Battle of Kumeyky
Part of the Pavlyuk Uprising
Date December 16, 1637 Location Kumeiky in modern Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine Result Decisive Polish victory
Belligerents
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Zaporozhian Cossacks
Commanders and leaders
Mikołaj Potocki	Pavlo Pavliuk
Strength
2,800 Cavarly 1,200 Dragons 6 artillery pieces	21,000 men 8 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
150 killed 350 wounded	6,000 killed

The Battle of Kumeyky was fought during the Pavlyuk Uprising between the Polish crown forces and insurgent Cossacks on December 16, 1637. The Polish crown army under the command of Mikołaj Potocki defeated Cossacks commanded by Pavlo Pavliuk.

Background

In 1634, the Peace of Polanów was concluded. From the east, the Cossacks returned in large numbers from the theatre of warfare. The Zaporozhians, having received no payment for their service, plundered properties lying on the path of their march, in order to restore peace to the so-called "Kresy" Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski was sent with several flags.At the March Sejm in Warsaw, the number of registered Cossacks was limited to 7,000 thousand men and the Czajki expeditions to the Turkish possessions were forbidden. However, the most important decision which fuelled the conflict was the construction of a fortress in Kudak in 1635, for which over 100,000 thousand Polish zlotys were allocated. Thanks to the commitment of the Hetman, the fortress was already standing . The fortress was garrisoned by a 200-man foreign garrison commanded by Jean de Marion. The fortress was to stop Cossack expeditions to the Turkish possessions. In August 1635 Ivan Sulima returned from an expedition to the Turkish lands with his Cossacks, the newly erected fortress prevented him from returning, in addition the French commander forbade fishing on the river. The Cossacks warned the Frenchman that such behaviour could end badly . Most probably on the night of 11 August to 12 the Cossacks mounted ladders and scratched silently at the walls of the fortress the sleeping crew was surprised . According to the Lvov Chronicle, the prisoners were tortured and then killed, another version says that non-registrants were let into the fortress claiming that they were fleeing from the Tatars.When they got inside there was betrayal and then they were all slaughtered

Such behaviour could not be tolerated. The Koniecpolski moved on Ukraine. and commissioner Łukasz Żółkiewski ordered the rebels to surrender the traitors to avoid the monarch's wrath. The appeal helped, as the Cossacks began to besiege the fortress and finally, after a heavy assault, broke into the ramparts and kidnapped Sulima. They were all taken to Warsaw for trial and beheaded. Only Pavlo Pavliuk, who stood up to Tomasz Zamoyski, survived. After these events, a Cossack council was convened and demanded the promised payment at the next parliament. Senator Adam Kisiel soon arrived with the outstanding pay. This could not save the situation, the dissatisfaction of the non-registrants with the imposition of more serfdom and the crisis in the council of Cossack elders caused the Ukrainian people to boil over again, and Pavlyuchuk took advantage of this to avoid death and lead a revolt. When he immediately arrived in Kudak, he took cannons with him. This is how the uprising began, which will go down in history as the Pavlyuk Uprising.

Battle

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References

• M.Dubienicki - Kudak. Twierdza kresowa [...], https://ksiegarniamiles.pl/sklep/ksiazki/wydawnictwo-miles/kudak-twierdza-kresowa-i-jej-okolice/

• M.Franz - powstanie kozackie w 1637

• (in Polish) Marcin Gawęda, Powstanie kozackie 1637, Inforteditions, Zabrze 2007, ISBN 978-83-89943-17-0