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| Polish–Swedish War (1617–1618) | |||||||||
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| Part of thePolish–Swedish War (1600–1629) | |||||||||
_(1585-1640).jpg) Grand hetman Krzysztof Radziwiłł | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |  Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Gustavus Adolphus | Krzysztof Radziwiłł Jan Siciński | ||||||||
ThePolish–Swedish War (1617–1618) was a phase of the longerPolish–Swedish War of 1600–1629. It continued thewar of 1600–1611 and was an attempt bySweden to takePolish pressure off Russia. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was then also fightingTartars and (on the southern front) theOttoman Empire. Russia and Sweden were at that stage allied, prior to theIngrian War, part of Russia'sTime of Troubles. The 1617–1618 war's cause was a dispute overLivonia andEstonia, and a dispute betweenSigismund III Vasa andGustavus Adolphus over the Swedish throne.
After the death ofCharles IX of Sweden, Sweden was ruled by his teenage son,Gustavus Adolphus. The young monarch was supported by influential ChancellorAxel Oxenstierna, who in April 1612 agreed to prolong the truce with the Commonwealth until September 1616. At the same time, Polish kingSigismund III Vasa did not renounce the Swedish crown (seePolish–Swedish union), and plotted against Gustavus Adolphus, trying to win over Swedish nobility. Sigismund even considered anothercampaign in Sweden, but failed to do so, due to the ongoingwar with Russia.
After lengthy negotiations, on 27 February 1617 Sweden and Russia signed theTreaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War. Gustavus Adolphus was now able to concentrate his efforts inLivonia. He was supported by other Protestant states, England and Holland.
On 19 June 1617, four months after the Treaty of Stolbovo, a Swedishnaval squadron of four ships entered theGulf of Riga and anchored at Dyjament/Dunamunde. The fortress was defended by weak Polish–Lithuanian forces under thestarosta ofRūjiena, Wolmar Farensbach, who capitulated after a two-day siege and joined the invaders. The Swedish fleet blockedRiga, and in July, when reinforcements came, Swedes occupied almost the whole Livonian coast, fromGrobiņa toPärnu. The city of Parnu itself was attacked on 11 August and surrendered after a three-day siege.Salacgrīva was captured on 18 August, and by late summer theSwedish Empire controlled all of Livonia except for Riga.
Radziwiłł, who was the first in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to use dragoons to fight, showed off his exceptional energy, determination and organizational talent, thanks to which the Lithuanians very quickly regained all the lost fortresses except Pärnu, which was too strongly fortified. After recovering most of its losses, the Lithuanian army entered Courland, which was behaving suspiciously. The Hetman wanted to annex the entire Courland to Lithuania, but Sigismund III Vasa did not agree to this and left complete control over the duchy to Frederick Kettler. Offended at the king, Radziwiłł resigned from the high command in Livonia and handed it over to Colonel Jan Siciński, who, with only 100 soldiers, moved to Estonia. Because the Swedes closed themselves in their fortresses and the Lithuanian army did not have enough infantry and artillery, hostilities ceased. The Swedes, realizing that despite the reforms, their army was not yet able to compete with the Lithuanian army, came forward with peace proposals
In September 1618, a truce between the Commonwealth and Sweden was signed. The Polish–Lithuanian side demanded the return of Pärnu,[3] but since the war between the Commonwealth and Muscovy continued, Sigismund argued successfully that the city would temporarily remain in Swedish hands. The truce was valid for two years, expiring in November 1620.
However, the third and the final phase of the war (1617-1629) brought victory to Sweden.
| General and related | |||||||||
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| Piast Poland |
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| Jagiellon Poland |
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| Commonwealth |
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| Poland partitioned | |||||||||
| Second Republic | |||||||||
| World War II in Poland |
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| People's Republic | |||||||||
| Third Republic | |||||||||
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