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The War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738) was a European war and a Polish civil war, with considerable interference from other countries, to determine the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland.
Former Polish king Stanislas I, installed thirty years before by Charles XII of Sweden and ousted during the Great Northern War, sought to return to power and had behind him France, Spain, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1732 Empress Anna of Russia, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and King Frederick William I of Prussia declared that they would try to put their own candidate on the Polish-Lithuanian throne. The French also wanted to put their own candidate on the Polish throne to make Poland-Lithuania their client-state in order to balance the power of Russia and Austria. In 1725 king Louis XV of France married Maria Leszczyńska, dougther of king Stanislaus I (Leszczyński). In 1733 king Augustus II of Poland (Elctor of Saxony) died. The Polish nobles, led by primate Teodor Potocki, gathered for the election (in the Polish 'nobles democracy,' the primate was the traditional regent during the interregnum). They choose Leszczyński. The Russian army under field marshal Peter Lascy entered Polish territory in order to support the claims of Augustus II's son. A group of nobles, mainly Lithuanian magnates led by duke Michael Wiśniowiecki (the former Lithuanian grand chancellor nominated by Augustus II), left the place of election to join the Russians. This group elected Augustus's son Frederick Augustus II, elector of Saxony, King of Poland as Augustus III. Despite the fact that this group was a minority, Russians and Austrians recognised this election as the legal one.
The war was a typical 18th century war with a limited object. Aside from the war in Poland itself, it was fought on two theatres, the Rhine and Italy. The war opened in 1733 with an invasion of Poland by the Russians, who quickly took Warsaw. The Rhine campaigns were entirely unimportant, and are remembered only for the last appearance in the field of Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Berwick — the latter was killed at the siege of Philippsburg — and the baptism of fire of the young crown prince of Prussia, afterwards Frederick the Great. In Italy, however, there were three hard-fought though indecisive battles, Parma (June 29, 1734), Luzzara (September 19, 1734) and Bitonto (May 25, 1735), the first and last won by the Austrians, the second by the French and their allies. In Italy, the most notably result of the war was the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples by the Spanish in May 1734. The kingdom was given to King Philip V's younger son Don Carlos. In Poland itself, Stanislaus was soon expelled by a Russian army and was afterwards besieged in Danzig by the Russians and Saxons (Feb-June 1733).
In Poland a group of nobles who opted for Stanislaus I formed the Confederation of Dzikow (1734) and under their commander, Adam Tarły, tried to fight against the Russians, but their action was ineffective.
A preliminary peace was concluded in October 1735 and ratified in the Treaty of Vienna (November 1738). Augustus was confirmed as king of Poland, Stanislas being compensated with the Duchy of Lorraine for the duration of his lifetime, while the former Duke of Lorraine, Francis Stephen, was made heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which he inherited in 1737. The Infant Charles of Spain was confirmed as king of Naples and Sicily, with the Austrians being compensated by the acquisition of Charles's Duchy of Parma, and by the other powers' recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction that would allow Emperor Charles's daughter Maria Theresa to succeed him. France was the most successful of the extra-Polish combatants in the long run - Lorraine, lost to France after the War of the Grand Alliance, was to be returned to the French crown upon Stanislas' death, which occurred in 1766. In Poland in 1736 Stanislaus signed the act of abdication, while Augustus III pronouced a general amnesty. Wiśniowiecki was rewarded: the king made him the grand hetman (chief-in-commander) of Lithuania.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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