A defensive engagement during the Polish-Russian War of 1792 in which Polish-Lithuanian forces failed to halt the Russian advance toward Warsaw.
Key Facts
- Date of main battle
- July 23, 1792
- Polish-Lithuanian force size
- 5,000 troops
- Russian force size
- ~5,000 troops
- Polish-Lithuanian killed
- 356 soldiers
- Polish-Lithuanian captured
- 66 soldiers
- Russian casualties
- 12 dead, 43 wounded
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Polish-Russian War of 1792, Russian forces advanced into Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth territory. A Polish-Lithuanian detachment of approximately 5,000 troops was tasked with defending the route to Warsaw near Brest. On July 21, a Russian dragoon raid struck Polish-Lithuanian forward positions, forcing them to withdraw into the city itself.
On July 23, 1792, at dawn, Russian forces under Ivan Yevstafyevich Fersen attacked the Polish-Lithuanian defenders commanded by Szymon Zabiełło inside Brest. The defenders held their positions for an extended period but were ultimately compelled to retreat after exhausting their ammunition, suffering 356 killed and 66 captured against minimal Russian losses of 12 dead and 43 wounded.
The Polish-Lithuanian failure to hold Brest left the road to Warsaw more exposed to the advancing Russian army. The lopsided casualty figures reflected the strategic and tactical disadvantage of the defenders, contributing to the broader collapse of Polish resistance in the war, which ended with the Second Partition of Poland in 1793.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Szymon Zabiełło.
Side B
1 belligerent
Ivan Yevstafyevich Fersen.