There are many legends and legends about the Ukrainian military leader and Cossack colonel named Maxim Krivonos (years of life: 1600 - 1648). At the same time, his life is like a bright star that flashed in the horizon of history and quickly went out. After all, the activity of Krivonos lasted only a few months. But first things first.
Was Krivonos a Scot?
What is the origin of Maxim Krivonos? Biographical information about this warlord is too scarce. By and large, there is information only about the last year of his life. But let’s try to find out after all: what was he doing until 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 Piljavec. We will return to these events a bit 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 name of this national hero, the researchers did not come to a consensus. Some argue - at one time, Maxim was killed in the nose. Hence the nickname of the legendary colonel - Krivonos or Perebiinos. Others believe that in the Mstislav region there was a famous noble family of Krivonosov. Still others are convinced that the general was a Scot. In any case, if you translate the Scottish surname "Cameron", you get a "crooked nose."
The first official mention of Krivonos
All the known activities of Maxim Krivonos, in fact, lasted only a few months. It was the 1648th year. In the spring, Bogdan Khmelnitsky held talks with 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 yearned for war with the Ottoman Empire. The negotiators of the Commonwealth refused the conditions of the Cossacks and began to assemble an army against the rebels in order to deal with them.
However, Khmelnitsky also decided to assemble his army. The battle group of the Cossack Maxim Krivonos, who soon became a colonel of the Zaporizhzhya Army, joined his ranks.
From the first days of this confrontation, he was next to Khmelnitsky, who appreciated the military qualities of Krivonos, considered him a loyal and brave ally.
First battles
The first serious battle between Cossacks and Poles occurred in the same spring of 1648, under the Yellow Waters. Perekop Tatars also joined the Cossacks. As a result, the military units of the hetman were almost destroyed. The leadership gift of Colonel Krivonos loudly declared himself then.
Another brilliant victory - the Battle of Korsun in May 1648 - is considered one of the decisive in this liberation war.
The 25,000th army led by the crown hetman Pototsky was in a fortified camp near Korsun. Khmelnitsky was able to successfully misinform the enemy that he had tremendous strength. Pototsky left the camp to team up with suitable 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 whole battle.
Krivonos with troops pursued the rear of Potocki. 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 Krivonos regiment had turned into a real rebel army. However, new troops of Prince Jeremiah Wisniewiecki went to the rebels. The prince's goal 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 Lisian colonel Maxim Krivonos captured Makhnovka. In mid-July - Full. By the way, this fortress was considered one of the most fortified. Nevertheless, the enemy fled, leaving the Cossacks about eighty guns.
Krivonos carefully prepared for any battle, almost always had in stock some kind of military trick or some kind of fiction. For example, during the assault on Nemirov, the colonel sent his scouts there. They changed into military uniforms of the Commonwealth and ended up in a fortress. Thus, the Cossacks became masters of the town. But most importantly, they did not suffer significant damage.
Master's battle
In late July, parts of Krivonos were at the fortress of Bar. This citadel was fortified no worse than Polonnoe. In addition, she held a crucial strategic position. She was covered by deep ditches filled with water, and the river. Since the fortress walls seemed completely insurmountable, Colonel Krivonos set off 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 construct rafts. When everything was done, the Cossack "landing" on these craft was in trenches. The Cossacks threw hay and straw there and set them on fire. A dense smoke curtain hung over the fortress. Meanwhile, the mobile towers began to move to those sections of the wall where the Poles did not hold many soldiers, waiting for the enemy from the side of the gate or river.
As a result, Krivonos burst into an impregnable city. The rebels seized an arsenal and food depots. And the fall of two Polish fortresses made a real sensation in society.
Colonel's arrest
Unfortunately, hostilities were accompanied by innocent casualties. Contemporaries of the Cossack colonel recalled that he was particularly cruel. On the other hand, Prince Vishnevetsky himself was noted in this “butchery ingenuity”.
The possibility of establishing a truce in this liberation war depended precisely on the actions of Krivonos and the prince. Actually, as a result, representatives of the authorities of the Commonwealth and Khmelnitsky accused them of disrupting the peace deal. Hetman admitted to the Poles that he ordered Krivonos not to take part in the battles or in the assaults of the cities. He literally dissociated himself from the actions of his former ally. True, some historians strongly doubt that Khmelnitsky actually made such high-profile statements ...
Be that as it may, in some sources the biography of Maxim Krivonos contains information that confirms the 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 rebel colonel was released.
Piljavec battle
At the very end of the summer of 1648, when the truce was disrupted, both sides began to prepare for a decisive battle. Vishnevetsky was able to gather new forces. Khmelnitsky and Krivonos met on Podillia. The Tatars came to their aid. All opposing armies crossed near the village of Pilyavtsi, 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 capture trophies, among which there were about a hundred guns.
And when the Poles began to retreat, the colonel came up with another trap for them. Polish units found themselves on a bridge over Sluch. And Krivonos made his way to the crossing and, taking advantage of the mess, created a blockage there, which led to the collapse of the bridge. The enemy was in such a panic that some units fled to Lviv ...
Capture of the High Castle
Victory near Pilyavtsy opened the road for a subsequent attack on Lviv. This battle also had tremendous psychological significance, because the crown army of Poland fled from the battlefield. Prince Vishnevetsky himself arrived in Lviv, took the treasury and went to Zamosc. In a word, the city was completely unprepared for a siege. Although the Poles specifically managed to destroy the suburbs in order to deprive the Cossacks of favorable positions for shelling.
Khmelnitsky refused a direct assault. The fact is that the High Castle was located above the city - on a hill. The hetman sent Krivonos and his troops to take this stronghold. When she fell, the townspeople immediately began the negotiation process. As a result, the residents of Lviv gave a huge indemnity, and the Cossacks lifted the siege of the city.
The last bastion
In November, Khmelnitsky and Krivonos went to Zamost. The capture of this fortress opened the way to Warsaw. But the Cossack army is already tired. In addition, the cold began. A plague epidemic was added to the scourge. The colonel was among those infected. They tried to treat him. Something helped one of the monastery healers. However, Krivonos was even able to begin the siege of Zamost.
There were seven thousand warriors in the castle; their supplies were running out. Prince Vishnevetsky, who led the defense of the city, once again escaped. In this situation, the Cossacks could force the Poles to surrender the city. Krivonos also spoke in favor of continuing the struggle.
But Khmelnitsky signed an agreement with the Polish side and ordered the Cossacks to cease hostilities. This decision, by a strange coincidence, coincided with the sudden death of Colonel Krivonos. He was buried in Kiev.
The cause of death of Maxim Krivonos is unknown. They say he died nevertheless from the plague. Others claim that he was eliminated by secret order of Khmelnitsky, who sought to get rid of a dangerous competitor. Still others believe that the rebel colonel was mortally wounded during the assault on Zamost ...