CASUALTY RECORD // February 19, 1831
First Battle of Wawer
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 7,200–7,500 estimated
Kingdom of Poland
3,500
Medium-confidence figure
Imperial Russia
3,700–4,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The First Battle of Wawer was a Polish defeat in the early phase of the November Uprising, fought between comparable forces — 44,000 Polish troops under Michał Radziwiłł against 52,000 Russians under Hans Karl von Diebitsch. Despite casualties that were roughly even, with Poland suffering approximately 3,500 losses and Russia between 3,700 and 4,000, the Polish side was tactically overborne. A contributing factor was the failure of Polish commanders to receive reinforcements, while Russian forces were resupplied during the engagement. The battle demonstrated an early asymmetry in operational coordination that would characterize Russian advantages in the wider campaign to suppress the uprising.
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