The Battle of Tsarichanka was a battle that took place in March of 1709 between the Zaporozhian Cossacks led by Kost Hordiyenko and the 3,000-strong Russian unit of brigadier Kampell, during the Swedish campaign in Ukraine as a part of Great Northern War. The Cossacks of Hordiyenko inflicted a defeat on Kampell's unit and forced it to withdraw.
Knowing about Hordiyenko defecting to the Swedish side, the Russian commandership sent three units with goal of stopping him from joining the Swedish army.[3] This forced Hordiyenko to start military actions - as soon as his Cossacks crossed the borders of Zaporozhian Sich, they started attacking the Russian units and outposts. On 6 of April, a unit of 800 Cossacks led by Kost Hordiyenko approached Tsarichanka, where a Russian unit of brigadier Kampell, with 3,000 men, was stationed.[3] The Cossacks attacked it and a battle took place, as a result of which, the Russians had lost 100 men killed and 90[3] or 100[4] men captured, and retreated from Tsarichanka, allowing Cossacks to capture the settlement.[5] The Cossack forces lost 30 people.[3]
Aftermath
Following the battle, Hordiyenko captured several cities on the Vorskla, Oril and Dnieper and placed the Zaporozhian garrisons there, while himself approaching Dykanka, in order to meet up with Mazepa and, from there, to depart to Velyki Budyshcha, where Charles XII had stationed himself.[3] This battle, although had tactical importance, did not affect the course of Charles XII's campaign in Russia, which had eventually ended with a Swedish defeat at Poltava, while the Zaporozhian Sich was sacked for defecting to the Swedes.[6]
Legacy
The battle is most famously known for being depicted on Nikolay Samokish's painting "Battle of Tsarichanka in 1709".[7][8]
1 2 3 4 5 Yavornytskyi, Dmytro (1990). "History of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. Volume 3"(PDF). history.org.ua. p.308. Retrieved 2025-09-19. У Царичанки запорожцы в числе 800 человек атаковали бригадира Кампеля, у которого было три полка драгун численности в 3000 человек. Запорожцы изрубили 100 человек драгун да 90 человек из них захватили в плен, потеряв у себя только 30 человек...С таким числом людей запорожцы скоро овладели городками по рекам Орели, Ворскле и Днепру и везде оставляли в них по хорошему гарнизону[Near Tsarichanka, the 800 Zaporozhians attacked brigadier Kampell, who had three dragoon regiments with a total strenght of 3000 men. The Zaporozhians slaughtered 100 dragoons and took captive 90, while losing only 30 men...With this amount of men, the Zaporozhians soon captured the settlements on Vorskla, Orel and Dnieper, leaving a goon garrison in each.]
↑ Крупницький, Борис. "Гетьман Мазепа та його доба: Перша спільна Шведсько-Запорозька операція". www.mazepa.name. Retrieved 2025-09-19. Гордієнко успішно витісняв ворожі війська й на суходолі. Розігнавши під Царичанкою три російських драгунських полки, він зайняв цей населений пункт, а також м.Кобеляки. Тепер лінія Ворскли аж до Дніпра була в руках союзників.[After defeating the Russian dragoon regiments at Tsarichanka, he captured it, aswell as Kobeliaky. Now the Vorskla line up to the Dnieper was held by the Allies.]
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Zaporozhian Sich 
Tsardom of Russia