Battle of Korsun

Timeline

1. 1648Right-bank Ukraine · UkraineKing John II Casimir appointed Stefan Potocki field commander; with about 6,000–8,000 royal and noble troops he marched south to crush Khmelnytsky's main force before the uprising spread. The Poles advanced from Podolia toward Kyiv while the Cossacks deliberately withdrew to lure them on.
2. 1648Korsun · UkraineKhmelnytsky set an ambush near Korsun with the Cossack main force and Tatar cavalry of Crimean khan Tuhay Bey. The Poles, caught in marshy and wooded terrain, were enveloped on both flanks and, after two days of fierce fighting, nearly annihilated; Potocki and several other commanders were killed or captured.
3. 1648Ukraine · UkraineThe disaster at Korsun cost Poland an elite mobile force and gravely damaged royal prestige. Cossack and peasant revolt swiftly swept right-bank Ukraine and local Polish authorities collapsed. Within months the Commonwealth was forced onto the defensive and suffered further defeats at Berestechko, Pyliavtsi, and elsewhere.