The Battle of Palonka
A memorial sign is erected near the village of Palonka on the site of the battle between the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Moscow State in the war of 1654-1667, known as “The Flood”. Every second citizen of Belarus died in this war, and in Moghilev and Viciebsk regions only 20 people survived of every hundred. This is how the chroniclers describe the events of that time.
In June 1660, near the small village of Palonka, the united Belarusian-Lithuanian and Polish army led by hetmans Jan Paul Sapega and Stephen Czarnecky gained a great victory over Moscow general Ivan Khovansky’s army which was 3 times as large.
According to various sources, 10-16 thousand Muscovites were killed in the battle of Palonka.
Khovansky army’s defeat at Palonka changed the correlation of forces at the Lithuanian theatre of war for while . The strategic initiative was lost. The brilliantly planned preemptive strike made by the Polish-Lithuanian troops frustrated the plan of attack on Warsaw. The defeat resulted in complete secession of the Grand Duchy’s western half from tsarist power.
Geographic coordinates: N 53° 08' 43,274" E 25° 44' 13,96"
Фото: Владимира ЗУЕВА, Андрея ПОНОМАРЕВА
