Battle of Orzechowo

The battle of Orzechowo (Orekhovo)^[d] took place on 13 September 1769,^[5] between the armed forces of the Bar Confederation and the Russian Empire. The Russian troops were led by Brigadier Suvorov and the Polish troops were led by Casimir Pulaski. The battle was decided by an attack by Sakharov's grenadier company and Rönne's 50 carabiniers (the latter were under the command of Captain Count Castelli).^[1] The Confederates lost up to 200 men in the battle, including 40 captured, while Russian losses were "very small" despite a significant numerical gap. The affair at Orzechowo put Suvorov in the first row of Russian commanders in Poland and brought him the rank of major general.^[2][4][3]

Battle of Orzechowo
Part of the war of the Bar Confederation
The sign was erected to commemorate the events of 1772 in honour of commander A.V. Suvorov. (Arekhava/Orekhovo, Belarus)
Date 13 September[a] 1769 Location Orzechowo, Brest Litovsk Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Arekhava, Belarus) Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Bar Confederation
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Suvorov Mikhail Sakharov Karl Rönne Capt. Castelli	Casimir Pulaski
Strength
320–450 men[b] 2 guns[2][1]	2,000[2][3] (only cavalrymen[3][1]) 2 guns[1]
Casualties and losses
small[2][c]	up to 200[2] or in the 200–300 range[3] or "several hundred" dead and 43 captured[1]

Notes

1. Julian calendar: 2 Sep.^[1]
2. • 320 plus those not in the line of duty^[1]
   • less than 400 before getting Rönne's 50 reinforcements^[2]
   • 400^[3]
   • 450^[4]
3. "5 men and 9 horses killed, 11 men wounded"^[3]
4. Russian: Сражение под Ореховом, Polish: Bitwa pod Orzechowem

Refs

1. Shtabs-Kapitan Plesterer. Суворов. Поход в Польшу и бой при Орехове. (1768–1769 гг.). – Военный сборник, 1901, № 5, pp. 1–10.
2. Petrushevsky 1884.
3. Longworth 1966.
4. Osipov 1939.
5. Mała Encyklopedia Wojskowa. A-J. Warsaw 1967, p. 114.

Sources

• Osipov, K. (1939). Alexander Suvorov. Translated by Bone, Edith. London, New York, and Melbourne: Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. p. 37. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
• Petrushevsky, Alexander (1884). Генералиссимус князь Суворов [Generalissimo Prince Suvorov] (in Russian). Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Saint Petersburg: Типография М. М. Стасюлевича. pp. 81–83. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
• Longworth, Philip (1966). The Art of Victory: The Life and Achievements of Field-Marshal Suvorov, 1729–1800. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 48–49.