![]() ![]() With its homeland secured and its reputation well established, the Commonwealth was quickly seduced by the one evil that tempts all powerful nations: colonization. In under a decade Poland had clawed itself out of irrelevance and become a true world power, utterly destroying Prussia and Sweden whilst making good friends of its neighbors, save for the Muslim ones. Poland was now in complete control of the Baltic Sea with only the exception of Copenhagen, left in friendly Danish hands. Soon afterwards a separate volunteer force liberated Norway while the two main armies converged upon Stockholm. Polish artillery superiority, determined line infantry, and fearless hussars and uhlans proved to be without match. It was this army that decisively defeated the main Swedish army, outnumbered 3400 to 5100 yet only losing 600 men and inflicting 3000 casualties upon the Swedes. Petersburg swept east into Albo, Finland, while the army that took Berlin ferried north across the Baltic, landing in Malmo, Sweden. In just two years the Prussian superpower had fallen to the most unlikely nation.Īnd thirdly, with complete control of the southern Baltic coastline the Commonwealth was able to completely mobilize in their war against Sweden. ![]() Seizing upon the opportunity, the Polish army raced to Berlin and claimed it in the name of the Commonwealth, simultaneously cutting the head off the Prussian state while also ensuring that the Austrians would not see a united Germany theirselves. The Austrians were dealing with a massive invasion by the Prussian forces during the first months of the war. Within weeks Konigsberg had fallen into Polish hands, fully securing control of the Baltic coastline. ![]() In fact, the Prussian declaration of war on Austria was met with celebrations and masses of volunteers to join the Commonwealth’s armed forces. Prussia had the British Empire and Spanish Empire on their side escaping their wrath while being able to retaliate against the Prussians was exactly what was necessary. Indeed, the Prussians did declare war on Austria which allowed Poland to invoke their treaty and declare war on Prussia without the ire of any of Prussia’s own allies being raised. It was clear that the sibling states would soon come to blows, and Prussia represented the greatest threat to state interests. While establishing trade with both the Prussians and Austrians, diplomatically a military alliance was signed solely with Austria. August II desired no germanic super power at all, but it was inevitable that there would be one, with both germanic states building massive modernized militaries there was simply no way to defeat them. Secondly, Poland became committed to the Austrian cause in their quest for the unification of the German peoples, at least in public. Poland had quickly cemented itself as both a powerful military state and a staunch friend of the Russians, creating a lasting bond between these two devoutly Christian nations, though separated by denomination, that would only strengthen in their respective wars against the Muslims later on. Petersburg after a gruelling siege of the defending Swedish forces. ![]() Most shocking to both ally and enemy alike, however, was when the Polish army claimed St. Polish forces soon traveled north through their protectorate Courland and successfully claimed Riga, Estonia, and Levonia from Swedish forces. August II, newly elected king of the Commonwealth, put into motion a masterful chain of political events that would save Poland from the slow death of annexation.įirst, he embraced the Russians in open trade, much to the relief of Tsar Peter who was burdened by Islamic invasion in the south and Swedish invasion in the north. Thankfully, the government of 1700 was prepared. Put simply, Poland was surrounded by wolves. Of these, Prussia was the most dire threat with their city of Konigsberg a constant source of anxiety as it could act as a landing port for a naval invasion, not to mention its close proximity to the capital, Warsaw. Being both Catholic and a constitutional-monarchy put the nation in an unfortunate geopolitical situation: the Orthodox Russian Empire’s lands walled the eastern border, the Islamic Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate lurked in the south-east blocking access to the Black Sea, Protestant absolute-monarchy Sweden was openly hostile and was expanding in the north, and the Germanic Protestant nations of Austria and Prussia ruled the west. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, henceforth to be referenced as Poland for brevity, which formed in the late 16th century and flourished militarily and culturally in the 17th, was in a somewhat stagnant position by 1700 A.D. ![]()
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