Michał Sokolnicki (1760, in Wierzeja – 1816, in

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 ...

) was a Polish nobleman (of

Nowina coat of arms Nowina () is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several ''szlachta'' families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original clan consisted of only 24 families. History Nowina is one of the oldest Polish heraldic marks ...

), general, military engineer, politician, and writer. Sokolnicki studied in Warsaw's Corps of Cadets and fought in the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservativ ...

as well as the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

of 1794. In 1797 he presented the French Directory with a document entitled "Aperçu sur la Russie". This became known as the so-called " Testament of Peter the Great", which Napoleon Bonaparte used for anti-Russian propaganda purposes in 1812, and has been widely publicised since, although scholars have since established that the document is a forgery.Neumann, Iver B. "Europe's post-Cold War memory of Russia: cui bono?" in ''Memory and power in post-war Europe: studies in the presence of the past'' ed. Jan-Werner Müller. Cambridge University Press, 2002: p. 132McNally, Raymond T. "The Origins of Russophobia in France" in ''American Slavic and East European Review'' Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr., 1958): pp. 173-189 From 1797 on, Sokolnicki was a member of the

Danube Legion The Danube Legion (; ) was a Polish Legion of the French Revolutionary Army which existed from 1799 to 1803. It was renamed as the 3rd Polish Half-Brigade in December 1801 and the 113th Line Infantry Half-Brigade on September 1802, before being ...

and later of the

Polish Legions in France The Polish Legions (; also known as the Dąbrowski Legions) were several Polish military units that served with the French Army in the Napoleonic era, mainly from 1797 to 1803, although some units continued to serve until 1815. After the Th ...

under Napoleon. After 1808, he was a general in the army of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

and took part in the

Polish–Austrian War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...

, where he was instrumental in defeating the Austrians in two major battles. Sokolnicki then took part in

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

. After Napoleon's defeat and the Duchy's occupation by Russia, he removed himself from public life and died in an accident in 1816. Sokolnicki was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(12 August) and the Commander's Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

(22 August 1809).

References

External links

The Will of Peter the Great / Testament of Peter the Great
1760 births 1816 deaths People from Szamotuły County Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Virtuti Militari Polish generals People of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars {{Poland-mil-bio-stub