Żurawski vel Grajewski, Historia, Artykuły
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//-->Radosław Żurawski vel GrajewskiInstitute of HistoryUniversity of ŁódźPoland in the Period of Partitions1795–19141. The Polish cause during Napoleonic wars (1797–1815)After the third partition of Poland in 1795, the Polish state had beenerased from the political map of Europe for more than 120 years (see:the map “The Partitions of the Polish – Lithuania Commonwealth 1772–1795”). Nevertheless, the nation itself did not cease to exist. The collapse ofthe state resulted in the emigration that although small in number was stillimportant for political and military reasons. Two organisations were createdin exile in France: the right wing of emigration was united in the Agency(Agencja), while the left wing was organised under the name ofDeputation(Deputacja). Both of them hoped that revolutionary France would be ableto help Poland to regain her independence. It was the Agency that wasallowed by the French government to organise Polish troops to fight sideby side with the French revolutionary army. Soon, in 1797, the Polish Le-gion under the command of GeneralJan Henryk Dąbrowskiwas formed inItaly in the service of the Republic of Lombardy. It was incorporated as aux-iliary forces into the French army in Italy led by General Napoleon Bona-parte. For that Legion, a patriotic song known as “Dąbrowski’s Mazurka”(that later became the Polish national anthem) was composed by JózefWy-bicki,a Polish patriot and poet, one of the members of the Agency. AnotherPolish legion was organised by GeneralKarol Kniaziewicz.It was formed96Radosław Żurawski vel Grajewskiin the direct service of the French Republic to fight in Germany and wasnamed the Danube’s Legion. Both legions took part in all French militarycampaigns of those times fighting against Austrian and Russian troops inItaly, Switzerland and Germany until the armistice of Lunéville (1801) thatended the war between France and Austria. After the peace had been secured,the French government got rid of no more needed Polish legionnaires and in1802 sent some of them to San Domingo (Haiti). The Poles were forced tofight the Negro’s rebel in that remote island situated in the Caribbean Archi-pelago. Most of them died there infected with tropical diseases. In spite ofthat bitter end, the Polish legions played a very important role maintainingthe idea of independence of the country. Legionnaires wore Polish uniformsin traditional Polish colours; they served under Polish command and Polishstandards. More than 25 000 soldiers served in the legions during the fiveyears of their history. This Polish army in exile was a true symbol of the inde-pendence of the country. Although its members were actually soldiers with-out the state, they sang the first words of “Dąbrowski’s Mazurka” – “Polandhas not succumbed yet, as long as we remain”.There was a short break in the Napoleonic wars following the peacetreaty of Amiens. The dreams of the Poles hoping to liberate their home-land with the help of the French Republic did not come true. In 1804France ceased to be a republic and became an empire. Napoleon Bonaparte,who as the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army of Italy had helpedthe Poles to organise the legions, became emperor. He defeated Austrianand Russian army in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and in 1806 Napole-onic troops marched across Germany and crushed two Prussian armies atJena and Auerstädt. Soon the French entered the Prussian part of the for-mer Polish state. Within two years Napoleon defeated the armies of allthe states that had participated in the partitions of Poland and in this waybecame almost a Polish national hero. While French troops were approach-ing the former Polish borders, Polish uprising broke out in Great Poland(or Major – PolandWielkopolska)– that is in the Prussian part of the coun-try. Although a military power of the Kingdom of Prussia had been crushedin 1806, the Tsar of Russia, Alexander I, decided to intervene in favour ofPrussia, hence the war proclaimed by Napoleon as “the Polish War” lasteduntil 1807. New Polish detachments were organised under the protectionPoland in the Period of Partitions 1795–191497of Napoleon. The army of 30 000 soldiers grouped in the national forcesready to fight for the liberation of the entire country had been formedby the end of the war. Eventually, Napoleon signed a peace treaty with Al-exander I in Tilsit (Tylża) in 1807. According to that agreement a so-calledDuchy of Warsawwas created (see: the map “Poland 1807–1813”). It wasa vassal state to the French empire and consisted merely of the territorythat had been taken away from Poland by Prussia in the second and thirdpartitions (1793 and 1795). This was augmented by a narrow strip of landnorth of the Noteć River captured by Prussia in the first partition (1772)but without the so called district ofBiałystokthat was given by Napoleonto Alexander I and thus became part of the Russian Empire then.Gdańskwas also lost by Prussia and proclaimed a free city under French protection.The king of Saxony became a duke of the Duchy of Warsaw. Althoughthe new state was merely a small scrap of the former Poland, it had its ownconstitution, parliament (Sejm) and national army. Half of its troops (circa15 000) was organised by Napoleon under the name of Vistula Legion andsent to fight Spaniards. The Legion took part in some bloody campaignsin Spain during the siege of Saragossa and covered themselves with gloryduring the victorious charge in Somosierra ravine where Polish cavalierlyopened the way to Madrid for the French army. The glory was bitter though,as the Poles knew very well that the Spaniards were fighting for their ownliberty too. Still there was hope that Napoleon would reciprocate the effortand help rebuild a whole and independent Poland.As soon as the new war with Austria broke out (1809) the Polish armythat remained in the Duchy of Warsaw under the command of PrinceJózefPoniatowski(a nephew of the last king of Poland) faced an Austrian inva-sion. After the battle of Raszyn the Poles had to give up Warsaw, but thenthey managed to reconquer the entire territory of former Poland that hadbeen taken by Austria in the third partition, the so called “New Galicia”.Soon Napoleon defeated the main Austrian army in the battle of Wagramand the war ended. It was the only victorious Polish war in the 19thcentury.The Duchy of Warsaw was aggrandised as regards its territory and the num-ber of inhabitants. All the formerly Polish territory occupied by Russia,however, and the districts that had been taken by Austria and Prussia inthe first partition were under foreign rule. It was clear that without a new98Radosław Żurawski vel Grajewskiwar with the Russian Empire the resurrection of Poland would be impossi-ble. The war the Poles hoped for broke out in 1812. Napoleon proclaimedit to be “the Second Polish War”. About 100 000 Polish soldiers marched inthe ranks of the “Grand Armée” towards Moscow. Fighting both the Russiantroops and Russian winter they were finally defeated. After the disaster atthe banks of the Berezyna River (near Studzianka village), only several thou-sands of survivors, still carrying all their cannons and their standards, cameback to the Duchy of Warsaw at the beginning of 1813 followed by the vic-torious Russians. PrincePoniatowski– Commander-in-Chief of the PolishArmy – refused the Russian proposal to join the anti-Napoleonic coalition.Instead he decided to withdraw the Polish troops to Saxony where he fell inaction on the battlefield near Leipzig, shortly after Napoleon nominated himMarshal of France. The Poles proved to be the most faithful ally of France– both revolutionary and Napoleonic one. Some Polish troops took part inthe spring campaign of 1814 in France, went together with Napoleon toElba, and even fought in the last battle of the Napoleonic campaign, Water-loo. Although they were often betrayed and exploited as a tool of the Frenchpolicy, they knew very well that only the destabilisation of the political orderin Europe could bring them a chance for independence. It was France andher emperor who fought Austria, Prussia and Russia – the three states thathad partitioned and enslaved Poland, so there was no other way but to jointhe French and fight side by side against the common enemies.2. Constitutional Kingdom of Poland as partof the Russian Empire (1815–1830)The outcomes of the period of the revolutionary and Napoleonic warsfell short of Polish expectations, although they resulted in some importantprofits. After the third partition of Poland in 1795, there was no Polishterritory under Polish administration at all and even the name of Polanditself was forbidden. In 1814, when the Congress of Vienna started to dis-cuss a new shape of the map of Europe, the Duchy of Warsaw still exist-ed, occupied by Russian troops but under Polish administration. Polisharmy was not dismissed when it returned from France to Poland. So oncePoland in the Period of Partitions 1795–191499again it was difficult to erase the Polish state entirely. The Tsar, Alexander I,wanted to maintain the Duchy of Warsaw under his sceptre. That territory(created from former Prussian and Austrian parts of Poland) had never be-longed to the Russian state before. Facing the opposition of Britain, Austriaand France he could not simply incorporate the entire Duchy into Russia.Such a step would break the European balance of power, so according tothe decision of the Congress of Vienna, the Duchy of Warsaw was parti-tioned. Great Poland, with its capitalPoznań,was cut out and given back tothe Kingdom of Prussia;Krakówand a small territory around the city wereturned into a newly created Republic ofKraków,called also the Free TownofKraków;the rest under the name of the Kingdomof Polandwas givento the Tsar1(see: the map “The former Polish territories after the Congressof Viena in 1815”). Alexander I decided to give a liberal constitution of itsown to that new state and became King of Poland himself. Polish admin-istration, Polish Diet (parliament), and army were maintained. He alsopromised to reunite with the Kingdom those former Polish provinces thathad been annexed by Russia during the partitions, but it was never to bedone. In this way the liberal, constitutional Kingdom of Poland became anautonomous part of the despotic Russian Empire. One can say that it wasa forced marriage between “the Beauty and the Beast”.Soon it appeared that the Tsar was not going to observe the consti-tution. He used to be an autocratic ruler in Russia and he could hardlystand any opposition in the Polish Diet. He appointed his brother, GrandDuke Constantin, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish army and thus madehim the real governor of the country. The wild and cruel personality ofthe Grand Duke was hardly acceptable to the Poles who really hated him.In 1819, MajorWalerian Łukasińskiorganised a conspiracy called the Na-tional Freemasonry(WolnomularstwoNarodowe)and, in 1821, anothereven more secret one known as the PatrioticSociety(TowarzystwoPatrio-tyczne).The main aim of those conspiracies was to unite again the wholecountry, as it existed in 1772 and regain its independence. Illegal studentIt was not as an integral part of the Russian Empire, but a separate state in personalunion with Russia often called the Congress Kingdom to distinguish it from the formerKingdom of Poland that existed before the partitions.1
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