| Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofPolish–Swedish War (1600–1629),Polish-Swedish Wars,Thirty Years' War | |||||||||
 Battle of Trzciana byJózef Brandt | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |  Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Gustavus AdolphusAxel OxenstiernaHerman Wrangel | SigismundKoniecpolskiJan SapiehaStanisław Potocki von Arnim | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40,000[1][a] | c. 15,000[b] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 30,000 dead[2] | Unknown | ||||||||
ThePolish–Swedish War (1626–1629)[c] was the last in a series fought bySweden and thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1600 and 1629. In July 1626,Gustavus Adolphus landed inPolish Prussia in an attempt to captureGdańsk, but neither side could win a decisive advantage and the war became a stalemate.
Under the September 1629Truce of Altmark, the Commonwealth accepted the loss of what becameSwedish Livonia, including the strategicBaltic Sea port ofRiga. Sweden also retained its gains in Prussia, although these were returned in the 1635Treaty of Stuhmsdorf. The end of hostilities permittedSwedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War in June 1630.
The conflict betweenSweden and thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was caused by the territorial ambitions ofGustavus II Adolphus in theBaltic Sea, andSigismund III Vasa's desire to regain the Swedish throne. With the latter engaged in a simultaneous war with theOttomans, in1625 Gustavus compelled him to cedeLivonia north of theDaugava river. By attackingPomerania, he hoped to secure his position in the Baltic, and clear the way forSwedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War.[3]
On 17 January 1626, the Swedes routed Commonwealth troops underJan Stanisław Sapieha atWallhof inLatvia.[4] Having thus completed the conquest of Livonia, Gustavus occupiedCourland to the south and then decided to bypassLithuania in favour of an attack onPolish Prussia. Wealthy enough to support his army, the province also containedGdańsk,[d] aHanseatic League member, the largest port in the Commonwealth, and one of the richest cities inEurope. Its acquisition would significantly increase Swedish power in the Baltic, and Gustavus made it his primary objective.[5]
On 6 July, Gustavuslanded atPillau with 125 ships and 14,000 men. With the defenders taken by surprise and the local population sympathetic to theProtestant invaders, his troops rapidly occupiedBraniewo,Frombork,Elbląg,Orneta, andMalbork. They then crossed theVistula and tookTczew,Gniew,Oliwa andPuck, while the Swedish fleet began collecting tolls from merchant ships entering Gdańsk.[3]
Funded by other Hanseatic cities, Gdańsk strengthened its defences and appealed to Sigismund for help.[6] The marshy ground and large area to be covered made a direct siege impractical, so Gustavus set up ablockade centred on fortified camps just outside Gdańsk and at Tczew. Between 22 September and 1 October, the Swedes fought a series of actions around Gniew with a Polish relief force, culminating in an inconclusivebattle. Having delayed an immediate attack on Gdańsk, Sigismund withdrew to assemble reinforcements.[7]
In November,Stanisław Koniecpolski, the Polishhetman orField Marshal, took command in Pomerania. He had just over 6,000 troops available, the majority of whom were cavalry.[8] These were used to attack Swedish supply lines, and managed to halt any further advances.[2] TheSejm approved taxes to fund the war, but the year ended with another Commonwealth defeat nearKoknese in Livonia.[7]
1627 opened with an attack by Koniecpolski on Puck, which surrendered on 2 April. In response,Axel Oxenstierna, thenLord High Chancellor of Sweden, planned a counter-attack by two separate forces. The first consisted of troops taken from Swedish garrisons on the Vistula, supported by a second under von Lauenstein, largely composed ofGerman mercenaries recruited in Pomerania.[9]
Logistical delays and heavy flooding along the Vistula prevented the two forces from combining. This allowed Koniecpolski to isolate von Lauenstein, whose troops mutinied and forced him to surrender atCzarne on 17 April.[10] Most of the Germans switched sides and were incorporated into Koniecpolski's army.[11]
In late May, Gustavus was lightly wounded nearKiezmark, but by July had recovered enough to lead an expedition to relieve Braniewo and besiege Orneta, recently retaken by the Poles. Koniecpolski took advantage of his absence to recapture Gniew, before attacking the Swedish camp at Tczew. The ensuingBattle of Dirschau, fought between 17 and 18 August, was inconclusive, but the Polish position improved when they recapturedOliwa in late November. With the Swedes unable to progress the siege and the Poles too weak to expel them, the war became one of attrition.[12]
Disease and lack of funding meant active operations largely ceased until early 1629. On 2 February, Swedish troops underHerman Wrangel were marching to relieve the garrison atBrodnica when they encountered and routed 4,000 Poles atGórzno.[13] This prompted Sigismund to accept help fromEmperor Ferdinand, whoseImperial army was currently blockadingStralsund as part of theThirty Years' War. Concerned by Swedish advances in the Baltic, in May Ferdinand orderedvon Arnim and hiscorps to reinforce the Poles.[6]
Gustavus now had more than 23,000 men available in Prussia, but most were committed to the blockade, leaving him a field army of 7,000 based atKwidzyn. With these he advanced onGrudziądz, hoping to intercept von Arnim before he could join up with Koniecpolski. The attempt failed, forcing the outnumbered Swedes to withdraw, and they were caught by Polish and Imperial cavalry atTrzciana on 29 June.[6] Although his cavalry suffered heavy casualties covering the retreat, Gustavus and most of his troops reached Malbork in good order.[14]
However, co-operation between the Imperial and Commonwealth forces was short-lived. The Poles mistrusted von Arnim, who previously served in the Swedish army, while the latter complained they failed to pay or supply his troops as agreed, and resigned. The stalemate continued, with the Swedes too firmly entrenched in the Vistula delta to be forced out, but not strong enough to take Gdańsk. Another concern for Gustavus was the mounting cost of the campaign, with more than 35,000 of the 50,000 Swedish conscripts sent to Prussia since 1625 either dead or missing.[15]
The impact of the fighting on theBaltic trade meant various parties had been trying to mediate a diplomatic solution since 1627, chiefly theDutch Republic.[16]France became involved when the May 1629Treaty of Lübeck endedDanish involvement in the Thirty Years War. As part of ageneral policy of undermining Emperor Ferdinand wherever possible, French chief ministerCardinal Richelieu previously funded the Danes, and now wanted to facilitate a Swedish invasion of theHoly Roman Empire.[17]
This required peace with Poland, and after negotiations led by French envoy Hercule Charnacé, theTruce of Altmark was signed on 6 September, valid for six years. Generally favourable to Sweden, under its terms Gustavus evacuated Courland in return for Sigismund accepting the occupation of what later becameSwedish Livonia.[e] The Swedes also retained a number of Prussian ports, whose possession provided substantial toll revenues.[17]
By 1635, the political situation was very different. Gustavus died atLützen in 1632, while defeat atNördlingen in 1634 brought the Swedish position in Germany close to collapse, and Oxenstierna was anxious to avoid opening a newfront. At the same time, Sigismund's successorWładysław IV Vasa had restored Commonwealth prestige in wars with theOttomans andRussia, and persuaded the Sejem to approve re-opening hostilities when the truce expired.[19]
However, much of the Polish nobility and merchant class wanted peace, which enabled Richelieu to broker an extension for 26 years and six months. On 12 September 1635, the two sides agreed theTreaty of Stuhmsdorf, with significant concessions from Oxenstierna.[19] Along with minor territorial adjustments in Livonia, Sweden stopped levying taxes on Polish grain and withdrew from Prussia, ending the blockade which had severely damaged Gdansk's trade.[20]
Swedish historians often present thePrussian campaign as part of the widerPolish–Swedish War (1600–1629), whose end result was a significant increase in Swedish power.[3] From this perspective, the 1626 to 1629 conflict is one element in an overall story of success, but the picture becomes more complex if viewed as a distinct event. Despite millions ofriksdaler and over 30,000 deaths, the vast majority from disease, Gustavus failed to take Gdansk, and Sweden withdrew from Prussia in 1635. One recent Swedish commentator has described it as a "catastrophe".[2]
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