Battle of the River Bug
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the River Bug, sometimes known as the Battle of Volhynia, was a battle
that took place on 22–23 July 1018, in Red Ruthenia
, near the Bug River
and near Volhynia
(Wołyń), between the forces of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland and Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus, during the Bolesław's Kiev Expedition. Yaroslav was defeated by the Polish king. It was part of the war of succession following the death of Vladimir the Great in 1015. Boleslaw supported his son-in-law, Sviatopolk (known as Sviatopolk the Damned for his murder of his half-brothers Boris and Gleb), who was eventually defeated by Yaroslav.
Both armies met on opposite banks of the river Bug. Yaroslav's forces took up positions with archers covering the crossing points; Bolesław took his time, allowing his army to rest, and started work on several makeshift bridges. The main battle occurred on 23 July. According to Polish chronicler Gall Anonim, the battle occurred by accident: Bolesław decided to throw a feast to boost morale of his army; Yaroslav's archers and scouts decided to stir up trouble for the Polish servants who were gutting the animals and preparing them near the river - but they only succeeded in annoying them so much that the servants themselves crossed the relatively shallow river and chased Yaroslav's much-surprised advance troops away. Bolesław learned about this quicker than Yaroslav, and managed to move most of his army across the river and attack the surprised Kievan prince, who didn't manage to muster his army in time; the Kievan army quickly broke rank and fled. However a Russian chronicle, Powiesc Doroczna gives a slightly different version of events, one in which both armies were combat-ready and facing each other across the river, and Bolesław, enraged by insults hurled by the Rus' army, charged across the army with at the head of his army, surprising Yaroslav and shattering the Kievan army. Most modern historians support Gall Anonim's version, and all agree that after a short battle the Polish King was victorious, scoring a major victory. Yaroslav retreated to Novogrod, not Kiev
- likely suspecting that he has not enough strength left to defend Kiev, besieged by the Pechengs, and with a significant pro-Sviatopolk (Boleslaw's son-in-law) faction inside the city.
While Yaroslav lost the battle, he was able to raise troops among the Novgorodians and eventually defeat his half-brother Sviatopolk and consolidate his position in Kiev, where he ruled over the golden age of Kievan Rus' until his death in 1054. Thus, in spite of this defeat at the hands of the Polish king, Yaroslav became the greatest of the Kievan rulers.
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
that took place on 22–23 July 1018, in Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia is the name used since medieval times to refer to the area known as Eastern Galicia prior to World War I; first mentioned in Polish historic chronicles in the 1321, as Ruthenia Rubra or Ruthenian Voivodeship .Ethnographers explain that the term was applied from the...
, near the Bug River
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
and near Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
(Wołyń), between the forces of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland and Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus, during the Bolesław's Kiev Expedition. Yaroslav was defeated by the Polish king. It was part of the war of succession following the death of Vladimir the Great in 1015. Boleslaw supported his son-in-law, Sviatopolk (known as Sviatopolk the Damned for his murder of his half-brothers Boris and Gleb), who was eventually defeated by Yaroslav.
Both armies met on opposite banks of the river Bug. Yaroslav's forces took up positions with archers covering the crossing points; Bolesław took his time, allowing his army to rest, and started work on several makeshift bridges. The main battle occurred on 23 July. According to Polish chronicler Gall Anonim, the battle occurred by accident: Bolesław decided to throw a feast to boost morale of his army; Yaroslav's archers and scouts decided to stir up trouble for the Polish servants who were gutting the animals and preparing them near the river - but they only succeeded in annoying them so much that the servants themselves crossed the relatively shallow river and chased Yaroslav's much-surprised advance troops away. Bolesław learned about this quicker than Yaroslav, and managed to move most of his army across the river and attack the surprised Kievan prince, who didn't manage to muster his army in time; the Kievan army quickly broke rank and fled. However a Russian chronicle, Powiesc Doroczna gives a slightly different version of events, one in which both armies were combat-ready and facing each other across the river, and Bolesław, enraged by insults hurled by the Rus' army, charged across the army with at the head of his army, surprising Yaroslav and shattering the Kievan army. Most modern historians support Gall Anonim's version, and all agree that after a short battle the Polish King was victorious, scoring a major victory. Yaroslav retreated to Novogrod, not Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
- likely suspecting that he has not enough strength left to defend Kiev, besieged by the Pechengs, and with a significant pro-Sviatopolk (Boleslaw's son-in-law) faction inside the city.
While Yaroslav lost the battle, he was able to raise troops among the Novgorodians and eventually defeat his half-brother Sviatopolk and consolidate his position in Kiev, where he ruled over the golden age of Kievan Rus' until his death in 1054. Thus, in spite of this defeat at the hands of the Polish king, Yaroslav became the greatest of the Kievan rulers.