Stefan Czarniecki (1599–1665), military commander, author of an unconventional war strategy for his time.

Stefan Czarniecki (1599–1665)

Military commander, field crown hetman. The son of a poor nobleman; He did not study abroad, instead he joined the "Lisowczyk" group - a branch established by Aleksander Józef Lisowski. He fought in the Three Years' War and took part in the Battle of Khotyn in 1621. He took part in campaigns against the Swedes, Russians, Tatars and Cossacks under the authority of Stanisław Koniecpolski.

He became famous for his courage in 1637, when he commanded the charge of the Cossack camp near Kumiejki. At that time, Czarniecki became convinced that everything can be done by driving on the battlefield. After the tragic defeat of the crown army at Batoh in 1652, as one of the survivors, he was awarded the title of the crown-footman, and a year later he acted as an independent leader. In 1653 he was shot when he first broke into the palisades defending the Monastery. After this incident, the medics had to replace a part of the injured palate with a metal plate.

In 1655, he remained faithful to the king of Poland, although many magnates turned away from him and went to the Swedish side. On January 3, 1656, Czarniecki was appointed regimentary. Jan Chrysostom Pasek wrote about it:"he himself urgently jumped in front of us, slashed, shot, endangered himself not like a hetman, but like a simple soldier". However, he was repeatedly accused of not paying attention to the losses suffered in battle. During numerous wars he showed no mercy to the civilian population, his troops committed atrocities, burned villages and churches.

Czarniecki became famous for his talent for waging a "pulled war", consisting in the burdensome harassment of the opponent with quick strikes in the moments when he was the most sensitive, but he was also able to win in a battle, which he proved in 1660 at Połonka and Basia against the Russians. For his exemplary attitude during the Swedish Deluge, he almost became the Crown Hetman. After Lanckoroński's death, King Jan Kazimierz wanted to hand him the mace, but he was voted over by the senators. Czarniecki received the hetman's mace later, in 1665, when he suppressed a rebellion in Ukraine, but he was already at the end of his strength and did not manage to enjoy the titles. He died on the way to Warsaw on February 16, 1665.

You can read about the secret of the successes of our greatest leaders in the book "Polish gods of war" .