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 In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. It focused on the struggle for the Polish throne 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, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

supported by his

Warsaw Confederation The Warsaw Confederation, also called the Compact of Warsaw, was a political-legal act signed in Warsaw on 28 January 1573 by the first Convocation Sejm (''Sejm konwokacyjny'') held in the Polish Commonwealth. Convened and deliberating as a co ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, 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. T ...

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

. 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 the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the ...

was king of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

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

Russian tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

in the

Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

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 li ...

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 af ...

, and joined their war with the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

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 () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

Civil war

Swedish successes (in particular, the Battle of Klissow) led to a growing number of Polish-Lithuanian magnates 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 voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

, 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 () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

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

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, 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 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 Court of Saxony in 1677 ...

(Pajkul) advanced towards

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, 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 atten ...

. 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 Empire, Swedish Field Marshal (''fältmarskalk'') and Privy Council of Sweden, Royal Councillor. He was mentor and chief military advisor to King Charles XII of Swed ...

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 ...

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

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

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 took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

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 (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

(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 the Swedish Empire Wars involving the Tsardom of 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 Polish–Russian wars

Background

Civil war

Aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References

Bibliography