Battle of Iganie

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Iganie


caption=
partof=November Uprising
date=April 10, 1831
place=Iganie near Siedlce, Poland
result=Polish victory
combatant1=flag|Poland
combatant2=flagicon|Russia Imperial Russia
commander1=flagicon|Poland Ignacy Prądzyński
flagicon|Poland Ludwik Kicki
commander2=flagicon|Russia Grigoriy Vladimirovich Rosen
strength1=11,000 men, 16 cannons
strength2=Unknown number of men,
28 cannons
casualties1=~400
casualties2=Up to 5,000|

The Battle of Iganie was fought on April 10, 1831 between Russian and Polish forces. It was one of the last major battles of the November Uprising and the last major victory of the Poles.

Following the battle of Grochów of February 25, the Poles managed to stop the Russian advance and repel the forces of General Hans Karl von Diebitsch. However, it was not until the spring that a Polish Corps under Ignacy Prądzyński started a counter-offensive. The Poles, numbering some 11,000 men (both bayonettes and sabres) and 16 cannons advanced rapidly towards the town of Siedlce, a major Russian munitions depot. On April 10, 1831 the Poles encountered the withdrawing forces of Gen. Grigorij Rosen in the village of Iganie, several miles west of Siedlce, at the Muchawka river.

Prądzyński, believing the remainder of the Polish forces would arrive shortly, decided to assault the Russians with his avant garde only. The mounted artillery units under Gen. Józef Bem took advantage of its mobility and successfully shelled the village of Iganie defended by Russian infantry. This allowed for the Polish infantry led by Prądzyński himself to recapture the village. After the initial surprise, the Russian forces managed to regroup across the river and started shelling the Poles with their artillery, much supperior in numbers. Seing the numerical inferiority of the Poles, the Russian commander ordered the artillery barrage to stop and the infantry to charge the Polish positions from across the river. However, shortly after the Russians entered the combat, the combined forces of Prądzyński's infantry and Gen. Ludwik Kicki's cavalry managed to cut the Russians from their rear and seize the sole bridge above the river.

After a short struggle, the Russians lost approximately 3,000 men and 1,500 additional were taken prisoners of war. Although the Polish losses were incomparably low (less than 500 men), the Polish commander in chief Gen. Jan Skrzynecki who arrived at the battlefield later that day opposed the idea of a pursuit of the Russian forces. Because of that the Polish victory was somehow pyrrhic.

External links

* [http://www.poland.pl/archives/postpartionera/article,,id,44972.htm Facsimile of Gen. Skrzynecki's after-battle report to the government]