The civil war in Poland was a military conflict from 1704 to 1706, and a part of a larger European conflict, the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. It focused on the struggle for the

Polish throne Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

between King

Stanisław I Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cal ...

supported by his

Warsaw Confederation The Warsaw Confederation, signed on 28 January 1573 by the Polish national assembly (''sejm konwokacyjny'') in Warsaw, was one of the first European acts granting religious freedoms. It was an important development in the history of Poland and o ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and the Russian-backed

Sandomierz Confederation The Sandomierz Confederation was an anti-Swedish confederation, formed on 20 May 1704 in defense of the King of Poland, August II the Strong. It was formed in reaction to the Warsaw Confederation, and its marshal was Stanisław Ernest Denhoff. The ...

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

. The war ended with Stanisław's victory and the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706 in which August II renounced his claims to the Polish throne. Stanisław's triumph would be short-lived, however, as by 1709 he would be forced to give up the throne to Augustus II once again.

Background

At the onset of the

Augustus the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

was king of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

, having been elected in 1697. In 1699, he allied with the

Russian tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in the

Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye The Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye (or the Treaty of Preobrazhenskoe) was negotiated by Johann Patkul and signed on 22 November 1699 in Preobrazhenskoye (now a part of Moscow), a favoured residence of the tsar Peter the Great. It followed an informal ...

and with

Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway Frederick IV (Danish: ''Frederik''; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Early lif ...

in the

Treaty of Dresden The Treaty of Dresden was signed on 25 December 1745 at the Saxon capital of Dresden between Austria, Saxony and Prussia, ending the Second Silesian War. In the 1742 Treaty of Breslau, Maria Theresa of Austria, struggling for the succession aft ...

, and joined their war with the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

that followed in 1700 Soon, however, their alliance suffered a number of defeats, and led to

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

Civil war

Swedish successes (in particular, the

Battle of Klissow A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

) led to a growing number of

Polish-Lithuanian magnates The magnates of Poland and Lithuania () were an aristocracy of Polish-Lithuanian nobility (''szlachta'') that existed in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, from the 1569 Union of Lublin, in the Polish–Lith ...

switching sides, culminating in the formation of

on 16 February 1704 and

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

of Swedish-endorsed

voivode of Poznań Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

, as the new Polish king on 12 July 1704. Augustus the Strong still enjoyed support of a Polish faction, the

(formed on 20 May 1704), and about 75% of the Polish army. Augustus and his supporters declared war on Sweden, and joined the anti-Swedish Russian coalition at Narva on 30 August 1704. By October 1703 Augustus had to abandon Warsaw. A Russo-Saxo-Polish-Lithuanian army was then assembled at

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...

(Polatsk, Połock, Polockas), another allied army in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, and a third allied force commanded by General

Otto Arnold von Paykull Otto Arnold von Paykull (c.1662 – 4 February 1707) was a Livonian Officer (armed forces), officer in the service of the Electorate of Saxony. Early life Otto Arnold von Paykull was born around 1662 in Swedish Livonia. He was a page at the Royal ...

(Pajkul) advanced towards

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, where Charles XII and Stanisław sojourned. Pajkul's Saxo-Polish-Lithuanian forces reached the outskirts of Warsaw on 31 July 1705, where they were defeated. The army at Polotsk was denied westward advance by Swedish forces under

Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt (15 April 1659 – 12 February 1719) was a Swedish general, particularly known for his participation in the Great Northern War. Biography He was born on 15 April 1659 in a Swedish fortified camp near Copenhagen. He attend ...

. Thus, Stanisław was crowned king of Poland in Warsaw on 4 October 1705 soon afterward he and his supporters concluded an alliance with the Swedish Empire in the Treaty of Warsaw in November 1705. Augustus was not done yet. In early 1706 he approached Warsaw with a cavalry force and ordered

Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of Brandenburg-Prussian background who served in the Saxon and Venetian armies in the early 18th century and found a se ...

to move the army assembled in Saxony into Poland–Lithuania. Schulenburg was intercepted and defeated by

Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld Count Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld (6 August 1651 – 29 January 1722) was a Swedish Field Marshal (''Fältmarskalk'') and Royal Councillor. He was mentor and chief military advisor to King Charles XII of Sweden, and served as deputy commander-in-c ...

in the

Battle of Fraustadt The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 ( O.S.) / 3 February 1706 (Swedish calendar) / 13 February 1706 ( N.S.) between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt (now Wschowa) in Poland. During the Battle of F ...

(Wschowa) on 13 February 1706. The army assembled in Polotsk had been moved to

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

where it was tactically defeated and forced to withdraw eastwards around the same time. Charles XII then occupied Saxony, forcing Augustus to abandon both the Polish crown and his allies in the Treaty of Altranstädt on 13 October 1706 in which Augustus was forced to give up his claims to the Polish crown.

Aftermath

Stanisław's reign was short; in 1709 the Russians decisive victory at the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

undermined his position in Poland. Soon after the Swedish defeat, Stanisław I abandoned Poland, and Augustus resumed his position as the Polish king. Augustus position was backed up by the Russians, who would assume an increasingly dominating role in Polish internal politics following this conflict.

In popular culture

The civil war, together with a later

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

(1733–1738) in which Leszczyński challenged Augustus' son, was immortalized in a Polish saying "Jedni do Sasa, drudzy do Lasa" (lit. "Some to Sas, other to Las"; with "Sas", meaning "the Saxon, being Augustus' nickname, and "Las", short for "Leszczyński", Stanisław's family name), denoting a state of division, disorder and anarchy. Another variant of the saying is "Od Sasa do Lasa" (lit. "From Sas to Las").

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Civil war in Poland (1704-1706) Wars involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Great Northern War Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Europe Wars involving Saxony Wars involving Sweden Wars involving Russia Conflicts in 1704 Conflicts in 1705 Conflicts in 1706 1704 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1705 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1706 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe

Background

Civil war

Aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References

Bibliography