Battle of Zhovti Vody

Date	April 29-May 16, 1648
Location	Piatykhatky Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine 48°28′23″N 33°30′07″E / 48.47306°N 33.50194°E / 48.47306; 33.50194Coordinates: 48°28′23″N 33°30′07″E / 48.47306°N 33.50194°E / 48.47306; 33.50194
Result	Tatar-Cossack victory

Belligerents

Crimean Tatars

Ukrainian Cossacks

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Commanders and leaders

Tugay Bey

Bohdan Khmelnytsky

(POW)

Stefan Czarniecki (POW)

Strength

6,000-7,000 Tatars
800 Zaporizhian Cossacks
later 4,700 Registered Cossacks joined Khmelnytsky

3,000 men
6 cannons
later 1,000 men

Casualties and losses

150 dead

entire contingent

Battle of Zhovti Vody (Ukrainian: Жовтi Води, Polish: Żółte Wody - literally "yellow waters": April 29 to May 16, 1648) was the first significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. The name of the battle derived from a nearby Zhovta River.

The events took place about 20 miles north of Zhovti Vody, today on the border of Kirovohrad Oblast and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in south-central Ukraine when advance forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army led by met a numerically superior force of Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the command of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Tuhaj Bej. After the Registered Cossacks who were originally allied with the Commonwealth arrived and unexpectedly sided with Khmelnytsky, the Commonwealth forces were annihilated while attempting to retreat following an 18-day battle, only days before reinforcements were to arrive.

With the death of Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski in March 1646, and without the knowledge of his successor Hetman , King Wladyslaw IV Vasa, established direct relations with the Cossacks, concerning the "wrongs and injustices that they were suffering".

In April 1646 after meeting with the Cossack officers (starshyna) Władysław IV Vasa secretly chartered them for rallying up the Cossack army for the upcoming sea campaign against the Crimean Khanate, increased the size of the Zaporozhian Host to 12,000, and gave them 6000 talers to equip "sixty well-armed boats". The King gave his letter to the Military Yesaul Ivan Barabash who headed the Cossack Diplomatic Mission to the Royal court. Among others Cossack officers was Bohdan Khmelnytsky who at that time was a company commander of Registered Cossacks Chyhyryn Regiment. Other members included another Yesaul Ilyash Karaimovych and regimental Yesaul Ivan Nestorenko.

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Wikipedia