Battle of Konotop (1668)

Not to be confused with Battle of Konotop.

Battle of Konotop
Part of the Left-Bank Uprising
Kalga Qirim-Giray who led the Tatar forces in their campaign on the Left-bank in October of 1668
Date 11- or 14-16 October 1668 Location At Kukolka river near Konotop, present-day Ukraine 51°07′N33°17′E / 51.11°N 33.29°E / 51.11; 33.29 Result Russian victory See § Aftermath Territorial changes Russian forces withdraw from the Left-bank Ukraine
Belligerents
Cossack Hetmanate Crimean Khanate	Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Grigoriy Doroshenko Qirim-Giray	Grigory Romodanovsky
Strength
Unknown [a]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Heavy
class=notpageimage| Location within Ukraine

The Battle of Konotop was one of the last battles in the course of Left-bank uprising. The Tatar-Cossack army of Grigory Doroshenko clashed with the Russian forces led by Grigory Romodanovsky near the city of Konotop (present-day Ukraine). Allied army inflicted heavy losses on the Russian army and forced it to abandon the Left-bank Ukraine but failed to achieve a complete strategic victory, which led to surrender of some Left-bank regiments led by Demian Mnohohrishny to Russia and eventual failure of uprising.

Background

Following Doroshenko's withdrawal from the Left-bank Ukraine in July 1668, Romodanovsky invaded the region once again. In August 1668, he captured and massacred Nizhyn, and in September he lifted the siege of Chernihiv, as well as forcing Mnohohrishny to start negotiations following his defeat at Sedniv. However, the prolonged defense of the Tretyak raion in Chernihiv by Ivan Samoylovych eventually forced Romodanovsky to withdraw eastwards and leave his son Andrey to patrol the regained territory. On 10 October, his unit was attacked by the Tatar-Cossack detachment of Qirim-Giray and Grigoriy Doroshenko that was sent by Petro Doroshenko in order to regain control over the Left bank. The Russian unit was completely destroyed and Andrei was taken prisoner. ^[1] Following this victory, the Cossacks and Tatars continued their advance.

Battle

On 11 ^[2] or 14 ^[3] of October, Doroshenko's forces that were chasing the remnants of Andrei Romodanovsky's army, approached Konotop, where Romodanovsky's army was crossing the Kukolka river. ^[3] The Cossacks and Tatars started attacking the Russian camp, however their attacks were repelled with heavy casualties. ^[2] Romodanovsky was prepared for the Allied attack as some of the Russian soldiers that made it to his camp warned him about it. The defense of Russian camp continued, Romodanovsky faced heavy casualties as well. Eventually, his army managed to cross the river which allowed him to abandon his position near Konotop and retreat towards Putyvl. ^[3] The Cossacks acted passively, due to this Qirim-Giray accused them of betrayal. ^[2]

Aftermath

Soon after the battle, the alliance between the Tatars and the Cossacks was broken, as the Russians achieved a strategic victory in the battle. ^{[4] [2]} Doroshenko's army lost a lot of people and failed to completely rout Romodanovsky. However, Cossack-Tatar troops won a tactical victory and Romodanovsky's unit was forced to halt it's campaign and retreat from the Left-bank Ukraine, which was one of the reasons Grigory Doroshenko viewed his campaign as successful and disbanded his army. ^[3] This allowed Petro Sukhoviy to start his campaign against the supporters of Doroshenko on the Left bank. Sukhoviy's supporters and Tatars that were previously allied with Doroshenko forced several Left-bank regiments to recognise his rule. ^[3] Using the instability of Doroshenko's rule, Demian Mnohohrishny was elected as a hetman of Left-bank Ukraine in December 1668, and in March 1669 he signed the Hlukhiv articles with Moscow.

Notes

1. In the Battle of Gaivoron that took place few days earlier, the total strenght of the Tatar-Cossack army was 22 thousand people but this number is likely to not be the same as before the battle at Gaivoron

References

1. "Мороз, болото і стріли Дорошенка. Історія, яка повторюється: річниця смерті московитів у Гайвороні на Чернігівщині". novynarnia.com (in Ukrainian). 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
2. "Мятеж Брюховецкого - Вернуться в Россию: история как путь в будущее" (in Russian). 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
3. "Недосяжний тріумф | Український тиждень" (in Ukrainian). 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2025-08-25. On October 14, near the village of Pusta Torhovytsia near Konotop, the allies caught up the main forces of Romodanovsky that were crossing the Kukolka River...Since the Muscovites were again driven out of the Left Bank, Grigoriy Doroshenko considered his mission accomplished, therefore he disbanded the army and retreated to Kozelets.
4. Babulin 2021, p. 160.

Bibliography

• Babulin, Igor B. (2021). Война за возвращение Украины[War for the return of Ukraine]. Ratnoe delo (in Russian). Moscow: Russkie vityazi. ISBN   978-5-907245-37-2.