Warsaw. What happened during the Prague Massacre? 230th anniversary

In 1794, Warsaw twice put up fierce resistance to the partitioning armies. In the summer it repelled the siege of the Prussians and Russians. It was one of the most significant successes of the uprising, which prevented the rapid collapse of the uprising.

– His greatest victory was not Racławice, but the defense of Warsaw between July and September 1794 against two armies – Prussian and Russian. The former was commanded by the king himself. Both were highly trained and equipped with siege equipment. Kościuszko himself drew up plans for the defense of the city and personally commanded its defense – emphasized historian Wojciech Kalwat. The uprising was also sustained by the fame that Kościuszko secured with his victorious battles. Therefore, the defeat at Maciejowice on October 10, 1794 and Kościuszko's capture by the Russians had a great impact on the breakdown of the fighting spirit.

“The captivity of the Chief deprived both nations of universally recognized authority and irreplaceable moral strength” – wrote Paweł Jasienica on the last pages of the famous “History of Agony”.

On October 12, the Supreme National Council announced that the new commander of the uprising was the hero of the war of 1792, General Tomasz Wawrzecki, but until his arrival in the capital, his duties were to be performed by General Józef Zajączek. Two days later, rumors began to circulate among the inhabitants of Warsaw that the news about Kościuszko's captivity was untrue. However, the news of the defeat was quickly confirmed.

However, the defeat provided an unexpected opportunity to demonstrate patriotism for King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was isolated in the castle. The commander of one of the Russian corps, Ivan Fersen, in a letter to the king appealed for the release of Russian prisoners, vaguely promising to restore the “old peace” in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In response, the king stated that Kościuszko, taken prisoner, “gave a new beginning to the independence of his homeland”, and the defeat at Maciejowice “could not shake the constancy of those who swore either to die or to regain their freedom.”

On October 16, Tomasz Wawrzecki arrived in Warsaw. Preparations for defense from the Praga suburbs began. “from a fortification in the shape of a triangle facing north-east, one side of which was the Vistula, the other stretched from its bank to Targówek, the third reached Kamionek and the marshes of Saska Kępa; the top included the Jewish cemetery established in 1780 (today in Bródno in Warsaw – note . ed.) and the strongly fortified so-called Zwierzyniec. This line was formed by two parallel fortifications, 5 to 14 feet high, densely divided into bastions and semi-bastions, ordinary ditches and traverses, reinforced here and there with palisades wolf pits; outside it, several redoubts and lunettes were built, equipped with long-range cannons,” he wrote. Thousands of city residents took part in the construction of these fortifications.

On November 2, troops of Alexander Suvorov's corps arrived near Prague. For the Russian general, it was the eighth war in which he took part. At the age of 13, he began serving in the cadet corps. He fought in the Seven Years' War, the intervention in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Bar Confederation, and continuous wars with Turkey. He became famous as a ruthless commander towards his soldiers, as well as a supporter of terrorist pacification of the civilian population.

In 1790, with his consent, his soldiers murdered about 10,000 inhabitants of Turkish Izmail in Bessarabia. For Catherine II, he was therefore the perfect candidate to deal a knockout blow to the insurrection. “Count Alexander Vasilievich! The rebel Kościuszko, who is certainly known to you, having incited Poland in his contacts with the monsters ruling France, intends to spread revolt everywhere to spite Russia,” wrote the ruler in an order addressed to him.

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About 14,000 soldiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gathered in Praga, divided into three sections, commanded by generals: Józef Zajączek (in the center of defense), Jakub Jasiński (left wing) and Władysław Jabłonowski, who stood out among them because of his skin color. The commanders expected a long siege, as evidenced by the engineering works carried out by the Russians. However, the construction of fortifications was only a cover for Suvorov's plans, who decided to capture Prague with one violent assault by a corps numbering over 25,000 soldiers.

In the morning of November 3, the Russians started shelling to weaken the weak Polish fortifications. The general assault began at sunrise the next day. The main attack was directed against the fortifications defended by Jakub Jasiński. The assault was repelled, often with bayonet fighting. General Boris O'Brien de Lassy, ​​who commanded one of the columns, was killed in the attack. During the defense, not only Jasiński became famous, but also the Carmelite Gabriel Jakubowski, who maintained the morale of the defenders.

Suvorov had huge reserves, allowing him to renew the assault almost immediately. The fight on the ramparts lasted about an hour. After breaking them, the Russians moved deeper into Prague. Gen. Józef Zajączek, who was not seriously wounded, called for a crossing to the other side of the Vistula. Jasiński refused: “Why despair at this moment, when so many of us are ready to fight. It's a shame to escape from the battle!” The bunny was accompanied by cries of “Traitor!” as he walked towards the bridge. Jasiński defended the last defense until the end. He died bayoneted.

Berek Joselewicz's cavalry regiment composed of Jews suffered great losses. The commander himself survived the battle and fought for independence in the ranks of the Polish Legions and the Duchy of Warsaw.

After the collapse of the organized defense that lasted approximately five hours, the Russians began massacring the inhabitants. Children, women, old people, monks and nuns were not spared.

“Next to the human bodies there were piles of disorderly abandoned equipment, the mutilated corpses of horses, dogs, cats and horned animals were bleeding, because the soldiers, enraged by the sight of blood, did not allow even the animals to pass through. Ignited by bullets and Cossack torches, Prague burst into flames and smoke, roofs collapsed with with a crash amid the terrifying howl of the conquerors,” wrote Henryk Mościcki. The total number of victims of the massacre is estimated at around 20,000 people.

Even some Russian officers were horrified by the scale of the slaughter. “At the sight of all this, the man's heart sank, and the abomination of the image outraged his soul. During the battle, not only does a man not feel any pity, but he becomes more cruel, but murders after the battle are a disgrace” – wrote General Lew in his memoirs Engelhard.

In his report to Catherine II, Suvorov did not hide the fact that his actions were of a terrorist nature and served to destroy the morale of the city's defenders.

“The last and most terrible massacre took place on the bank of the Vistula in the eyes of the people of Warsaw. Poles trembled at this terrible sight. (…) After the whistle of bullets and the clatter of bombs, groaning and lamentation were heard from all sides of the city. The bell was rung for fear. This gloomy sound , merging with the laments of the weeping, filled the air with its piercing language. (…) In Praga, the streets and squares were strewn with the bodies of the dead, and blood flowed in streams The image made this unfaithful capital tremble,” he wrote.

For these services, Tsarina Catherine II promoted him to the rank of field marshal. She also created a medal “For the Conquest of Prague” with the cynical slogan “I restored what was torn away” on it. Suvorov was also a hero of the Soviet regime. In 1942, in the name of building a new historical narrative referring to the traditions of ancient Russia, the order named after Suvorov was established. Many Soviet criminals were decorated with it, including Ivan Serov of the NKVD. The poet Teofil Lenartowicz aptly commented on the cult of Suvorov: “The judgment of peoples is their own history/Written by light and dark streaks of blood/The Tsar could not have done us a greater service/than by praising his robbers and thieves.”

The inhabitants of Prague, who managed to survive the fury of the attackers, rushed towards the Vistula. Several thousand died in the river's currents. Those who survived told about Russian crimes to the residents of Warsaw gathered on the other bank. The events in Praga were also visible from the windows of houses in the Old and New Towns.

“After the capture of the suburbs of Prague, over 16,000 people were murdered – men, women and children. We had to look at these cruel scenes because it happened in front of our house,” recalled the famous monk who helped the escapees, later Saint Clement Maria Hofbauer, called “the apostle Warsaw”.

In the face of the carnage, morale in the city collapsed. On the evening of November 4, a delegation of townspeople and the king arrived at the Praga shore to negotiate the terms of surrender. At that time, the insurrection troops, led by Chief Wawrzecki, left the city. They capitulated several days later, thus ending the history of the Polish Army. Warsaw was occupied on November 9, after the partially burned skate bridge over the Vistula was rebuilt.

During the partition period, the massacre of Prague became one of the symbols of Moscow's barbarism. Years later, it was believed to be one of the reasons for the deep depression that prevailed in a society without an independent state. Later, it was recalled in patriotic literature. “No human language in the world/ will utter a word of this torment/ and no one has enough courage/ to describe this massacre in Prague,” wrote Maria Konopnicka.

It was only in the interwar period that the victims gained a symbolic place of memory. They are commemorated by a cross at the corner of Solidarności Avenue and Jagiellońska Street. On the bicentenary of the massacre, a commemorative plaque was placed in the wall of the Church of Our Lady of Loreto at Ratuszowa Street, and in front of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel and Saint Florian, a memorial stone was placed. A monument to the victims of the massacre is to be erected on a pedestal on Vilnius Square, where several years ago it was planned to place a communist monument of the “Polish-Soviet brotherhood in arms”, called by Prague residents “four sleepers – three fighters”, dismantled during the construction of the metro.

Ultimately, a sculpture was erected that was not related to the event, although it had the inscription “TO THE VICTIMS OF THE MASSACRE OF PRAGUE”. We wrote more about it on tvnwarszawa.pl>>>