After the death of the Swedish King John III
in the autumn of 1592, his son Sigismund III Vasa was next in line to succeed him. Since Sigismund had been elected as King of
Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania only five years earlier, his accession to the Swedish
throne was set to create a personal union between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and the Kingdom of Sweden. Sigismund sailed with his fleet across the
Baltic Sea in September 1593 and headed for Stockholm with many companions and the most
influential nobles from Poland and Lithuania. However, his arrival meant more than a change
of ruler in Sweden. Since Sigismund was a Catholic and a great
supporter of the Roman Church and the Pope, this represented a significant increase in
the influence of Catholicism in the country. At that time, Sweden was mostly Protestant,
and only a few months before the arrival of Sigismund, under the influence of Duke Charles,
the Uppsala Synod was held, and the Lutheran Church of Sweden decided to make Lutheranism
the state religion. Although he was a staunch Catholic, King Sigismund
of Poland was forced to recognize this decision to be accepted as King of Sweden, setting
the stage for both internal religious conflicts in Sweden and further Wars
between Poland and Sweden. In February 1594, Sigismund was crowned as
King of Sweden and the personal union between Poland and Sweden became a reality. Shortly after his coronation, Sigismund returned
to Poland and by agreement, he left his uncle Duke Charles and the Swedish Privy Council
to share power over the Scandinavian kingdom because of his stay in Poland. After Sigismund left, the situation in the
country became even more complicated. The Swedes did not have sympathy for their
king, and in 1595 a parliament was held without the presence of Sigismund, making the decision
to appoint Charles as regent of Sweden. In response to this, the Finnish nobility,
supported by King Sigismund, rejected the decision on the grounds that it was illegal
and openly declared Charles a rebel. Large engagements soon broke out throughout
Sweden and Finland, and after years of unrest, in 1597, Duke Charles emerged victorious from
the Civil War. Seeing the situation, Sigismund decided to
personally intervene in this conflict. In the spring of 1598, he raised an army composed
mostly of mercenaries near Gdańsk and, together with his Swedish supporters, set out for Kingdom
of Sweden in the summer. After a few days of sailing, Sigismund and his fleet
reached Kalmar, which surrendered without a fight. King Sigismund initially held the advantage
and conquered several fortifications, including Sweden’s most important city, Stockholm. He then defeated his uncle Charles at the
Battle of Stegeborg, but negotiations began between the two soon after. Charles took advantage of this ceasefire to
gain the initiative. After being defeated at the Battle of Linköping,
Sigismund made a treaty with Charles and left the country, but did not relinquish the title
of King of Sweden. Duke Charles used this to regain the lost
cities and establish his rule, settling accounts with the supporters of King Sigismund. By the autumn of 1599, the entirety of Sweden
and Finland were under his control. During that time, the Swedish parliament officially
overthrew Sigismund and offered to proclaim his infant son Władysław as king on the
condition that he would be raised in Sweden, where he was to be brought up following the
Lutheran faith. As a devoted Catholic, Sigismund rejected
this proposal and thus the personal union between Poland and Sweden ceased to exist. Consequently, the conflict between Sigismund
and Charles continued. Sigismund began searching for allies throughout
Europe to support him in his conflict with his uncle. Diplomats were sent to Russia, where they tried
to form closer ties to the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov. Letters were further sent to the Pope, the
Habsburgs, and the Danes, but these diplomatic actions mostly ended without success. Although the Polish Sejm, the Parliament of
nobles that held significant power in the country, were disinterested in Sigismund's
attempt to remain on the Swedish throne, their view of the conflict changed drastically when Duke Charles
landed in Estonia with 14,000 troops in 1600. Charles quickly took control of a number of
cities that had previously been part of the Kingdom of Sweden but had supported Sigismund
in the civil war. In the fall of 1600, the Swedes launched an offensive
into Latvia, which was officially part of the Commonwealth. The Swedish army made significant gains, capturing
several cities, and breaking through to the Western Dvina River, directly threatening
Riga and besieging the city of Koknese. Consequently, the Polish Sejm realized that
Duke Charles was not only a threat to Sigismund in their fight for the Swedish crown, but also an enemy
of the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. More money was quickly allocated to the army
and Lithuanian commander Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was withdrawn from Moldova and sent to the
northern front. The Poles counterattacked, recapturing lost
territories and defeating the Swedish army, forcing it to retreat North to Estonia. Following this, the war devolved into a series
of bloody sieges until the Battle of Weissenstein, after which the Swedes found themselves in
an increasingly difficult position. However, disagreements within the Polish Sejm
led to the neglection of the northern front, instead focusing on conflicts with the Hapsburgs
and Ottomans in Moldavia and exploiting the Russian Time of Troubles to the East. Meanwhile, Charles was preparing for an even
bloodier war. In 1604 he was proclaimed King of Sweden and high taxes
were introduced to finance the war with Poland. Russian Tsar Boris Godunov also financially
helped Sweden to draw the attention of the Poles and postpone the potential Commonwealth
invasion of Russia. With large sums of money, King Charles IX
raised a strong army and hired a large number of mercenaries from across Europe, landing in Estonia
and Latvia in the summer and autumn of 1605. The Swedish army was divided into three parts. The first landing took place near Reval, from
where the army headed south. The second landing was near Riga, and from there the Swedes
tried to surprise the enemy and quickly conquer the city. However, the impressive Lithuanian commander Jan Karol
Chodkiewicz managed to prevent the fall of Riga. Despite facing severe shortages of money,
resources and support from the Polish Sejm, Chodkiewicz persistently resisted the Swedish
army. He soon left a small part of his troops near
Riga to defend the city, heading north with the rest to intercept the Swedish army that
was advancing from Estonia. In September, King Charles IX himself landed
at Pärnu, where he united with another section of his army and also marched on Riga to conquer
the besieged city. Realizing that he was faced by a significantly
larger force, Chodkiewicz gave up the interception and retreated towards Kircholm, where he encamped. When the Swedish king reached Riga, learning
that the enemy army was nearby, he decided to use the opportunity his numerical superiority
gave him to destroy the Polish army. At dawn on September 27, the Polish-Lithuanian
commander received news that the Swedish army was nearby and marching towards his camp. The troops were awoken and took up their fighting
decisions. In the Swedish camp, King Charles IX deployed
his army into 4 lines. In the first row, under the command of Anders
Lennartsson, were 7 infantry regiments in square formations comprised of both pikemen
and musketeers, with overlapping arcs of fire. Between these regiments were large gaps that served for the
passage of cavalry through the line to harass the foe. In the second row was the cavalry, deployed
in 3 regiments of Finnish and 3 regiments of Swedish reiters under the command of Generals
Brandt and Mansfield. The third row was once again formed of infantry, deployed in
6 regiments under the command of Frederick of Lüneburg. The fourth and final line contained 5 cavalry regiments
of reiters under the command of King Charles. In total, the Swedes had about 8,000 infantry
on the field, 2,500 cavalry and 11 cannons, primarily deployed in the first line. On the other hand, Chodkiewicz placed Lieutenant
Wincenty Woyn in the center with a detachment of hussars and with Polish haiduc infantry
on their flanks. The right wing was also formed of hussars
led by Jan Piotr Sapieha, while the left wing was the most numerous and was composed of
mixed cavalry units, among which were hussars but also light cavalry such as the Cossacks. The Polish Left was under the command of Tomasz
Dąbrowa, forming the traditional strong Left Wing of the so-called ‘Old Polish Order’
of battle. Behind this first line was a second and third,
containing more hussars, but also other cavalry units, such as the Cossacks, and reiters from Courland
who crossed the river just before the battle lend assistance. There was also a reserve force behind the
army, while a small detachment remained in the camp. Chodkiewicz had about 2,500 cavalry and about
1,000 infantry under his command, making the Swedish king numerically three times stronger
than the Poles. The two armies stood opposing one anther but
neither King Charles nor Hetman Chodkiewicz gave the command to attack. Both armies were in strong positions on two
separate hills, while a plain stretched between them. Although numerically superior, the Swedish
king did not want to abandon his positions and face the hussars, known for the strength
and ferocity of their charge, on open ground. Chodkiewicz also believed that charging uphill
against solid formations of pikemen and musketeers would be suicidal. However, after a lengthy wait, the Poles made
the opening move. The Polish light cavalry left their positions and rushed
towards the Swedish infantry, which held its ground. This was no mass cavalry charge, but only smaller
and faster detachments to harass the foe. Although fighting had broken out, the engagement
between the Polish light cavalry and the Swedish infantry was really a series of smaller skirmishes in which
the Poles tried to lure the Swedes into a general attack. These clashes were limited, and losses were
minimal on both sides, mainly due to the inaccuracy of contemporary firearms at such distances. After several hours of skirmishing, the Polish cavalry
gave up and headed back towards the main army. During that time, Hetman Chodkiewicz, realizing
that the Swedes did not intend to leave their positions, and knowing that he could not win
the battle simply by charging uphill against a more numerous opponent, ordered his entire
army to retreat to the east. Seeing the enemy leave the battle, King Charles
IX decided to follow him and use the opportunity to destroy as many Polish troops as possible. The first line of infantry, moved forward,
while the cavalry from the second line spread out onto the flanks and also began to advance. Descending onto the plain, the Swedes were
now headed uphill towards the retreating Poles. However, instead of abandoned positions and
spoils of war the Swedes saw a mass of Polish hussars and reiters rushing towards them. In addition to the charge of enemy’s cavalry,
strong infantry and artillery fire opened up, further adding to the disorder and panic
caused by the oncoming cavalry. It was at this moment that King Charles of
Sweden realized that the Polish withdrawal was in fact a feigned retreat, and that the
Poles had succeeded in luring the Swedes away from their favorable defensive positions. A strong Polish charge collided with the center
of the Swedish infantry and inflicted heavy casualties. Simultaneously, the Polish cavalry rushed towards
the horsemen on both flanks of the Swedish army. As Hetman Chodkiewicz concentrated the largest
number of his cavalry on his left wing, the Polish charge was most effective here. After a brutal clash that lasted mere minutes,
the entire Swedish right wing began to flee. The Swedish infantry, with the threat of having
their flank turned by the feared Polish hussars, also started a gradual retreat. Realizing the dire situation, King Charles
attempted to strengthen his front lines, bringing his cavalry reserve forwards. However, due to the great distance which had
opened, the second infantry line was now too far to join the battle, leaving the army divided
into two parts. Hence, King Charles could only send his cavalry
as reinforcements. During that time, the Swedish infantry continued
to retreat slowly while a fierce battle was being fought between the Swedish left and
the Polish right wing. The outcome hung in the balance, due to the disparity
in strength between the Polish left and right flanks. The Swedish cavalry reserve arrived and began
to turn the tide against the Poles. Having lost the initiative, and suffering
losses, the Polish right began a gradual withdrawal. In response, Chodkiewicz sent a section of
his reserve forces composed of hussars and light cavalry towards the endangered right
wing. This detachment was commanded by Teodor Lacki. Approaching the battlefield, Teodor Lacki
attacked the exposed left flank of the Swedish left wing, driving into their formation and
sowing panic. Within half an hour of fighting, the Swedish
left wing started to leave the field in panic, and seeing their escape, the rest of the Swedish cavalry
on the battlefield also started a disorganized retreat. Seeing this, King Charles IX himself abandoned
the battle, but soon lost his horse and escaped only because a Swedish handed the monarch
his own mount. However, the bloodiest part of the battle
was yet to follow. After the Swedish cavalry had withdrawn, the infantry force
was left exposed and divided into two detachments. Their bulky and slowly moving square formations
were unable to escape the Polish cavalry. Threatened from the flanks and rear, they
were subjected to numerous charges by the hussars, while between charges they were attacked
by hajduk infantry and cannons. Step by bloody step, their strength waned,
until the battle turned into a complete massacre. After the collapse of the last resistance, thousands
of Swedish soldiers lay dead on the battlefield. According to some sources, the total Swedish
losses amounted to up to 8,000 men, while the Poles had only 100 dead and 200 wounded. Given such light losses, the biggest blow
for the Poles was the loss of a large number of horses, decreasing the mobility and thus
the strength of their army. After the Battle of Kircholm, the Swedish army
abandoned the siege of Riga, fleeing back to Sweden. However, Hetman Chodkiewicz could not exploit
this magnificent victory since the troops were not given their pay, leading to discontent
amongst the ranks and an inability to purchase supplies or fodder for their horses. Although the news of Battle of Kircholm spread
throughout Europe, the money to finance the war from the Polish Sejm never arrived, leading
the campaign to grind to a halt. Despite the routing and destruction of much
of the Swedish army, the Poles were unable to regain their lost territories in Latvia. Due to the weakness of both sides, the war
in Latvia was without major clashes until 1608, when the Swedes once again raised an
army and went on the offensive. But Swedish army was again stopped by Hetman
Chodkiewicz. However, in 1611, the Swedes signed an armistice
with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as they were forced to turn to other battlefields…
