The Battle of Chocim (1621). A Study of Memoirs and Diares

Authors:

Pages: 46-73

Abstract:

The Battle of Chocim (1621) belongs to the greatest battles of the first half of the seventeenth century in Europe. The Polish Army that took part in it consisted of about 55–60 thousand soldiers who fought against 110,000 Turkish warriors. In total, the army of Osman II was twice as numerous as the Polish forces. Descriptions of the Battle of Chocim in diaries and chronicles were composed in a chronological pattern. The authors describe the events day after day, sometimes choosing the most important moments of the campaign. Not all stages of the Chocim campaign were subject to particular interest of chroniclers. Most of them failed to mention the cause of the outbreak of the conflict, going straight to the description of the military campaign. According to an old Polish legend, this campaign was triggered by an apology war. The victory was praised in numerous poetry publications. One of the components of the myth recorded in diaries is particularly twisted since the administration overstated the number of the troops of Osman II. Undoubtedly, the successful defense of the fortress saved Poland from even worse damage than that of the Tartar invasion. There is a lot of written evidence of the historical significance of the 1621 military campaign.

Keywords:

the Battle of Chocim, Memoirs, Diaries

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