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Battle of Raszyn

Battle of Raszyn (1809)
19 April 1809
Raszyn, present-day Poland

Duchy of Warsaw
Kingdom of Saxony
VS
Austrian Empire

Commanders and Leaders
Poland:
Józef Poniatowski

Austria:
Archduke Ferdinand

The first Battle of Raszyn was fought on 19 April 1809 between armies of the Austrian Empire under Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este and the Duchy of Warsaw under Józef Antoni Poniatowski, as part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in the Napoleonic Wars. The battle was not decisive, but it did result in the Austrians obtaining their goal by capturing the Polish capital Warsaw.

*BATTLE*

The battlefield's terrain is dominated by several villages and by the river Utrata, which during the April thaw is usually unfordable. The only way to cross the river is at the ponds of Raszyn, Dawidy or Michalowice, which were all under Polish control.

After a preparatory cannonade starting at 14.00, the Austrian infantry attacked the Polish screening forces around 15.00. The Poles gradually yielded terrain. Austrian attempts to outflank the Polish position near Jaworowo were unsuccessful. After the village of Falenty was captured at 16.00 Poniatowski launched a counterattack which evicted the Austrians from the town and re-established the Polish line. Around 17.00 a combined attack was launched against Raszyn. Repulsed by the Saxon units, the Austrians called up reinforcements and took the town around 19.00 but were unable to progress beyond the last houses of the village. The Poles again counterattacked at 21.00 and drove the Austrians from Raszyn but were unable to recapture the causeway. Fighting progressed until 22.00 when the Poles evacuated the battlefield.