Battle of Wallhof
Part of the Polish-Swedish wars
Date7 January 1626
Location
Valle, Latvia (German: Wallhof), (present-day Valle Parish, Bauska Municipality, Latvia)
56°31′00″N 24°44′00″E / 56.51667°N 24.73333°E / 56.51667; 24.73333
Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Commanders and leaders
Gustavus II Adolphus, King of Sweden Jan Stanisław Sapieha
Strength
2,800 infantry
2,100 cavalry
6 guns		 2,000 men[1](mainly cavalry)
3 guns[2]
Casualties and losses
Very light, some sources claim not a single man dead or missing around 500- 1,000 dead, captured or wounded

Battle of Wallhof (Latvian: Valles kauja, also known as Battle of Walmozja) was a battle fought between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 7 January 1626.

History

Swedish forces consisting of 4,900 men (2,100 of them cavalry) with six guns under Gustavus II Adolphus ambushed and took by surprise a Polish-Lithuanian force of 2,000–7,000 men (sources differ) with three guns under Jan Stanisław Sapieha. Polish-Lithuanian casualties amounted to between 500 and 1000 dead, wounded or captured, or between 1000 and 2300[1][3] and their commander collapsed from mental illness after this defeat.[3]
The Swedish king Gustav claimed: "not a single man is missing; everyone is where they should be" which is hard to believe, but to have suffered very small casualties is most likely true.

In the battle Gustavus Adolphus' reformed tactics, utilising close cooperation between infantry and cavalry, were tried for the first time. It was also the first time the Swedish cavalry successfully withstood the Polish cavalry.

The Swedes attacked the Lithuanian camp at dawn and, since the camp was located between two woods, the Lithuanian cavalry could not outflank the Swedes. Instead, the Swedes used the woods to fire upon the Lithuanian cavalry charge.[4]: 106 

References

  1. 1 2 Wallhof i Nordisk familjebok (2:a upplagan, 1921)
  2. ↑ Leszek Podhorodecki, "Rapier i koncerz", Warszawa 1985, ISBN 83-05-11452-X,
  3. 1 2 Podhorodecki, Leszek (1985). Rapier i koncerz. Warsaw. ISBN 83-05-11452-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Frost, R.I., 2000, The Northern Wars, 1558-1721, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, ISBN 9780582064294

Sources

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