Poland And The Austrian Empire: A Historical Perspective

The Austrian Partition comprised the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Habsburg monarchy during the Partitions of Poland in the 18th century. Austria acquired Polish lands during the First Partition of 1772 and the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The Austrian sector encompassed the second-largest share of the Commonwealth's population after Russia, with over 2.65 million people living on 128,900 km2 of land. The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, established in 1772, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. It was annexed from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as part of the First Partition of Poland. In 1804, it became a crownland of the newly proclaimed Austrian Empire. While the Austrian Empire did not directly rule over all of Poland, the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, which encompassed most of the Austrian-controlled Polish territories, enjoyed wide autonomy from 1867 onwards, and Polish culture and science flourished.

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Poland

The name "Galicia" is a Latinized form of Halych, one of several regional principalities of the medieval Kievan Rus'. The name "Lodomeria" is also a Latinized form of the original Slavic name of Vladimir, founded in the 10th century by Vladimir the Great. The title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" was a late medieval royal title created by Andrew II of Hungary during his conquest of the region in the 13th century. Since that time, the title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" was included among many ceremonial titles used by the kings of Hungary, thus creating the basis for later (1772) Habsburg claims.

In the aftermath of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars, the region was annexed by the Kingdom of Poland in the 14th century and remained in Poland until the 18th-century partitions. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the annexed lands included Western Galicia and Southern Masovia. The Austrian sector encompassed the second-largest share of the Commonwealth's population after Russia; over 2.65 million people lived on 128,900 km2 of land, constituting the formerly south-central part of the Republic.

During the first decades of Austrian rule, Galicia was governed from Vienna, and many significant reforms were carried out by a bureaucracy staffed largely by Germans and Czechs. The aristocracy was guaranteed its rights, but these rights were considerably restricted. The former serfs were no longer mere chattels but became subjects of law and were granted certain personal freedoms, such as the right to marry without the lord's permission. Their labour obligations were defined and limited, and they could bypass the lords and appeal to the imperial courts for justice.

In 1867, Galicia became a crownland within the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It maintained a degree of provincial autonomy. Its status remained unchanged until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.

In 1918, Western Galicia became part of the restored Republic of Poland. The local Ukrainian population declared the independence of Eastern Galicia as the short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic. During the Polish-Soviet War, the Soviets tried to establish the puppet state of the Galician SSR in East Galicia, but the territory was then conquered by the Poles. The 1921 Peace of Riga confirmed Galicia's status as part of the Second Polish Republic.

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was bordered by Hungary to the south, Romania to the southeast, Ukraine to the east, Poland to the north, Bohemia to the west, and Germany to the northwest.

The Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw

The Duchy of Warsaw was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807. It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as a sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland. It was also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland.

The Duchy of Warsaw was created by the Treaties of Tilsit (July 7 and 9, 1807) after the Poles had helped Napoleon defeat Prussia. The duchy consisted of the major portion of the central Polish provinces that had been absorbed by Prussia in 1793 and 1795. It was ruled by King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, who became the duke of Warsaw and remained a legitimate candidate for the Polish throne. The duchy was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Saxony.

Napoleon dictated the constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw on July 22, 1807. It was modelled on the French constitution and established a powerful executive branch of government. The Napoleonic Code became the law of the land in May 1808. The Varsovian duchy was heavily militarised, given its proximity to Prussia, the Austrian Empire, and Russia. The duchy's army was of considerable size when compared to the duchy's number of inhabitants. Initially consisting of 30,000 regular soldiers (both cavalry and infantry), its numbers rose to over 60,000 in 1810. By the time of Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812, its army totalled almost 120,000 troops out of a total population of just 4.3 million people.

In 1809, a short war with Austria started. Although the Duchy of Warsaw won the Battle of Raszyn, Austrian troops entered Warsaw. Varsovian and French forces then outflanked their enemy and captured Kraków, Lwów, and some areas annexed by Austria in the Partitions of Poland. The Treaty of Schönbrunn, signed after the Battle of Wagram, allowed for a significant expansion of the duchy's territory southwards with the regaining of once-Polish and Lithuanian lands.

Napoleon's campaign against Russia in 1812 dashed Polish hopes for the duchy to be upgraded to the status of a kingdom. The calamity that befell Napoleon in Russia also sealed the fate of the Duchy of Warsaw. The Russians occupied Warsaw in February 1813 and assumed control of the duchy. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 determined that the Duchy of Warsaw was to be divided into three parts: the Grand Duchy of Poznań, which was returned to Prussia; the Free City of Cracow, which was placed under the protection of Russia, Prussia, and Austria; and the Congress Kingdom of Poland, which was joined to Russia by making the Russian emperor its king.

The Austro-Polish War of 1809

The war began on April 14, 1809, when an Austrian corps under Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este invaded the Duchy of Warsaw. The Polish forces, led by Prince Józef Poniatowski, engaged the Austrians in battle. The first major confrontation was the Battle of Raszyn on April 19, which ended inconclusively, with neither side achieving a decisive victory. However, the Polish forces ultimately retreated, allowing the Austrians to occupy the duchy's capital, Warsaw.

Despite capturing Warsaw, the Austrian commander, Archduke Ferdinand, faced challenges on multiple fronts. He garrisoned Warsaw with 10,000 soldiers but had to split his remaining forces, sending troops to both banks of the Vistula River. The Polish forces, meanwhile, remained mobile and engaged the Austrians in a series of battles, including at Radzymin, Grochów, and Ostrówek. They successfully prevented the Austrians from establishing a bridgehead on the Vistula and forced them to retreat to the western side of the river.

In the following weeks, the Polish forces went on the offensive, invading weakly defended Austrian territories to the south. They recaptured several major cities, including Lublin, Sandomierz, Zamość, and Lwów, forcing the Austrians to abandon Warsaw and pursue the Polish army. The Russians entered the conflict in June, siding with the Poles and putting further pressure on the Austrians.

The Polish victories in the field led to the recapture of Kraków and other territories, but the ultimate outcome of the war was determined by diplomatic manoeuvring. Napoleon's defeat and the subsequent abolition of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 allowed Austria to regain control of the region. The Treaty of Schönbrunn, signed between Austria and France, resulted in the Duchy of Warsaw ceding some territories back to Austria, although West Galicia was incorporated into the Duchy.

The Kraków Uprising of 1846

The uprising was primarily organised and supported by members of the Polish nobility and middle class, who desired the restoration of Polish independence after the 1795 partitions of Poland ended its existence as a sovereign state. The insurgents also supported various political and social reforms, such as the emancipation of peasants and an end to serfdom. Many of the insurgents' ideas were developed in exile by activists from organisations such as the Polish Democratic Society.

The uprising began on the night of 20 February 1846 and was successful in the short term, briefly taking over the city of Kraków. A provisional government formed on 22 February and issued a radical "Manifesto for the Polish Nation", in which it ordered the end of many elements of serfdom, declared universal suffrage, and proclaimed other revolutionary ideas inspired by the French Revolution.

The uprising was soon suppressed by the Austrian army with help from local peasants. The peasant counter-revolt, known as the Galician slaughter, was likely encouraged by the Austrian authorities, who exploited the peasants' dissatisfaction with the landowners. The Austrian authorities promised the peasants an end to serfdom and a stipend for their participation in the militia aimed at quashing the Polish noble insurgents.

It is estimated that about 1,000–2,000 Polish nobility who supported the uprising died in the conflict. The government of Jan Tyssowski surrendered just nine days after taking power, and Kraków was occupied first by Russians and soon afterward by the Austrians. Austria and Russia signed a treaty deciding to end the status of Kraków as the Free City, and it was subsequently annexed to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, a province of the Austrian Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars

In 1807, Napoleon established the Duchy of Warsaw in Polish territories ceded to France by Prussia. This duchy was a client state of the French Empire and played a crucial role in the Napoleonic Wars, particularly in the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809. During this conflict, the Duchy of Warsaw, supported by Napoleon's forces, clashed with the Austrian Empire in what became known as the Austro-Polish War.

The Austro-Polish War began in April 1809 when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria invaded the Duchy of Warsaw with a force of 32,000 to 38,000 troops. The Polish defenders, led by Prince Józef Poniatowski, put up a valiant fight and managed to hold off the Austrians at the Battle of Raszyn before retreating. Poniatowski kept his army mobile and engaged the Austrians in a series of battles, defeating them at Radzymin, Grochów, and Ostrówek. The Polish forces liberated several major cities, including Lublin, Sandomierz, Zamosc, and Lwów, forcing the Austrians to abandon Warsaw.

In June 1809, the Russian Empire joined the conflict against Austria, further complicating the situation. The Russian forces, however, were not particularly supportive of the Poles and were primarily focused on their own interests. Meanwhile, Poniatowski continued his successful campaign, liberating Kraków and other territories. The Austrian main army, unable to push further, was forced to abandon the siege of Warsaw and move south to engage the Polish army in Galicia.

The Polish forces, bolstered by their victories, took advantage of the weakened Austrian position and invaded Austrian territory in Galicia. This region, known as Austrian Poland, had been annexed by the Austrian Empire during the partitions of Poland and was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy. The Polish army liberated large parts of Galicia, but eventually, the Austrians managed to defeat the Polish forces at the Battle of Jedlińsk and recapture some territories, including Sandomierz and Lwów.

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