Battle of Grokhov

After a series of major skirmishes in early February, the Polish army retreated to the Grochowski position, which directly covered Warsaw .

On February 8, the 25th division of the VI Russian corps attacked Grokhov’s position on their own initiative, but was repelled, losing 1,620 people.

Dibich intended to attack the Poles only on the 14th and, directing the main blow at the weakest point of their position - the left wing , push the opponents away from the bridge over the Vistula, their only escape route; but on the morning of the 13th a cannonade was heard from the side of the village of Belolenka ^[1] , near the Kovenskoye Highway, along which a separate Russian detachment (the Grenadier Corps of 12,000 men) advanced under the command of Prince I. L. Shakhovsky . Fearing that the Poles would not fall upon this detachment with superior forces, Dibich, who did not manage to concentrate his forces in the intended direction, decided to immediately attack the enemy from the front. So the Grokhovsky battle happened - the most bloody thing for all the Russian wars with the Poles.

In the absence of general preliminary orders, this frontal attack was carried out without proper communication, and according to the very conditions of the area (numerous rivers, ditches with water, pits and swamps) it was difficult for the Russians. A particularly stubborn battle was over the possession of a tactical key - an alder grove located in the center of the enemy’s position. Three attacks, conducted by long lines of up to 20 battalions , were repelled, and adviser Radziwill Khlopitsky personally led the troops into violent counterattacks. The Russians conquered the grove only after the fourth attack, when the field marshal led the 3rd Grenadier Division into battle. Then Dibich decided to deliver the final blow to the cavalry. But its onslaught did not bring decisive success because of the staunch defense of the Polish units, difficult for the actions of the cavalry of the area (river, ditch, pit) and fragmentation in the actions of the cavalry commanders.

Russian losses amounted to 9,400 people, the Poles lost 12,000 people and three guns.

The battle lasted until the evening, when, finally, the Polish troops, completely upset, began to retreat to the bridgehead of Prague , and from there they stretched in complete disarray across the bridge to Warsaw. According to another version of the events, the Polish army retreated to Warsaw in an organized manner.

The retreating Poles covered themselves with the Vistula line and the strong fortifications of Prague . The Russian army paid for its tactical success under Grokhov with serious losses and embezzlement of almost all the ammunition . She did not have the necessary reserves and siege artillery to storm Warsaw. The food part was not arranged either - the campaign was light. In this situation, Dibich did not dare to storm the Polish capital and retreated to his supply base.

Thus, the war could not be completed with one blow.

A monument was erected at the site of the battle by order of Nicholas I. It was an octagonal cast-iron pyramid crowned with a scaly church cupola with a cross mounted on an octagonal prism. The monument was destroyed by the Poles in the early 1920s.

• Shefov N.A. 1000 battles and battles of Russian weapons. IX — XXI centuries. Battles of Russia - M .: AST, 2007
• Grokhov // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.