The Russo-Polish war of 1733-1735 took place between the two coalitions. On the one hand were Russia, Saxony and Austria, and on the other - Spain, France and the Sardinian kingdom. The formal occasion was the election of the Polish king after the death of Augustus II. Russia and Austria supported the son of the late monarch Frederick Augustus II, and France supported the father-in-law of Louis XV Stanislav Leshchinsky, who had previously held the Polish throne for some time.
Causes
The international situation in Europe, which led to the Russo-Polish War of 1733-1735, was due to long-standing contradictions between Russia, France and Prussia, which at that time were not resolved.
Moreover, it was in Poland that all conditions were in place to provoke a confrontation. Historians believe that there were several main reasons for the Russo-Polish war of 1733-1735.
- Poland's second largest state in Europe at that time was in a state of deep internal crisis, which many wanted to take advantage of.
- Russia and Austria, then in alliance, opposed the emergence of the Polish-Saxon kingdom, which was what Augustus II and his supporters went to.
- In addition, it was in the interests of our country and Austria to prevent an alliance between France, the Commonwealth, Sweden and Turkey.
- Finally, Russia was prompted to intervene in the war for the Polish inheritance by the fact that Poland hoped to keep Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine within its borders, delayed the recognition of the imperial title by the Russian tsars, did not guarantee Russian conquests in the Baltic states.
After the death of Augustus II, the situation escalated, since from the end of the XVII century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the principle of electing the king has been in effect. This constantly turned the Polish throne into an object of rivalry between foreign powers.
Siege of Danzig
Significant events in the framework of the Russian-Polish war of 1733-1735 unfolded on the territory of Poland itself. The commanders from the Russian side were Burchard Minih, Peter Lassi, Thomas Gordon. The Union of the Holy Roman Empire Eugene of Savoy, the Prussian leader Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, spoke with them in union.
They were opposed by the French military leaders Claude de Villars, the Duke of Berwick, Francois-Marie de Broglie, the Spanish military Duke of Montemar.
The Russian army under the command of Lassi crossed the border in July, by the end of September it was already under the walls of Warsaw. The Polish troops that supported Leshchinsky left the capital without a fight. At the same time, part of the nobility advocated the election of King Augustus III of Saxony under the name of Frederick II Augustus.
An important episode of the war was the siege of Danzig in 1734. By then, Lassi had already taken Thorne in northern Poland. 12,000 soldiers approached Danzig, which was a strategically important fortress, which was not enough to storm.
In March, reinforcements arrived under the command of Field Marshal Minich, who was succeeded by Lassi. In mid-April, shelling of the city with newly arrived guns began. The French sent to help the besieged squadron, but she failed to get into the city.
City taken
In late April, Minich decided to storm the fort of Gagelsberg, but failed, losing about two thousand people. In mid-May, the French again landed troops, which attacked the Russian fortifications. In parallel, the besieged decided on a sortie from the city. Minich’s army managed to repel both attacks.
In June, the Russian fleet and artillery arrived, and Saxon troops approached Danzig. The French then retreated.
Having seized artillery, Minich began to actively attack the city. At the end of June, Danzig surrendered. Leschinsky, who was in it, fled, disguised as a peasant. This was a decisive victory in the Russian-Polish war of 1733-1735. After it, most of the Polish magnates went over to the side of Augustus III. In December, he was crowned in Krakow.
Truce
When Austria lost the chance to bring England into the conflict, in November 1734 a truce was concluded with France. Preconditions were agreed, but peace between countries was short-lived.
In France, they were unhappy that they had received nothing, moreover, Spain refused to give in to Piacenza and Parma. Moreover, she declared war on Portugal, using as an official reason the insult to her messenger in Lisbon. England began arming itself, preparing to provide support if necessary. Sardinia entered into negotiations with Austria at that moment.
Finding himself in this position, Charles VI asked Russia for additional troops. The government sent 13,000th corps under the command of Lassi. In the summer of 1735 he entered Silesia. In mid-August, Russian troops merged with the Austrian.
Austria was inspired. In addition, assistance was promised by Saxony and Denmark. Therefore, negotiations with France were interrupted. Instead, war is declared again.
1735 Campaign
A new campaign began for Austria unsuccessfully. In northern Italy, the Allies crowded Commander-in-Chief Count Koenigsek. He was forced to retreat to Tyrol, Mantova was under siege, and in southern Italy Syracuse and Messina were captured.
In Germany, the French army was restrained from the last forces by Eugene of Savoy. Emperor Charles VI, realizing that hopes for a quick victory did not materialize, announced his desire to begin peace negotiations. The situation was confused by the Spaniards, who lobbied for their interests at the Vienna court. They were afraid of losing their estates in the event of the loss of Lombardy, so they persuaded Charles to enter into negotiations with Spain. The emperor, being frankly weak-willed, did not know what he decided. As a result, he himself began secret negotiations with France.
Vector change
By this time, the situation at the front began to change. The siege of Mantua was too long because of the intransigence of the allies who did not want to concede this tidbit. Due to the atmosphere of mutual distrust and threats of Charles VI to enter into an alliance with Sardinia and Spain, France was forced to accept a peace proposal. Again, a preliminary contract was signed.
Meanwhile, Count Koenigsek forced the Spaniards to leave from Mantua, he himself was preparing to advance to Naples. As a result, Spain decided to completely abandon further participation in the war.
The hostilities were actually completed, but the peace treaty itself was not signed for several more years. The agreement was concluded only after British Prime Minister Robert Walpole and First Minister of France Andre-Hercule de Fleury did not force the Duke of Lorraine to cede his possessions to Louis XV for an annual income of three and a half million livres.
The signing of a peace treaty
The results of the Russo-Polish war of 1733-1735 were officially secured by a peace treaty, signed only at the end of 1738. Already in 1739, Spain, Sardinia and Naples joined him.
Stanislav Leshchinsky refused the throne, but at the same time retained a lifetime possession of Lorraine. After his death, the area was to depart to France. Charles III received the title of king of both Sicilies, Austria reserved Piacenza and Parma, and France pledged to fully recognize the Pragmatic sanction.
War Results
The actual result of the Russo-Polish War of 1733-1735 was a significant strengthening of Russia's international position with influence on Poland. This was the first and immediately successful participation of the empire in solving the problems of Western European politics. Let this be done indirectly.
France achieved the weakening of Austria, regaining the status of a leading European power.