Jan Karol Chodkiewicz

Who was Jan Karol Chodkiewicz?

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was a military commander of the Polish-Lithuanian army who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lithuania, and was one of the most prominent noblemen and military commanders of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of his era. His coat of arms was Chodkiewicz, as was his family name.

He played a major role, often as the top commander of the Commonwealth forces, in the Wallachian campaign of 1599–1600, the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1611, the Polish–Muscovite War of 1605–1618, and the Polish–Ottoman War of 1620–1621. His most famous victory was the Battle of Kircholm in 1605, in which he dealt a major defeat to a Swedish army three time the size of his own. He died on the front lines during the battle of Chocim, in the besieged Khotyn Fortress, a few days before the Ottomans gave up on the siege and agreed to negotiate.