Battle of Ostrołęka

Overview

The Battle of Ostrołęka of 26 May 1831 was one of the largest engagements of Poland's November Uprising. Throughout the day, Polish forces under Jan Skrzynecki fought for the control over the town of Ostrołęka against the assaulting Russian forces of Hans Karl von Diebitsch. Although by the end of the day the town was still in Polish hands and the two sides suffered comparable losses, the battle is usually considered a Polish defeat because of the Russian army's almost unlimited strategic reinforcement capability. The Polish Army could not similarly replenish its casualties. It had been seriously depleted by the battle and was in a state of exhaustion, resulting in the Poles abandoning Ostrołęka that night. Diebitsch had the opportunity to end the uprising at that moment with one decisive blow, but due to fresh Polish forces nearby and lack of information on the state of Skrzynecki's army, he did not do so.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (19)