Commonwealth forces were engaged in numerous conflicts in the south (against the
Ottoman Empire), the east (against the
Tsardom of Muscovy and later, the
Russian Empire) and the north (the
Kingdom of Sweden); as well as internal conflicts (most notably, numerous
Cossack uprisings). For the first century or so, the Commonwealth military was usually successful, but became less so from around the mid-17th century. Plagued by insufficient funds, it found itself increasingly hard-pressed to defend the country, and inferior in numbers to the growing armies of the Commonwealth's neighbors.
The Commonwealth was formed at the
Union of Lublin of 1569 from the
Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The armies of those states differed from the organization common in western Europe, as according to Bardach, the
mercenary formations (Polish: wojsko najemne), common there, never gained popularity in Poland.[2] Brzezinski, however, notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units, at least till the early 17th century.[3] In the 15th century Poland, several other formations formed the core of the military.[4] There was a small standing army, obrona potoczna ("continuous defense") about 1,500–3,000 strong, paid for by the king, and primarily stationed at the troubled south and eastern borders.[4][5] It was supplemented by two formations mobilized in case of war: the
pospolite ruszenie (Polish
levée en masse –
feudal levy of mostly noble knights-landholders), and the wojsko zaciężne, recruited by the Polish commanders for the conflict (it differed from Western mercenary formations in that it was commanded by Polish officers, and dissolved after the conflict has ended).[4]
Several years before the Union of Lublin, the Polish obrona potoczna was reformed, as the
Sejm (national parliament of Poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation of wojsko kwarciane (named after kwarta, the type of tax levied on the royal estate in
royal lands for the purpose of maintaining this formation).[4] This formation was also paid for by the king, and in the peacetime, numbered about 3,500–4,000 men according to Bardach;[4] Brzezinski gives the range of 3,000–5,000.[5] It was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility (
szlachta) and commanded by
hetmans.[4][6] Often, in wartime, the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the wojsko kwarciane.[4]
During the 18th century, European powers (most frequently consisting of
Russia,
Sweden,
Prussia, and
Saxony) fought several wars for the control of the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly during the
Great Northern War. By the 18th century's end, internal conflicts involving foreign enemies, such as the War of the
Bar Confederation, led to the dissolution and
partitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among its neighbours. The final attempts at maintaining the Commonwealth's independence, including the political reforms of the
Great Sejm, failed militarily, with the defeats in the
Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the
Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 ultimately ending in Poland-Lithuania's
final partition and the final dissolution of the remains of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[10]
Composition
Polish–Lithuanian military 1576-1795
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1576–1586. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1588–1632. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1633–1668. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1674–1696. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1697–1795. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Organization
When the Commonwealth was formed, there was little practical difference between the Polish and Lithuanian armed forces but they were kept separate;[1] the Lithuanian army formed about a fourth to a third of the Commonwealth's military.[11] The Commonwealth's military was divided into national and foreign contingents (
Polish: autorament).[12][13][14] The name applied to different unit types, regulations and the officer cadres; the majority of regular recruits for both came from within the Commonwealth, particularly from the 1630s onward.[12][13][15] National units included the
Winged hussars and lighter Polish
pancerni and Lithuanian
petyhorcy with some
light cavalry units, with infantry being the distant second in reputation; whereas the foreign units centered around infantry and artillery formations, with
dragoons gaining prominence from the 1620s, and
reiter cavalry soon afterward.[12][16][17]
The national contingent was organized in traditional formations dating back to the earlier
Middle Ages, with
chorągiew, commanded by a
rotmistrz and composed of smaller
poczet (lance) retinues, each composed of one
towarzysz and a varying number of aides.[14] The chorągiew's size varied from as little as 60 to as many as 300 men.[14] Two or more choragwie (though rarely more than a dozen, and never more than about forty) formed a
pułk, a type of a unit similar to the medieval
battle or modern
division or
corps, which was led by the
pułkownik.[18] The foreign contingent was organized into
regiments, often numbering around 500–1,000, and divided into
companies.[3] King
John III Sobieski attempted in the 1670s to replace the national-foreign contingent divisions with a single structure, dividing units into infantry, cavalry and dragoons, but it would take many decades before those reforms bore fruit.[15]
After the Commonwealth's creation, several new military units were introduced. First among these were the
registered Cossacks, formed in 1578.[19] These were the troops made up of
Cossacks, paid for their service and not subject to
serfdom.[12] Their numbers varied from about 500 to many times that number, with the
Treaty of Zboriv setting the record at 40,477. The Cossacks' refusal to submit to serfdom, and the Commonwealth's nobility attempts to force them into it led to much political wrangling with regard to the Cossack register's size, which caused numerous
Cossack uprisings, particularly in the 17th century. These weakened the state, and eventually led to the Cossack subjugation and destruction by the
Russian Empire.[12][19] In addition to the Cossack formations, another group that provided notable service to the state were the
Lipka Tatars, who resided in Lithuania provided some light and medium cavalry units for the Lithuanian army.[20] It is known that
Persians and
Georgians served in the Polish army.[21]
During
Stephen Báthory's reign in the late 16th century (1576–1586), a peasant-based levy formation, piechota wybranicka (lit. drafted or selected infantry, also known as piechota łanowa, lit. acreage infantry) was formed.[4][22][23] It was based on peasants from solely royal estates, who received a unit of land (
łan) in exchange for their service.[4] The formation numbered about 2,300 and after early disappointments was never seen as of much military value.[4][23] It supplemented the
Hajduk infantry, which saw service primarily around late 16th and 17th centuries.[24] In 1655 a new infantry unit was created, the żołnierz dymowy (or żołnierz łanowy – lit. chimney or łan soldier, named again after the type of tax applied).[22][25] It required all lands, no matter whether owned by king, nobles or the Church, to provide peasant recruits, and applied a similar requirement to towns.[25]
Starting in 1613, the growing inefficiencies of the central government, as well as an increase in foreign threats, led to the creation of a local territorial defense force, known as żołnierz powiatowy (district's soldiers raised by the
powiat regions).[4][22] The artillery formations, at first staffed by foreigners, were reformed in the 1630s, with a new tax levied to support them. This time also marked the introduction of the General of the Artillery rank into the Commonwealth armies.[26] In the mid-17th century, the numbers of wojsko zaciężne and kwarciane proved insufficient, which led to the creation of wojsko komputowe (named after komput, a document passed by the Sejm). Wojsko komputowe numbered (in 1649) 26,000. Simultaneously, wojsko kwarciane was disbanded, and kwarta directed towards the newly created
artillery forces.[4] Brzezinski notes that wojsko kwarciane was dissolved in the aftermath of its defeat at the
Battle of Batih in 1652.[5] In 1659, in the aftermath of
numerous wars, the reformed army numbered around 54,000-60,000; it would decline from that point onward, as the country, impoverished by those wars, would not be able to support such a number.[27]
Another element of the Commonwealth's defence were the various private armies of the most powerful
magnates. In peacetime, these consisted of typically small regiments with a few hundred men, but could number up to 10,000, including cavalry and artillery.[28][29] In some instances the magnate contribution could surpass that of the main Commonwealth army on the frontlines, although the magnates often preferred to spare their troops, as they were not compensated by the state for their contributions.[29] The troops were paid for and equipped by the richest noble families, such as the
Opaliński,
Lubomirski,
Potocki,
Ossoliński,
Zamoyski,
Koniecpolski,
Sieniawski,
Żółkiewski,
Sapieha,
Chodkiewicz,
Pac and
Radziwiłł families. This was one of the reasons why the magnates played a major role in the Commonwealth's politics, and on occasion, engaged in bloody civil wars, e.g. such as the
Lithuanian Civil War (1697–1702), amongst themselves.[28][29]
Similarly, some cities occasional fielded
city guard and
militia. The most impressive town guard and accompanying fortifications belonged to the port of
Gdańsk (Danzig), which boasted 12 infantry companies of 6,000 men total in 1646.[30] There was also a small
royal guard regiment, paid for directly by the king.[22] In peacetime, the royal guard numbered around 1,200, but would often be expanded during war. The royal force included a hussar banner, reiter cavalry and infantry units, based upon the "foreign" model.[31] Finally, there were also some irregular
militia or
mercenary troops which received no official pay but operated with the government's permission and were allowed to retain their
loot; most notable of these were the
Lisowczyks of the early 17th century.[32]
Both the state and the magnates supported the construction and renovations of several fortifications (such as the
Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle).[22][28]
Polish Army of the Kościuszko Uprising, 1794
Polish cavalry
Polish cavalry
Polish artillery
Polish infantry
Polish army's officers, camp, with cavalry and infantry in the background
Command structure
The Commonwealth's military was commanded by the king, under whom served four
hetmans: two Grand
Hetmans (the
Grand Crown Hetman and
Grand Lithuanian Hetman) and two Field Hetmans (the
Field Crown Hetman and
Field Lithuanian Hetman).[6][14] The hetmans' office appeared in the late 15th century as a result of the wojsko zaciężne's introduction, and a need for more professional army commanders than the king could usually provide. By the 1530s the hetman system evolved into that of regular offices that would exist in parallel both in Poland and Lithuania for the next three centuries. From 1581 it officially became a lifelong appointment.[6] Hetmans had the right to carry out
summary justice in the field. Grand Crown Hetman had the right to maintain his representatives in the
Ottoman Empire, which allowed him to influence
Poland–Ottoman relations and also laid groundwork for
the first Polish intelligence services.[6] The Hetman's deputy was known as
regimentarz and could temporarily replace the hetman.[6]
The Commonwealth Navy was small and played a relatively minor role in the history of the Commonwealth. Despite having access to the
Baltic Sea, neither Poland nor Lithuania had any significant navy throughout their histories. In the 16th century, as Poland and Lithuania became involved in conflicts in
Livonia, Polish king
Sigismund II Augustus supported the operations of
privateers, but that met with opposition of the Poland's primary port,
Gdańsk (Danzig), which saw them as a threat to its
trade. This led to the development of a privateer port in
Puck. At the turn of the century, Poland-Lithuania was ruled by the
House of Vasa, and was involved in
a series of wars with Sweden. The Vasa kings attempted creating a proper fleet, and
Władysław IV Vasa built a dedicated port for the royal navy at
Władysławowo, but their attempts repeatedly failed, due to lack of funds in the royal treasury (seeing little need for the fleet, the
szlachta refused to raise taxes for its construction, and Gdańsk continuously opposed the idea of a royal fleet). Although Władysław bought 12 ships, they were sold between 1641 and 1643, marking the end of the Commonwealth Navy.[25]
Logistics and tactics
Due to a lack of centralized logistical system, the Commonwealth's armies were encumbered by large
baggage trains. To some degree, this was turned into an advantage with the development of the
tabor – military horse-drawn
wagons, usually carrying army supplies. The wagon use for defensive formations was perfected by the Cossacks, and to a smaller extent used by other Commonwealth units.[33] The Commonwealth armies relied on cavalry, which the nobility saw as much more respectable than the infantry.[24][34] Despite the reforms of the 17th century, it lost much of its military significance in the 18th century; the primary reason for this was a lack of sufficient funding.[24][25]
Problems and reforms
With the growing influence of foreign powers in the Commonwealth, the Russian-dominated
Silent Sejm of 1717 declared that the size of the Commonwealth's military should be 24,200 (18,000 from Poland and 6,200 for Lithuania). Due to insufficient taxation, the military was often not paid properly, which led to a relatively small army size; in mid-18th century, the Commonwealth had funds to field an army of around 24,000, whereas the Commonwealth's neighbors' armies were often up to 12 times larger: the
Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000; the
Prussian Army and
Imperial Austrian Army, 150,000,[25] and a few decades later, the Commonwealth could field an army of about 16,000, with Prussian and Austrian armies rising to 200,000.[35] The stated size of the Commonwealth army was further exaggerated, as some money was lost due to
corruption. The first half of the 18th century, following the 1717 Sejm, marks the nadir of the Commonwealth army, as it lacked funds and training, and was primarily used for
ceremonial purposes.[25] The only constructive reform of that time was the introduction of a stable (if grossly insufficient) budget for the military.[25] Furthermore, the unpaid units of the army were known for mutinying and forming
confederations, occupying the Commonwealth's own lands until such a time that they were paid properly or pillaged enough to satisfy themselves.[2][12][24]
The trend reversed itself following the election of the last king of Poland,
Stanisław II Augustus, in 1765 and the introduction of the new governing body,
Permanent Council, in 1775. Its Military Department attempted to modernize the army, and increase its size (although even the target number of 30,000 was never achieved).[36] A major military reform came with the passing of the
Constitution of May 3, 1791, which stated that the armies should have 100,000 men.[37] (The exact number would be settled on only on 22 May 1792, at 25,654 cavalry and 72,910 infantry).[38] A new conscription law was introduced, affecting all lands (royal, noble and Church-owned). With the days of the Commonwealth numbered, the Constitution was never fully implemented in practice, although the new Military Commission saw the Army expanded to 65,000 before the Polish defeat in the
War in Defense of the Constitution.[37] After the Commonwealth was defeated in that war and the Constitution rescinded, the military total was reduced to about 36,000. In 1794 Russians demanded a further downsizing of the army to 15,000. This demand was one of the sparks of the Commonwealth's final war, the
Kościuszko Uprising.[39]
^Bandtkie, Jerzy Samuel (1831).
Rozmaitości naukowe (in Polish). Kraków: Drukarni Szkoły Głownej. p. 72. Wiadomo, że Litewskie woysko na Wiedeńską wyprawę nie przyszło, lecz ledwie Króla pod Koszycami i Preszowem na powrocie spotkało. Petyhorcy, jazda lekka w woysku Litewskiem nie była z pod gór Karpackich, jak Czacki chce 1,288 lecz jak Czeremissi z pośrzód Rossyi, tak ci Petyhorcy z pośrzód Georgii mieli swoie imie. Wszakże awanturników mnóstwo Persów, Georgian cisnęło się do Polskiey służby. Widać to po rozmaitych Georgianów i Persów z Azyi nobilitacyach.
Commonwealth forces were engaged in numerous conflicts in the south (against the
Ottoman Empire), the east (against the
Tsardom of Muscovy and later, the
Russian Empire) and the north (the
Kingdom of Sweden); as well as internal conflicts (most notably, numerous
Cossack uprisings). For the first century or so, the Commonwealth military was usually successful, but became less so from around the mid-17th century. Plagued by insufficient funds, it found itself increasingly hard-pressed to defend the country, and inferior in numbers to the growing armies of the Commonwealth's neighbors.
The Commonwealth was formed at the
Union of Lublin of 1569 from the
Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The armies of those states differed from the organization common in western Europe, as according to Bardach, the
mercenary formations (Polish: wojsko najemne), common there, never gained popularity in Poland.[2] Brzezinski, however, notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units, at least till the early 17th century.[3] In the 15th century Poland, several other formations formed the core of the military.[4] There was a small standing army, obrona potoczna ("continuous defense") about 1,500–3,000 strong, paid for by the king, and primarily stationed at the troubled south and eastern borders.[4][5] It was supplemented by two formations mobilized in case of war: the
pospolite ruszenie (Polish
levée en masse –
feudal levy of mostly noble knights-landholders), and the wojsko zaciężne, recruited by the Polish commanders for the conflict (it differed from Western mercenary formations in that it was commanded by Polish officers, and dissolved after the conflict has ended).[4]
Several years before the Union of Lublin, the Polish obrona potoczna was reformed, as the
Sejm (national parliament of Poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation of wojsko kwarciane (named after kwarta, the type of tax levied on the royal estate in
royal lands for the purpose of maintaining this formation).[4] This formation was also paid for by the king, and in the peacetime, numbered about 3,500–4,000 men according to Bardach;[4] Brzezinski gives the range of 3,000–5,000.[5] It was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility (
szlachta) and commanded by
hetmans.[4][6] Often, in wartime, the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the wojsko kwarciane.[4]
During the 18th century, European powers (most frequently consisting of
Russia,
Sweden,
Prussia, and
Saxony) fought several wars for the control of the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly during the
Great Northern War. By the 18th century's end, internal conflicts involving foreign enemies, such as the War of the
Bar Confederation, led to the dissolution and
partitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among its neighbours. The final attempts at maintaining the Commonwealth's independence, including the political reforms of the
Great Sejm, failed militarily, with the defeats in the
Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the
Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 ultimately ending in Poland-Lithuania's
final partition and the final dissolution of the remains of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[10]
Composition
Polish–Lithuanian military 1576-1795
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1576–1586. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1588–1632. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1633–1668. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1674–1696. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1697–1795. Painting by
Jan Matejko
Organization
When the Commonwealth was formed, there was little practical difference between the Polish and Lithuanian armed forces but they were kept separate;[1] the Lithuanian army formed about a fourth to a third of the Commonwealth's military.[11] The Commonwealth's military was divided into national and foreign contingents (
Polish: autorament).[12][13][14] The name applied to different unit types, regulations and the officer cadres; the majority of regular recruits for both came from within the Commonwealth, particularly from the 1630s onward.[12][13][15] National units included the
Winged hussars and lighter Polish
pancerni and Lithuanian
petyhorcy with some
light cavalry units, with infantry being the distant second in reputation; whereas the foreign units centered around infantry and artillery formations, with
dragoons gaining prominence from the 1620s, and
reiter cavalry soon afterward.[12][16][17]
The national contingent was organized in traditional formations dating back to the earlier
Middle Ages, with
chorągiew, commanded by a
rotmistrz and composed of smaller
poczet (lance) retinues, each composed of one
towarzysz and a varying number of aides.[14] The chorągiew's size varied from as little as 60 to as many as 300 men.[14] Two or more choragwie (though rarely more than a dozen, and never more than about forty) formed a
pułk, a type of a unit similar to the medieval
battle or modern
division or
corps, which was led by the
pułkownik.[18] The foreign contingent was organized into
regiments, often numbering around 500–1,000, and divided into
companies.[3] King
John III Sobieski attempted in the 1670s to replace the national-foreign contingent divisions with a single structure, dividing units into infantry, cavalry and dragoons, but it would take many decades before those reforms bore fruit.[15]
After the Commonwealth's creation, several new military units were introduced. First among these were the
registered Cossacks, formed in 1578.[19] These were the troops made up of
Cossacks, paid for their service and not subject to
serfdom.[12] Their numbers varied from about 500 to many times that number, with the
Treaty of Zboriv setting the record at 40,477. The Cossacks' refusal to submit to serfdom, and the Commonwealth's nobility attempts to force them into it led to much political wrangling with regard to the Cossack register's size, which caused numerous
Cossack uprisings, particularly in the 17th century. These weakened the state, and eventually led to the Cossack subjugation and destruction by the
Russian Empire.[12][19] In addition to the Cossack formations, another group that provided notable service to the state were the
Lipka Tatars, who resided in Lithuania provided some light and medium cavalry units for the Lithuanian army.[20] It is known that
Persians and
Georgians served in the Polish army.[21]
During
Stephen Báthory's reign in the late 16th century (1576–1586), a peasant-based levy formation, piechota wybranicka (lit. drafted or selected infantry, also known as piechota łanowa, lit. acreage infantry) was formed.[4][22][23] It was based on peasants from solely royal estates, who received a unit of land (
łan) in exchange for their service.[4] The formation numbered about 2,300 and after early disappointments was never seen as of much military value.[4][23] It supplemented the
Hajduk infantry, which saw service primarily around late 16th and 17th centuries.[24] In 1655 a new infantry unit was created, the żołnierz dymowy (or żołnierz łanowy – lit. chimney or łan soldier, named again after the type of tax applied).[22][25] It required all lands, no matter whether owned by king, nobles or the Church, to provide peasant recruits, and applied a similar requirement to towns.[25]
Starting in 1613, the growing inefficiencies of the central government, as well as an increase in foreign threats, led to the creation of a local territorial defense force, known as żołnierz powiatowy (district's soldiers raised by the
powiat regions).[4][22] The artillery formations, at first staffed by foreigners, were reformed in the 1630s, with a new tax levied to support them. This time also marked the introduction of the General of the Artillery rank into the Commonwealth armies.[26] In the mid-17th century, the numbers of wojsko zaciężne and kwarciane proved insufficient, which led to the creation of wojsko komputowe (named after komput, a document passed by the Sejm). Wojsko komputowe numbered (in 1649) 26,000. Simultaneously, wojsko kwarciane was disbanded, and kwarta directed towards the newly created
artillery forces.[4] Brzezinski notes that wojsko kwarciane was dissolved in the aftermath of its defeat at the
Battle of Batih in 1652.[5] In 1659, in the aftermath of
numerous wars, the reformed army numbered around 54,000-60,000; it would decline from that point onward, as the country, impoverished by those wars, would not be able to support such a number.[27]
Another element of the Commonwealth's defence were the various private armies of the most powerful
magnates. In peacetime, these consisted of typically small regiments with a few hundred men, but could number up to 10,000, including cavalry and artillery.[28][29] In some instances the magnate contribution could surpass that of the main Commonwealth army on the frontlines, although the magnates often preferred to spare their troops, as they were not compensated by the state for their contributions.[29] The troops were paid for and equipped by the richest noble families, such as the
Opaliński,
Lubomirski,
Potocki,
Ossoliński,
Zamoyski,
Koniecpolski,
Sieniawski,
Żółkiewski,
Sapieha,
Chodkiewicz,
Pac and
Radziwiłł families. This was one of the reasons why the magnates played a major role in the Commonwealth's politics, and on occasion, engaged in bloody civil wars, e.g. such as the
Lithuanian Civil War (1697–1702), amongst themselves.[28][29]
Similarly, some cities occasional fielded
city guard and
militia. The most impressive town guard and accompanying fortifications belonged to the port of
Gdańsk (Danzig), which boasted 12 infantry companies of 6,000 men total in 1646.[30] There was also a small
royal guard regiment, paid for directly by the king.[22] In peacetime, the royal guard numbered around 1,200, but would often be expanded during war. The royal force included a hussar banner, reiter cavalry and infantry units, based upon the "foreign" model.[31] Finally, there were also some irregular
militia or
mercenary troops which received no official pay but operated with the government's permission and were allowed to retain their
loot; most notable of these were the
Lisowczyks of the early 17th century.[32]
Both the state and the magnates supported the construction and renovations of several fortifications (such as the
Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle).[22][28]
Polish Army of the Kościuszko Uprising, 1794
Polish cavalry
Polish cavalry
Polish artillery
Polish infantry
Polish army's officers, camp, with cavalry and infantry in the background
Command structure
The Commonwealth's military was commanded by the king, under whom served four
hetmans: two Grand
Hetmans (the
Grand Crown Hetman and
Grand Lithuanian Hetman) and two Field Hetmans (the
Field Crown Hetman and
Field Lithuanian Hetman).[6][14] The hetmans' office appeared in the late 15th century as a result of the wojsko zaciężne's introduction, and a need for more professional army commanders than the king could usually provide. By the 1530s the hetman system evolved into that of regular offices that would exist in parallel both in Poland and Lithuania for the next three centuries. From 1581 it officially became a lifelong appointment.[6] Hetmans had the right to carry out
summary justice in the field. Grand Crown Hetman had the right to maintain his representatives in the
Ottoman Empire, which allowed him to influence
Poland–Ottoman relations and also laid groundwork for
the first Polish intelligence services.[6] The Hetman's deputy was known as
regimentarz and could temporarily replace the hetman.[6]
The Commonwealth Navy was small and played a relatively minor role in the history of the Commonwealth. Despite having access to the
Baltic Sea, neither Poland nor Lithuania had any significant navy throughout their histories. In the 16th century, as Poland and Lithuania became involved in conflicts in
Livonia, Polish king
Sigismund II Augustus supported the operations of
privateers, but that met with opposition of the Poland's primary port,
Gdańsk (Danzig), which saw them as a threat to its
trade. This led to the development of a privateer port in
Puck. At the turn of the century, Poland-Lithuania was ruled by the
House of Vasa, and was involved in
a series of wars with Sweden. The Vasa kings attempted creating a proper fleet, and
Władysław IV Vasa built a dedicated port for the royal navy at
Władysławowo, but their attempts repeatedly failed, due to lack of funds in the royal treasury (seeing little need for the fleet, the
szlachta refused to raise taxes for its construction, and Gdańsk continuously opposed the idea of a royal fleet). Although Władysław bought 12 ships, they were sold between 1641 and 1643, marking the end of the Commonwealth Navy.[25]
Logistics and tactics
Due to a lack of centralized logistical system, the Commonwealth's armies were encumbered by large
baggage trains. To some degree, this was turned into an advantage with the development of the
tabor – military horse-drawn
wagons, usually carrying army supplies. The wagon use for defensive formations was perfected by the Cossacks, and to a smaller extent used by other Commonwealth units.[33] The Commonwealth armies relied on cavalry, which the nobility saw as much more respectable than the infantry.[24][34] Despite the reforms of the 17th century, it lost much of its military significance in the 18th century; the primary reason for this was a lack of sufficient funding.[24][25]
Problems and reforms
With the growing influence of foreign powers in the Commonwealth, the Russian-dominated
Silent Sejm of 1717 declared that the size of the Commonwealth's military should be 24,200 (18,000 from Poland and 6,200 for Lithuania). Due to insufficient taxation, the military was often not paid properly, which led to a relatively small army size; in mid-18th century, the Commonwealth had funds to field an army of around 24,000, whereas the Commonwealth's neighbors' armies were often up to 12 times larger: the
Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000; the
Prussian Army and
Imperial Austrian Army, 150,000,[25] and a few decades later, the Commonwealth could field an army of about 16,000, with Prussian and Austrian armies rising to 200,000.[35] The stated size of the Commonwealth army was further exaggerated, as some money was lost due to
corruption. The first half of the 18th century, following the 1717 Sejm, marks the nadir of the Commonwealth army, as it lacked funds and training, and was primarily used for
ceremonial purposes.[25] The only constructive reform of that time was the introduction of a stable (if grossly insufficient) budget for the military.[25] Furthermore, the unpaid units of the army were known for mutinying and forming
confederations, occupying the Commonwealth's own lands until such a time that they were paid properly or pillaged enough to satisfy themselves.[2][12][24]
The trend reversed itself following the election of the last king of Poland,
Stanisław II Augustus, in 1765 and the introduction of the new governing body,
Permanent Council, in 1775. Its Military Department attempted to modernize the army, and increase its size (although even the target number of 30,000 was never achieved).[36] A major military reform came with the passing of the
Constitution of May 3, 1791, which stated that the armies should have 100,000 men.[37] (The exact number would be settled on only on 22 May 1792, at 25,654 cavalry and 72,910 infantry).[38] A new conscription law was introduced, affecting all lands (royal, noble and Church-owned). With the days of the Commonwealth numbered, the Constitution was never fully implemented in practice, although the new Military Commission saw the Army expanded to 65,000 before the Polish defeat in the
War in Defense of the Constitution.[37] After the Commonwealth was defeated in that war and the Constitution rescinded, the military total was reduced to about 36,000. In 1794 Russians demanded a further downsizing of the army to 15,000. This demand was one of the sparks of the Commonwealth's final war, the
Kościuszko Uprising.[39]
^Bandtkie, Jerzy Samuel (1831).
Rozmaitości naukowe (in Polish). Kraków: Drukarni Szkoły Głownej. p. 72. Wiadomo, że Litewskie woysko na Wiedeńską wyprawę nie przyszło, lecz ledwie Króla pod Koszycami i Preszowem na powrocie spotkało. Petyhorcy, jazda lekka w woysku Litewskiem nie była z pod gór Karpackich, jak Czacki chce 1,288 lecz jak Czeremissi z pośrzód Rossyi, tak ci Petyhorcy z pośrzód Georgii mieli swoie imie. Wszakże awanturników mnóstwo Persów, Georgian cisnęło się do Polskiey służby. Widać to po rozmaitych Georgianów i Persów z Azyi nobilitacyach.