The Battle of Chełm was fought on 8 June 1794 between Poland and the combined forces of the Russian Empire and Prussia. The Polish were led by Józef Zajączek, the Russo-Prussian forces by Petrowicz Zagriażski and Wilhelm Derfelden. The Russo-Prussian forces consisted of 16,500 soldiers, and 24 cannons, while the Polish general only had about 6,000 soldiers, 14 cannons, and 2,000 peasant soldiers armed with war scythes. Zajączek occupied the forested hills 1.5 km away from the city. In the early noon the Russian troops started the attack. After several hours of fighting Zajączek could only try to save as much of his army as possible through a withdrawal. In the battle, the Polish forces lost between 1,400 and 1,600 men. The Russian forces lost only about 200 men and were victorious.

[Peasant militia of 1794

by Michał Stachowicz | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Stachowicz///Kosynierzy.jpg]

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