Battle of Trzciana

Part of the Polish-Swedish War (1626–1629)

Gustav II Adolf almost killed in the battle of Trzciana, 1629

Date	June 25, 1629
Location	Trzciano / Honigfelde, Royal Prussia (Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, today Trzciano, Poland)
Result	Polish victory

Belligerents

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Holy Roman Empire

Swedish Empire

Commanders and leaders

Stanisław Koniecpolski, Field Crown Hetman of Poland
Imperial Troop Commander Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg

Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden

Strength

1,300 hussars
1,200 light cavalry
2,000 reiters

5,500 cavalry
1,300 infantry
18 artillery pieces

Casualties and losses

300 killed

600 killed
200 captured

The Battle of Trzciana (also known as Battle of Honigfelde or Battle on the Stuhmer Heide or Battle of Sztum) took place on 25 June 1629 (usually said to be 27th in the New Style calendar) and was one of the battles of the Polish-Swedish War (1626–1629) or Second Swedish-Polish War. The Polish forces were led by Crown Field Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski and imperial troops under Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg, sent by emperor Ferdinand II to aid Sigismund III, met with troops commanded by Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, who supported the Protestant Lutherans of Germany and northern Europe. Gustav Adolf was almost killed or captured twice. Fighting in Prussia continued after the battle into July and August and ended with stalemate and finally a truce accepted by Sigismund III.

Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian king Sigismund III sought to hold on to the crown of Sweden, but was rejected by the Swedish people, and Sigismund's uncle Karl became king of Sweden instead. Sigismund wanted to regain the Swedish crown and he also wanted to gain the crown of Russia. Russia requested help from Karl of Sweden. The Holy Roman Empire under the Habsburgs attempted to regain European countries for Catholicism and to gain control of northern German Baltic Sea trading cities, namely the Hansa, and to reverse the North having become Lutheran and thereby Sweden gaining supremacy over the Baltic Sea. The Trade routes for some time had been controlled by a powerful Denmark, which controlled and collected at the Sound in its territory. Sigismund III of Poland-Lithuania sought to wrest the Baltic Sea with its lucrative trade routes for himself and he repeatedly requested Swedish king Gustav Adolph to renounce his title of Swedish king as a prerequisite for a truce and peace negotiations. The Swedes saw through these delaying tactics by Sigismund III and so the battles and skirmished went on for years.

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