Battle of Olkieniki The Battle of Olkieniki ( , ) took place on November 18 , 1700 , during the Lithuanian Civil War , between forces of the Sapieha family , led by Michał Franciszek Sapieha , and an anti - Sapieha coalition of Wiśniowiecki , Ogiński , Radziwiłł and Pac families and their supporters ( including a " pospolite ruszenie " of Lithuanian and Samogitia szlachta ) , led by Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki . The anti - Sapieha confederates were victorious . Background . Since the second half of the 16th century the Sapieha family of Lithuania and Belarus had risen to prominence and attained a premier rank among the magnate families of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth . Over the course of the 17th century , the family came to monopolize most of the top government offices of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . While these offices were not hereditary , the Sapiehas ensured that they remained within the family . Over time this contributed to growing resentment among Lithuania ' s other magnate clans and opposition to the Sapiehas began to form in various quarters . The Sapiehas attempts to control local politics through the sejmik s and their arrogation of other nobles ' lands also led to dissatisfaction among rank - and - file szlachta . The volatile situation was furthered acerbated by the actions of the King of Poland , Augustus II the Strong . Augustus aimed to transform the weak position of the Polish - Lithuanian monarch into one based on the then current Western ( and Russian ) model of an absolute monarch . He saw the potential conflict in Lithuania as a possible excuse for an intervention which could then be utilized to strengthen royal power , as well as a means of weakening powerful magnate families in the region . Augustus allowed the Grand Hetman of Lithuania , Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger to conscript further forces for the Sapieha ' s private army , while at the same time he issued proclamations calling on the lesser nobility to defend their ancient privileges . The anti - Sapieha coalition consisted of members of the Radziwiłł , Pac and Ogiński families , and had the support of medium and lesser nobles . It was further strengthened in April 1700 , when Sapieha ' s soldiers and courtiers mistook a procession of the Princely Wiśniowiecki family in Wilno , for that of the anti - Sapieha Kociełł family , attacked it and wounded two of its most prominent members Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki and Janusz Wiśniowiecki . As a result the Wiśniowieckis joined the anti - Sapieha cause , with Michał Serwacy given the overall command of the coalition . Battle . Initial military engagements , at Lipniszki and in a skirmish on the Oszmianka river , were favorable to the Sapiehas who commanded well trained professional troops against irregular forces of the szlachta . In October the szlachta gathered in a camp near the town of Olkieniki ( today Valkininkai , in Lithuania ) . Sapieha forces , under Michał Franciszek Sapieha , left Wilno in early November and arrived near Olkieniki in the middle of the month . Older accounts of the battle give the strength of the szlachta forces at around twenty thousand and that of the Sapiehas at eight or nine thousand . Newer sources list lower figures ; twelve thousand for the szlachta and around three thousand for the Sapiehas . It is generally agreed that the Sapieha troops were of superior quality . The Sapieha forces also had eight pieces of artillery , which the confederates lacked . Last minute negotiations and an attempt at a truce was made by Bishop of Wilno Konstanty Kazimierz Brzostowski , who while a long time Sapieha opponent , was genuinely worried about the extent of destruction that the civil war was going to cause in Lithuania . Brzostowski , accompanied by bishop sufragan Jan Mikołaj Zgierski , met with the Sapiehas at a tavern in nearby Lejpuny ( Leipalingis ) . The details of the proposed truce are unknown but the conditions were rejected by Sapiehas , who declared that things will have to be " settled with sabres " . A contemporary poem described the various regiments and their commanders on the anti - Sapieha side . The counties ( voivodeships ) of Oszmiana ( Kociell ) , Lida , Bracław , Troki , Grodno , Upita , Nowogródek ( Radziwill ) , Słonim , Wołków , Witebsk ( Oginski ) , Orsza ( Kmicic ) , Brześć Litewski , Pinsk ( Wisniowiecki ) , Mścisław , Minsk , Samogitia ( Oginski ) and Połock ( Pac ) all supported the confederates , while the counties of Wilno , Wiłkomierz , Kowno , Mozyr and Rzeczyca supported the Sapiehas . The confederates placed their infantry in the center , the majority of the szlachta were on the right or in reserve , and the left wing was taken up by hired Wallachia n cavalry . Wisniowiecki placed his troops between Olkieniki and Lejpuny , while Oginski led his troops through the local forests in a wide encircling maneuver . The Sapiehas also placed their infantry in the center , their rajtar s on the left , with the right taken up by Tatar troops . Aftermath . In the aftermath of the battle , a drunken mob of szlachta , encouraged by the Canon of Wilno , Krzysztof Białłozor , whose brother had been executed by the Sapiehas the previous year , murdered many of the Sapieha leaders , including several prominent members of the family itself . Most notably , a mob has lynched Michał Franciszek Sapieha , who was kept after the battle imprisoned in a nearby abbey . The battle and the subsequent slaughter marked the end of the dominance of the Sapiehas in the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth in general , and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in particular . Jan Kazimierz Sapieha managed to escape capture and fled to the Duchy of Prussia . One of the participants on the Sapieha side was the then relatively unknown nobleman Stanisław August Poniatowski , who would later become the last King of Poland . Poniatowski was spared from the slaughter which followed the battle because of his low rank , young age , and relatively low status at the time . Impact . Sapieha loose their position and status in Poland - Lithuania and Lithuania . Spill over into the Great Northern War .