Battle of Praga The Battle of Praga or the Second Battle of Warsaw of 1794 was a Russian assault of Praga , the easternmost suburb of Warsaw , during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794 . It was followed by a massacre ( known as the Massacre of Praga ) of the civilian population of Praga . Eve of the battle . After the Battle of Maciejowice General Tadeusz Kościuszko was captured by the Russians . The internal struggle for power in Warsaw and the demoralisation of the city ' s population prevented General Józef Zajączek from finishing the fortifications surrounding the city both from the east and from the west . At the same time the Russians were making their way towards the city . Opposing forces . The Russian forces consisted of two battle - hardened corps under Generals Aleksandr Suvorov and Ivan Fersen . Suvorov took part in the recent Russo - Turkish war , then in the heavy fighting in Polesie and finally in the Battle of Maciejowice . Fersen fought for several months in Poland , but was also joined by fresh reinforcements sent from Russia . Each of them had approximately 11 , 000 men . The Polish forces consisted of a variety of troops . Apart from the rallied remnants of the Kościuszko ' s army defeated in the Battle of Maciejowice , it also included a large number of untrained militia from Warsaw , Praga and Vilnius , a 500 - man Jewish regiment of Berek Joselewicz as well as a number of scythemen and civilians . The forces were organised in three separate lines , each covering a different part of Praga . The central area was commanded directly by General Józef Zajączek , the northern area was commanded by Jakub Jasiński and the southern by Władysław Jabłonowski . Altogether , the Polish commander had less than 20 , 000 men . Battle . The Russian forces reached the outskirts of Warsaw on November 3 , 1794 . Immediately upon arrival , the Russian forces started artillery barrage of the Polish defences . This made the Polish commander think that the opposing forces were preparing for a long siege . However , Suvorov ' s plan assumed the fast and concentrated assault on the Polish defences rather than a bloody and lengthy siege . At 3 o ' clock in the morning of November 4 the Russian troops silently reached the positions just outside the outer rim of Polish field fortifications and two hours later started an all - out assault . The Polish defenders were completely surprised and soon the Polish lines were broken onto several isolated pockets of resistance , bombarded by the Russians with canister shot s with a devastating effect . General Zajączek was slightly wounded and retreated from his post , leaving the remainder of his forces without command . This made the Poles retreat towards the centre of Praga and then towards Vistula . The heavy fighting lasted for four hours and resulted in a complete defeat of the Polish forces . Joselewicz survived , being severely wounded , but almost all of his command was annihilated ; Jasiński was killed fighting bravely on the front line . Only a small part managed to evade encirclement and retreated to the other side of the river across a bridge ; hundreds of soldiers and civilians fell from a bridge and drowned in the process . Massacre . After the battle ended , the Russian troops , against the orders given by Suvorov before the battle , started to loot and burn the entire borough of Warsaw ( allegedly in revenge for the slaughter or capture of over half the Russian Garrison in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising in April 1794 , when about 2 , 000 Russian soldiers died ) . Almost all of the area was pillaged and inhabitants of the Praga district were tortured , raped and murdered . The exact death toll of that day remains unknown , but it is estimated that up to 20 , 000 people were killed . Suvorov himself wrote : " The whole of Praga was strewn with dead bodies , blood was flowing in streams . " It was thought that unruly Cossack troops were partly to blame for the uncontrolled destruction . Suvorov tried to stop the massacre by ordering the destruction of the bridge to Warsaw over the Vistula river with the purpose of preventing the spread of violence to Warsaw . Other historians dispute this . After the battle . After the battle the commanders of Warsaw and large part of its inhabitants became demoralised . To spare Warsaw the fate of its eastern suburb , General Tomasz Wawrzecki decided to withdraw his remaining forces southwards and on November 5 . Warsaw was captured by the Russians with little or no opposition . It is said that after the battle General Aleksandr Suvorov sent a report to Catherine the Great consisting of only three words : " Hooray ! Warsaw is ours ! " The empress of Russia replied equally briefly : " Bravo Fieldmarshal , Catherine " , promoting him to Field Marshal for this victory . The massacre of Praga dented Suvorov and the Russian army ' s reputation throughout Europe . References and notes . a The Polish term for the massacre , " rzeź Pragi " , correctly translates as " Slaughter of Praga " . Most English sources however use the term massacre , not slaughter , for the event .