The Battle for Sosnowiec - The battle between Polish rebels and Russian troops that occurred on January 25 ( February 6 ) - January 26 ( February 7 ), 1863 at the railway station in Sosnowiec during the January Uprising .
| Fight in Sosnowiec polish Bitwa w sosnowcu | |||
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| Main Conflict: January Uprising | |||
| date | January 25 ( February 6 ) - January 26 ( February 7 ) 1863 | ||
| A place | Sosnowiec , Silesian Voivodeship , Kingdom of Poland | ||
| Total | Rebel victory | ||
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Content
Background
During the Polish uprising, Sosnowiec played a very important strategic role, being on the border of the Russian Empire and the Prussian Kingdom . Since the beginning of the rebellion, a small insurgent unit (about 150 people) under the command of Apolinarius Kurovsky was operating in the Sosnowiec region. However, not believing in the possibility of rebel attacks on the railway station and the town, there was left a garrison of only 100 soldiers and workers of the station. Upon learning of this, Kurovsky, who was with a detachment in the vicinity of Oitsuva , decided to advance and occupy the station and the town.
Fight
On the night of February 5, the rebels arrived in Olkusz , where about 100 people joined them, increasing their total number to 250 rebels. On the morning of February 6, the rebels killed a minor Russian guard and stole a train at the Mozhki railway station in Slavkuv . At about 21:00 they left the town and headed for Sosnowiec through the industrial center of D Домbrowa Górnicza .
At about 2 a.m. the train arrived at the Shialichi station, the rebels walked on foot to Sosnowiec . After 10 minutes, the rebels launched a surprise attack on the Russian soldiers patrolling the station, engaging in a shootout with them. A fierce battle for the station lasted about an hour, going most intensively at the customs checkpoint, but the regular troops, not expecting the rebel attack, after the first losses began to randomly scatter towards the Prussian border, ensuring the victory for the rebels, who occupied the whole place without a fight after the station and station.
Consequences
The losses of the rebels during the battle are estimated at 3 killed and 17 wounded. The Russian security garrison lost 30 people killed or wounded and more than 40 people who fled from the battlefield. The rebels seized 40 horses, more than 100 firearms and 97,000 rubles, which were immediately transferred to the National Government . The Russian flags were torn down from the administrative buildings and the Polish ones were hoisted. The rebels controlled Sosnowiec for another 15 days, until (10) February 22, 1863. [one]