Battle of Shklov, August 12th 1654

  By the treaty of Pereyaslav(1654),  between Muscovy and the Cossacks, the Ukraine fell under Muscovy suzerainty.  This led to heightened tensions between Muscovy and the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth which saw the Ukraine as part of its territory. In the summer of 1654 the forces of Tsar Alexis I of Russia invaded the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, initiating the Thirteen Years War and proving to be the precursor to the Deluge, which devastated the Commonwealth over the next few years.  At the beginning of the campaigning season, the Poles sent two armies to recover the Ukraine, but these were held in check by the Cossaack forces with a little Muscovite assistance.  Rather than provide aid to the Cossacks, Alexis had made his main effort directly against Lithuania and the main Muscovite army under his personal command was directed westwards towards Smolensk.

To oppose this force, (estimated to be 30-40,000 men), the local commander, Hetman Janusz Radziwill, could at best assemble 11,000 men, but as this was 'paper strength' the actual numbers were probably considerably lower.  As the Muscovite army advanced Radziwill moved what troops he had eastwards to try and hold the line of the Dneiper near Shklov.  For this scenario, which represented the clash of the Muscovite advanced guard and Radziwill's force, I selected the following forces.

Muscovy

Three brigades of cavalry; two with three 'regiments' of Old-Style cavalry and one with one regiment of Old-Style cavalry and two 'New Formation' regiments.  These latter regiments were similar to the western reiter regiments.

Poland Lithuania

Three units of pancerni type Cossack cavalry.  Two small dragoon regiments and a small Hussar regiment.  

The table layout, with the Russians nearest the camera

The Muscovite force arrives along the road leading to the bridge over the Dneiper.  The three brigades are strung out along the road with gaps between each brigade decided by rolling a d3, the result being the number of turns before the next brigade arrives.  The river is fordable but units may become disorganised.  Pancerni and  New Formation regiments are classed as tough fighters and may re-roll one failed attack dice per round of melee.  'Old-Style' cavalry are raw and cannot be issued a brigade order, making coordinated movement difficult.  Nor surprisingly the Hussar unit is tough, having the lance modifier and also the heavy cavalry bonus.  They are also classed as stubborn, allowing them to re-roll one failed morale save when in melee and being shot at. 
 

The pancerni await the attack 

The Muscovite objective was to cross the river, disperse the enemy and make all speed towards Smolensk.  On the Polish Lithuanian side the objective was to try and prevent passage of the river if possible, but more importantly, not to lose too many troops by making suicidal attacks.

The leading 'brigade' of Russian troops advance to the bridge 

As the attackers, the Muscovites had the initiative and unfortunately for them, their lead unit did not press on across the bridge, but sat and waited for the other units to form up on their flanks.  This gave Radziwill a chance to push his men forward and be in a position to hit the Muscovites as they crossed the river.  The leading brigade paid dearly for this hesitation with the first regiment across being charged before it could reform.  Although it held the first impact, it was shaken and in the subsequent round of melee it was driven back across the Dneiper in rout.

The first attempt to cross the Dneiper

By now the second brigade of Muscovite troops was arriving and this contained the New Formation regiments.  The overall commander of the advanced guard, Prince Yakov Cherkassky sent these units to the right of the bridge, trying to outflank the Polish Lithuanian defenders.  This manoeuvre pushed back a unit of Polish dragoons who had been adding their fire to the defence of the river line.  Afraid of being flanked they took up position on a hill on the Polish Lithuanian left.  To plug the gap, Radziwill committed his reserve pancerni regiment.  It was only just in time as Cherkassky sent four units of cavalry across the river, so each of the Polish Lithuanian regiments was now engaged in melee.  The Hussars dealt with their opponent fairly quickly, but the pancerni unit to their left took a lot of casualties.  Even though they were victorious they had to fall back to rally.  

Another attempt on the other side of the bridge

Beyond the bridge the New Formation cavalry regiments had entered the fray and proved tougher opponents than the Old Style regiments.  In the melee on the left of the Polish Lithuanian line the two units slugged it out and in the end both had to fall back to reform.   The other New Formation cavalry regiment defeated the pancerni, routing them, but at a cost, meaning they needed to reform before they could move forward.  

The 'new formation' cavalry enter the fray

The Third brigade of Muscovite cavalry now arrived and were able to take advantage of the work of their comrades.  Although disordered by crossing the river they nevertheless were unopposed.  Pressure on the Polish Lithuanian force was increasing and the line was buckling.  A second pancerni unit being routed decided Radziwill; better to pull back what forces he had than risk losing them all against such numbers.

A decisive breakthrough

A victory for the Muscovites, as historically.  Both sides claimed a victory.  Radziwill, because historically Cherkassky did delay his advance by a day; Cherkassky because he was able to cross the river.  The historic order of battle did give the Polish Lithuanians two full strength units of dragoons whose fire was very effective in breaking up the Old Style cavalry attacks.  Unfortunately I did not have sufficient figures to field two full strength units.

I did try and mitigate the lance effect of the Polish Hussars.  The lances they carried were hollow and reports suggest they tended to shatter on impact, so the lance 'bonus' was only available for one charge.  I did provide a wagon with a resupply of lances (just sufficient for one 'resupply'), but in the event the Hussars did not get the chance to re-equip before the Polish Lithuanian line crumbled.

All the details for the battle came from Michael Fredholm Von Essen's book, "Charles X's Wars: volume 2 - The Wars in the East, 1655-1657."  which is available from Helion books.