The Battle of Trudove was fought on 31 October 1655 at the start of the Crimean rebellion. Forces loyal to the deposed Khan Mehmed IV Giray defeated an army loyal to Khan Islam III Giray outside Kyzyl-yar Fortress (Melitopol) in the first action of the civil war.
Background[]
With Sweden's armies being pushed back in Poland-Lithuania following the Poles' recapture of Warsaw, King Jan II Casimir decided to shift his attention to the eastern front. Khan Islam III Giray was allied with the Cossack Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and his Crimean Tatars posed a strong threat to Poland's southeastern frontier. Scheming as always, King Jan Casimir summoned the Polish mercenary-turned-lord Jerzy Wisniewski of Vydzy and told him of his plan to reinstate the deposed Mehmed IV Giray as Khan of Crimea in exchange for a Polish-Crimean alliance. Wisniewski pointed out that a Polish nobleman aiding Mehmed Giray would make him appear to be a puppet, so King Jan Casimir told him that he would have the hard task of leaving his service to Poland-Lithuania and acting at his own risk. Promised a worthwhile reward and royal support in the election of the new Marshal, Wisniewski formally renounced his oath to King Jan Casimir and his rulership over Vydzy and found Mehmed Giray at the Cossack town of Sich. When Wisniewski asked Mehmed Giray if he would be interested in returning to power, he responded that he would do anything for the restoration of justice. Mehmed Giray agreed to join Wisniewski's party as Wisniewski approached Crimea's nobles and attempted to recruit them to the rebel cause.
Wisniewski bolstered his army with Tatar mercenaries before invading the khanate. Outside Poltava, he met Bukyrn-bey, who believed that Mehmed Giray was clearly wronged. He agreed to back Mehmed Giray as the rightful heir, and Poltava became the center of the Crimean rebellion. With Bukryn-bey's army in tow, Wisniewski and his 98-man band of mercenaries descended on Kyzyl-yar Fortress, garrisoned by Shirin-bey. Wisniewski approached Shirin-bey with the same invitation to join the uprising, but Shirin-bey doubted that Mehmed Giray would treat him better than the ungrateful Islam Giray and refused to join the uprising. Forced to take Kyzyl-yar by force, Wisniewski and Bukyrn-bey, aided by Lukyan Mozyra's Cossack force, confronted Shirin-bey's army at present-day Trudove.
Battle[]
The Crimean rebels, Cossacks, and Polish mercenaries charged into battle with the loyal Tatars of Shirin-bey, initiating a cavalry clash. The numerically superior allied forces overwhelmed Shirin-bey's cavalry before riding down his infantry with ease, completely destroying his army and opening the way for Wisniewski to besiege Kyzyl-yar.