Polish–Russian War of 1792

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Polish–Russian War of 1792


caption=Polish–Russian War of 1792
date=1792
partof=Polish–Russian Wars
place=Center and eastern parts of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
result=Second Partition of Poland
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=

commander2=


Duke Louis of Württemberg (until 1 June 1792)
strength1=97,700 men and
numerous artillery
strength2=51,000 infantry
19,000 cavalry
200 guns
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=Unknown

War in Defense of the Constitution or Polish–Russian War of 1792 took place in 1792 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation and the Russian Empire on the other.

On May 18, 1792, an army of over 97,000 veteran Russian troops crossed the border into Poland. The Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski and the reformers could field a 70,000-man army, many of them untested recruits.

The forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, loyal to the King and the Great Sejm ("Sejm Wielki"), defended Poland's May 3rd Constitution of 1791 against the Targowica Confederation of native opponents of the Constitution and the invading Russian armies allied with that Confederation. Poland's ally, the Kingdom of Prussia, broke its alliance with Poland and the Prussian commander of the army of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania betrayed the Polish–Lithuanian cause. The Polish army, led by the King's nephew Prince Józef Poniatowski fought a much larger enemy force the best it could and won a victory at Zieleńce on June 18. Then it retreated to the Bug River, where Tadeusz Kościuszko fought the Battle of Dubienka to a draw. The Russian army, however, was granted free passage through Austrian territory.

Ultimately the Polish loyalist forces were betrayed by their own king, when Stanisław August Poniatowski joined with the Targowica Confederates. This precipitated the Second Partition of Poland (January 21, 1793) which after the Grodno Sejm reduced Poland's population to only one-third of what it was before the partitions began in 1772. The rump state was garrisoned by foreign troops and its independence was strongly curtailed.The last bid to save Poland's independence was the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. One of the battles in the Kościuszko Uprising was the battle of Raclawice, in which Kosciuszko was victorious. The battle of Raclawice took place on April 4, 1794. The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on October 10, 1794 between Poland and Russia. The Polish were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6200 forces planned to prevent the linking of two larger Russian armies, 12,000 under Iwan Fersen and 12,500 under Alexander Suvorov. As he requested the support of Adam Poniński (who had 4,000 soldiers) too late, Poniński failed to arrive on the battlefield in time. The Russians were victorious, and Kosciuszko was wounded and then captured. The uprising failed, though and resulted in the Third Partition in 1795, as a result of which Poland lost all its remaining territories and ceased to exist as a state.

ee also

* Catherine II of Russia