Штурм Праги: Бои Восстания Костюшко 1794 года

Battle during the Kościuszko Uprising
a battle in 1794
2 November (O. S. 22 October): pushing back Polish pickets (outposts) by the Russian troops;
3 November (O. S. 23 October): Russian bombardment, a substantial artillery duel;
4 November (O. S. 24 October): Russian assault on the suburb. 86 cannons ubl| 17,500 regulars;efn|Some Polish estimates put the soldiers' number at 14,000. According to one of Russian estimates, 18,000. Suvorov's report to Pyotr Rumyantsev of 28 October [O. S. 17 October ], which is based on Polish data, shows regular troops: 15,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry. As Prof. W. L. Blease observed, the number of regular and partially trained soldiers was 24,000. As per Suvorov, "nearly all" of the 26,000 regular and 30,000 (per captured chiefs) at most. At least 101 guns (Штурм Праги) and in Polish as the defense of Praga (Obrona Pragi), was a Russian assault on Praga, the easternmost community 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. Praga was a suburb ("Faubourg") of Warsaw, lying on the right bank of the Vistula river. In 1794 it was well fortified and was better strengthened than the western part of the capital, located on the left bank of the Vistula. Historian and professor Friedrich Christoph Schlosser labelled Praga as "the key to Warsaw". The internal struggle for power in Warsaw and the demoralisation of the city's population prevented General Józef Zajączek from finishing the fortifications surrounding the city both from the east and from the west. At the same time, the Russians were making their way towards the city.

The Russian forces consisted of two battle hardened corps under Generals Alexander (Aleksandr) Suvorov and Ivan Fersen. Suvorov took part in the recent Russo Turkish war, then in the heavy fighting in Polesie. General Lieutenant Baron Fersen fought for several months in Poland but was also joined by fresh reinforcements sent from Russia. Each of them had approximately 11,000 men. The Polish Lithuanian forces consisted of a variety of troops. Apart from the rallied remnants of the Kościuszko's army defeated in the Battle of Maciejowice, it also included a large number of untrained militia from Warsaw, Praga and Vilnius, a 500 man Jewish regiment of Berek Joselewicz as well as a number of scythemen (2,000 men) and civilians, plus 5,000 regular cavalry. The total number of irregulars was to be about 12,000 and the regular troops about 18,000. and partly because, since so many of the ordinary inhabitants were armed, it was not always easy to distinguish soldier from civilian. Although neither the disposition nor the order mentioned the booty, but this was the custom of the time, and Suvorov's military doctrine very clearly said: "If you take the camp — everything is yours, if you take the fortress — everything is yours". The looting went on all day and night, but the soldiers did not make much money from it, because there was almost nothing to loot. The Praga's Jewish population was characterised by poverty, and if anyone had anything more expensive, he got it out of the house beforehand,—especially the non bulky property, which could be the only things of soldiers' use. </blockquote>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, including military, armed and unarmed inhabitants. Suvorov himself wrote: "The whole of Praga was strewn with dead bodies, blood was flowing in streams." It was thought that unruly Cossack troops were partly to blame for the uncontrolled destruction. Russian historians (e. g., Кипнис, Борис Григорьевич) state that Suvorov tried to stop the massacre by ordering the destruction of the bridge to Warsaw over the Vistula river with the purpose of preventing the spread of violence to the capital, although Polish historians dispute this, pointing out to purely military considerations of this move, such as to stop Polish and Lithuanian troops stationing on the left bank from attacking Russian soldiers. Kipnis asserted that when Suvorov learned of the civilian bloodshed, he immediately rode to Praga, but when he received the news, it was too late—the blood of innocent had been spilled, and spilled a lot; nevertheless, Suvorov brought the soldiers to their senses and stopped the massacre.

Russian casualties were 1,540 killed and wounded. 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, promoting him to Field Marshal for this victory.

Russian writers and historians have tried to either justify or present this massacre as an revenge for Polish conquest of Moscow in 1612 or the heavy losses Russian garrison sustained during the Warsaw Uprising of 1794. Similar sentiments can be seen in the poetry of Vasily Zhukovsky and Gavrila Derzhavin or plays of Mikhail Kheraskov and Michail Glinka. Although after the fall of communism the restrictions to research were lifted, this is still one of the controversial and sensitive topic in the Polish Russian relations.