There are many stories and legends about the Ukrainian military leader and Cossack colonel named Maxim Kryvonos (years of life: 1600 - 1648). At the same time, his life is like a bright star that flared up in the sky of history and quickly went out. After all, the activities of Krivonos lasted only a few months. But first things first.
Krivonos was Scottish?
What is the origin of Maxim Krivonos? Biographical information about this commander is too scarce. By and large, there is information only about the last year of his life. But let's still try to find out: what did he do before 1648, who were his parents?
So, according to one version, Krivonos was born in 1600 in a poor peasant family. His father was a blacksmith. Maxim also had a brother who died in the Battle of Pilyavetska. We will return to these events a little later.
M. Krivonos had at least one son. It is known that during the period of the liberation war he rose to the rank of Cossack colonel.
As for the real namethis national hero, the researchers did not come to a consensus. Some argue that at one time Maxim's nose was broken. Hence the nickname of the legendary colonel - Krivonos or Perebiinos. Others believe that there was a well-known noble family of Krivonos in the Mstislav region. Still others are convinced that the commander was a Scot. In any case, if you translate the Scottish surname "Cameron", you get "crooked nose."
The first official mention of Krivonos
All known activities of Maxim Krivonos, in fact, lasted only a few months. The year was 1648. In the spring, Bohdan Khmelnytsky negotiated with the official representatives of the Crown Hetman N. Pototsky. The Cossacks put forward a number of conditions for the gentry: they demanded the withdrawal of government troops, the conclusion of free agreements with foreign rulers, and also longed for war with the Ottoman Empire. The negotiators of the Commonwe alth refused the conditions of the Cossacks and began to gather an army against the rebels in order to deal with them.
However, Khmelnitsky also decided to gather his army. The battle group of the Cossack Maxim Krivonos, who soon became a colonel of the Zaporozhian Army, joined its ranks.
From the first days of this confrontation, he was next to Khmelnitsky, who appreciated the military qualities of Krivonos, considered him a faithful and brave ally.
First Battles
The first serious battle between the Cossacks and the Poles took place in the same spring of 1648, under the Yellow Waters. The Perekop Tatars also joined the Cossacks. As a result, militaryHetman's units were practically destroyed. The military gift of Colonel Krivonos loudly declared himself then.
Another brilliant victory - the Battle of Korsun in May 1648 - is considered one of the decisive ones in this liberation war.
The 25,000-strong army led by the crown hetman Pototsky was in a fortified camp near Korsun. Khmelnitsky managed to successfully misinform the enemy that he had huge forces. Potocki left the camp to join up with incoming reinforcements. At the same time, the Cossack units of Colonel Krivonos went to the rear of the Polish army. This, in fact, decided the fate of the entire battle.
Krivonos with detachments pursued Pototsky's rear units. The colonel managed to personally capture the crown hetman, as well as a number of influential officers.
Fight of Maxim Krivonos with Jeremiah Vishnevetsky
By this time, the regiment of Krivonos had turned into a real rebel army. However, the new troops of Prince Jeremiah Vishnevetsky went to the rebels. The goal of the prince was punitive action against the rebels. He even managed to capture several settlements. But after that, the strategic initiative passed to the Cossacks, to Krivonos. So, in the summer of 1648, the Lisyan colonel Maxim Krivonos captured Makhnovka. In the middle of July - Full. By the way, this fortress was considered one of the most fortified. However, the enemy fled, leaving the Cossacks with about eighty cannons.
Krivonos carefully prepared for any battle, almost always hadstore some military trick or some invention. For example, during the assault on Nemirov, the colonel sent his scouts there. They changed into military uniforms of the Commonwe alth and ended up in a fortress. Thus, the Cossacks became the owners of the town. But most importantly, they did not suffer significant damage.
Master's battle
At the end of July, parts of Krivonos were at the Bar fortress. This citadel was fortified no worse than Polonnoe. In addition, she occupied an important strategic position. It was covered by deep ditches filled with water and a river. Since the fortress walls seemed completely insurmountable, Colonel Krivonos embarked on another trick. He ordered the Cossacks to erect a series of mobile towers. While some were engaged in construction, another part of the people began to design rafts. When everything was done, the Cossack "landing" on these floating craft ended up in ditches. The Cossacks threw hay and straw there and set them on fire. A dense smoke screen hung over the fortress. Meanwhile, mobile towers began to move towards those sections of the wall where the Poles did not hold many soldiers, waiting for the enemy from the side of the gate or the river.
As a result, Krivonos burst into the impregnable city. The rebels captured the arsenal and food depots. And the fall of two Polish fortresses made a real sensation in society.
Arrest of the Colonel
Unfortunately, the hostilities were accompanied by casu alties among innocent people. Contemporariesthe Cossack colonel was recalled that he was distinguished by particular cruelty. On the other hand, Prince Vishnevetsky himself was noted for this "executionary ingenuity".
The possibility of establishing a truce in this war of liberation depended precisely on the actions of Krivonos and the prince. Actually, as a result, representatives of the authorities of the Commonwe alth and Khmelnitsky accused them of disrupting the peace deal. The hetman confessed to the Poles that he ordered Krivonos not to take part either in battles or in storming cities. He literally dissociated himself from the actions of a former ally. True, some historians strongly doubt that Khmelnitsky actually made such loud statements…
Be that as it may, in some sources the biography of Maxim Kryvonos contains information that confirms a serious conflict between the hetman and the colonel. So, in one such "dispute" Khmelnitsky arrested Krivonos. He was chained to a cannon. True, a day later the rebellious colonel was released.
Pilyavetskaya battle
At the very end of the summer of 1648, when the truce broke down, both sides began to prepare for a decisive battle. Vishnevetsky was able to muster new forces. Khmelnytsky and Krivonos met in Podolia. The Tatars also came to their aid. All the opposing armies crossed near the village of Pilyavtsy, on the river of the same name, the banks of which were connected by a dam. To keep her, the hetman ordered Krivonos to go behind enemy lines. As a result, the Cossacks were not only able to occupy the Polish camp, but also captured trophies, includingthere were about a hundred guns.
And when the Poles began to retreat, the colonel came up with another trap for them. The Polish units ended up on the bridge over the Sluch. But Krivonos made his way to the crossing and, taking advantage of the disorder, created a blockage there, which led to the collapse of the bridge. The enemy was in such a panic that some units fled all the way to Lvov…
The Capture of the High Castle
The victory near Pilyavtsy opened the way for the subsequent attack on Lvov. This battle was also of tremendous psychological significance, because the crown army of Poland fled from the battlefield. Prince Vyshnevetsky himself arrived in Lviv, took the treasury and went to Zamosc. In short, the city was completely unprepared for a siege. Although the Poles deliberately managed to destroy the suburbs in order to deprive the Cossacks of advantageous positions for shelling.
Khmelnitsky refused a direct assault. The fact is that above the city - on a hill - there was a High Castle. The hetman sent Krivonos and his detachments to take this citadel. When it fell, the townspeople immediately began the negotiation process. As a result, the inhabitants of Lviv gave a huge contribution, and the Cossacks lifted the siege of the city.
The Last Stronghold
In November, Khmelnitsky and Krivonos went to Zamosc. The capture of this fortress opened the way to Warsaw. But the Cossack army was already tired. Also, it's getting cold. The plague epidemic was added to the misfortunes. The Colonel was among the infected. They tried to treat him. One of the monastery doctors helped in some way. However, Krivonos was even able tostart the siege of Zamosc.
There were seven thousand soldiers in the castle, they were running out of provisions. Prince Vishnevetsky, who led the defense of the city, fled once again. In this position, the Cossacks could force the Poles to surrender the city. Krivonos also spoke in favor of continuing the fight.
But Khmelnitsky signed an agreement with the Polish side and ordered the Cossacks to stop fighting. This decision, by a strange coincidence, coincided with the sudden death of Colonel Krivonos. He was buried in Kyiv.
The cause of death of Maxim Krivonos is unknown. They say he died after all from the plague. Others claim that he was liquidated on the secret orders of Khmelnytsky, who sought to get rid of a dangerous competitor. Still others believe that the rebellious colonel was mortally wounded during the assault on Zamostye…
