disintegration of their forces.

A dispute regarding the tactics between Swedish and Brandenburg officers gave several Polish regiments the opportunity to withdraw towards the bridge. At this time, the bottleneck on the bridge’s eastern side caused a panic and many Commonwealth soldiers fell into the water. Amongst those who came close to drowning was Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki. The bridge collapsed but was soon repaired while dragoons held off the Swedish-Brandenburg attacks. When the artillery and infantry was across the bridge, John II Casimir ordered it to be burnt down in order to halt the pursuing Brandenburg cavalry.

Left on the eastern bank were the majority of the Polish cavalry. Numbering about ten thousand, the force started to maneuver south through a narrow corridor. The allied officers were surprised by this bold move and did not mount a flank attack that would have cut off the Polish forces and caused a catastrophe for them. Instead, the battle ended with Swedish cavalry cutting down and capturing the remaining scattered forces, amongst many were nobility from Belz.