BOLESLAW THE BRAVE
An army of armoured knights from Poland, Saxony and Bohemia, supported by Pecheneg horse archers, arrived on the banks of the Western Bug River in Red Ruthenia on 23 July 1018. The army, under the leadership of Duke Boleslaw I Chrobry, was en route to the metropolis of Kiev to secure the city for Boleslaw’s son-in-law Prince Sviatopolk, who had been dethroned two years earlier.
After they stopped for the day, Boleslaw ordered his knights to hunt game and have their servants prepare a feast to boost the morale of his troops before they went to battle against Sviatopolk’s nemesis, Prince Yaroslav of Kiev. While the servants were gutting the animals, they came under fire from Kievan archers on the opposite bank.
The servants grabbed their arms, waded through the shallow waters, and routed the enemy archers. When word reached Boleslaw that there was fighting underway, he ordered his army to assemble for battle. Mounted Polish knights and sergeants splashed through the river and thundered towards the enemy camp in the distance.
Before Yaroslav’s troops could form up for battle, Boleslaw’s men were upon them. The Rus fled for their lives. It was truly
