Post by Bonobo on Apr 13, 2017 15:30:03 GMT 1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Praga
The Battle of Praga or the Second Battle of Warsaw of 1794 was a Russian assault of Praga, the easternmost suburb of Warsaw, during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. It was followed by a massacre (known as the Massacre of Praga) of the civilian population of Praga.
After the battle ended, the Russian troops, against the orders given by Suvorov before the battle, started to loot and burn the entire borough of Warsaw in revenge for the slaughter of the Russian Garrison in Warsaw[7] during the Warsaw Uprising in April 1794, when about 2,000 Russian soldiers died.[8] Faddey Bulgarin recalled the words of General Ivan von Klugen, who took part in the Battle of Praga, “We were being shot at from the windows of houses and the roofs, and our soldiers were breaking into the houses and killing all who happened to get in the way… In every living being our embittered soldiers saw the murderer of our men during the uprising in Warsaw… It cost a lot of effort for the Russian officers to save these poor people from the revenge of our soldiers… At four o'clock the terrible revenge for the slaughter of our men in Warsaw was complete!”[9] Denis Davydov wrote on this, “During the assault on Praga the rage of our troops, who were burning with revenge for the treacherous slaughter of our comrades by the Poles, reached extreme limits”.[10]
Almost all of the area was pillaged and inhabitants of the Praga district were tortured, raped and murdered. The exact death toll of that day remains unknown, but it is estimated that up to 20,000 people were killed.[4] Suvorov himself wrote: "The whole of Praga was strewn with dead bodies, blood was flowing in streams."[11] It was thought that unruly Cossack troops were partly to blame for the uncontrolled destruction.[12] Some Russian historians claim that Suvorov tried to stop the massacre by ordering the destruction of the bridge to Warsaw over the Vistula river [13] with the purpose of preventing the spread of violence to Warsaw, but in fact he wanted to stop Polish troops stationing on the left bank from attacking his soldiers.[10] Other historians dispute this.[14]
After the battle the commanders of Warsaw and large part of its inhabitants became demoralised. To spare Warsaw the fate of its eastern suburb, General Tomasz Wawrzecki decided to withdraw his remaining forces southwards and on November 5. Warsaw was captured by the Russians with little or no opposition. It is said that after the battle General Aleksandr Suvorov sent a report to Catherine the Great consisting of only four words: Hooray! Warsaw is ours! The Empress of Russia replied equally briefly: Bravo Fieldmarshal, Catherine,[15] promoting him to Field Marshal for this victory.[8] The massacre of Praga dented Suvorov and the Russian army's reputation throughout Europe.
The Battle of Praga or the Second Battle of Warsaw of 1794 was a Russian assault of Praga, the easternmost suburb of Warsaw, during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. It was followed by a massacre (known as the Massacre of Praga) of the civilian population of Praga.
After the battle ended, the Russian troops, against the orders given by Suvorov before the battle, started to loot and burn the entire borough of Warsaw in revenge for the slaughter of the Russian Garrison in Warsaw[7] during the Warsaw Uprising in April 1794, when about 2,000 Russian soldiers died.[8] Faddey Bulgarin recalled the words of General Ivan von Klugen, who took part in the Battle of Praga, “We were being shot at from the windows of houses and the roofs, and our soldiers were breaking into the houses and killing all who happened to get in the way… In every living being our embittered soldiers saw the murderer of our men during the uprising in Warsaw… It cost a lot of effort for the Russian officers to save these poor people from the revenge of our soldiers… At four o'clock the terrible revenge for the slaughter of our men in Warsaw was complete!”[9] Denis Davydov wrote on this, “During the assault on Praga the rage of our troops, who were burning with revenge for the treacherous slaughter of our comrades by the Poles, reached extreme limits”.[10]
Almost all of the area was pillaged and inhabitants of the Praga district were tortured, raped and murdered. The exact death toll of that day remains unknown, but it is estimated that up to 20,000 people were killed.[4] Suvorov himself wrote: "The whole of Praga was strewn with dead bodies, blood was flowing in streams."[11] It was thought that unruly Cossack troops were partly to blame for the uncontrolled destruction.[12] Some Russian historians claim that Suvorov tried to stop the massacre by ordering the destruction of the bridge to Warsaw over the Vistula river [13] with the purpose of preventing the spread of violence to Warsaw, but in fact he wanted to stop Polish troops stationing on the left bank from attacking his soldiers.[10] Other historians dispute this.[14]
After the battle the commanders of Warsaw and large part of its inhabitants became demoralised. To spare Warsaw the fate of its eastern suburb, General Tomasz Wawrzecki decided to withdraw his remaining forces southwards and on November 5. Warsaw was captured by the Russians with little or no opposition. It is said that after the battle General Aleksandr Suvorov sent a report to Catherine the Great consisting of only four words: Hooray! Warsaw is ours! The Empress of Russia replied equally briefly: Bravo Fieldmarshal, Catherine,[15] promoting him to Field Marshal for this victory.[8] The massacre of Praga dented Suvorov and the Russian army's reputation throughout Europe.