Themilitary of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth consisted of two separate armies[1] of theKingdom of Poland'sCrown Army and theGrand Duchy of Lithuania'sGrand Ducal Lithuanian Army following the 1569Union of Lublin, which joined to form the bi-conderate elective monarchy of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The army of each country was commanded by their respectiveHetmans. A distinctive formation of both armies were theWinged hussars. ThePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy never played a major role and ceased to exist in 1643.
Commonwealth forces were engaged in numerous conflicts in the south (against theOttoman Empire), the east (against theTsardom of Muscovy and later, theRussian Empire) and the north (theKingdom of Sweden); as well as internal conflicts (most notably, numerousCossack 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.
Following the Commonwealth's end, the Commonwealth military traditions would be continued byNapoleonic Polish Legions and theArmy of the Duchy of Warsaw.
The Commonwealth was formed at theUnion of Lublin of 1569 from theKingdom 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, themercenary 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: thepospolite ruszenie (Polishlevée en masse –feudal levy of mostly noble knights-landholders), and thewojsko 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 Polishobrona potoczna was reformed, as theSejm (national parliament of Poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation ofwojsko kwarciane (named afterkwarta, the type of tax levied on the royal estate inroyal 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 byhetmans.[4][6] Often, in wartime, the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of thewojsko kwarciane.[4]
At its heyday, the Commonwealth comprised parts of the territories of present-dayPoland,Lithuania,Ukraine,Belarus,Latvia,Estonia, andRussia. It was engaged in the struggles along most of its borders, with only the Western border with theHoly Roman Empire's lands being relatively peaceful. In its first decades, major conflicts included theLivonian campaign of Stephen Báthory,the interventions in Moldavia, theDanzig rebellion, and theWar against Sigismund.
The early 17th century saw a number of thePolish–Swedish wars, thePolish–Ottoman Wars, and thePolish–Russian Wars (Dymitriads, theSmolensk War). The Commonwealth also suffered from manyCossacks uprisings, culminating in the devastatingChmielnicki Uprising of 1648. That period also saw some of the Commonwealth's most talented military commanders:Stanisław Żółkiewski (1547-1620),Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1560-1621),Stanisław Koniecpolski (1593-1646) andStefan Czarniecki (1599-1665).[7] The Commonwealth managed to survive these conflicts, and scored several major victories on all fronts, such as theBattle of Kircholm, theBattle of Klushino, and had capturedMoscow in 1612. However, the Chmielnicki Uprising, together with theRusso-Polish War and the SwedishDeluge, all taking place around the same period of the 1650s, crippled the country, resulting in a loss of most of Ukraine to Russia in theTreaty of Andrusovo in 1667. In 1683 the Commonwealth scored its last major victory that resounded on the European scene, therelief of Vienna by KingJohn III Sobieski.[8][9]
During the 18th century, European powers (most frequently consisting ofRussia,Sweden,Prussia, andSaxony) fought several wars for the control of the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly during theGreat Northern War. By the 18th century's end, internal conflicts involving foreign enemies, such as the War of theBar Confederation, led to the dissolution andpartitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among its neighbours. The final attempts at maintaining the Commonwealth's independence, including the political reforms of theGreat Sejm, failed militarily, with the defeats in thePolish–Russian War of 1792 and theKościuszko Uprising of 1794 ultimately ending in Poland-Lithuania'sfinal partition and the final dissolution of the remains of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[10]
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 theWinged hussars and lighter Polishpancerni and Lithuanianpetyhorcy with somelight cavalry units, with infantry being the distant second in reputation; whereas the foreign units centered around infantry and artillery formations, withdragoons gaining prominence from the 1620s, andreiter cavalry soon afterward.[12][16][17]
The national contingent was organized in traditional formations dating back to the earlierMiddle Ages, withchorągiew, commanded by arotmistrz and composed of smallerpoczet (lance) retinues, each composed of onetowarzysz 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 apułk, a type of a unit similar to the medievalbattle or moderndivision orcorps, which was led by thepułkownik.[18] The foreign contingent was organized intoregiments, often numbering around 500–1,000, and divided intocompanies.[3] KingJohn 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 theregistered Cossacks, formed in 1578.[19] These were the troops made up ofCossacks, paid for their service and not subject toserfdom.[12] Their numbers varied from about 500 to many times that number, with theTreaty 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 numerousCossack uprisings, particularly in the 17th century. These weakened the state, and eventually led to the Cossack subjugation and destruction by theRussian Empire.[12][19] In addition to the Cossack formations, another group that provided notable service to the state were theLipka Tatars, who resided in Lithuania provided some light and medium cavalry units for the Lithuanian army.[20] It is known thatPersians andGeorgians served in the Polish army.[21]
DuringStephen Báthory's reign in the late 16th century (1576–1586), a peasant-based levy formation,piechota wybranicka (lit. drafted or selected infantry, also known aspiechota 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 theHajduk infantry, which saw service primarily around late 16th and 17th centuries.[24] In 1655 a new infantry unit was created, theżołnierz dymowy (orżołnierz 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 asżołnierz powiatowy (district's soldiers raised by thepowiat 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 ofwojsko zaciężne andkwarciane proved insufficient, which led to the creation ofwojsko komputowe (named afterkomput, a document passed by the Sejm).Wojsko komputowe numbered (in 1649) 26,000. Simultaneously,wojsko kwarciane was disbanded, andkwarta directed towards the newly createdartillery forces.[4] Brzezinski notes thatwojsko kwarciane was dissolved in the aftermath of its defeat at theBattle of Batih in 1652.[5] In 1659, in the aftermath ofnumerous 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 powerfulmagnates. 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 theOpaliński,Lubomirski,Potocki,Ossoliński,Zamoyski,Koniecpolski,Sieniawski,Żółkiewski,Sapieha,Chodkiewicz,Pac andRadziwiłł 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 theLithuanian Civil War (1697–1702), amongst themselves.[28][29]
Similarly, some cities occasional fieldedcity guard andmilitia. The most impressive town guard and accompanying fortifications belonged to the port ofGdańsk (Danzig), which boasted 12 infantry companies of 6,000 men total in 1646.[30] There was also a smallroyal 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 irregularmilitia ormercenary troops which received no official pay but operated with the government's permission and were allowed to retain theirloot; most notable of these were theLisowczyks of the early 17th century.[32]
Both the state and the magnates supported the construction and renovations of several fortifications (such as theKamianets-Podilskyi Castle).[22][28]
The Commonwealth's military was commanded by the king, under whom served fourhetmans: twoGrandHetmans (theGrand Crown Hetman andGrand Lithuanian Hetman) and twoField Hetmans (theField Crown Hetman andField Lithuanian Hetman).[6][14] The hetmans' office appeared in the late 15th century as a result of thewojsko 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 outsummary justice in the field. Grand Crown Hetman had the right to maintain his representatives in theOttoman Empire, which allowed him to influencePoland–Ottoman relations and also laid groundwork forthe first Polish intelligence services.[6] The Hetman's deputy was known asregimentarz and could temporarily replace the hetman.[6]
ThePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy was small and played a relatively minor role in the history of the Commonwealth. Despite having access to theBaltic Sea, neither Poland nor Lithuania maintained a significant navy. In the 16th century, as Poland and Lithuania became involved in conflicts inLivonia,Sigismund II Augustus supported the creation ofprivateers to attack enemy forces, but this met with opposition from mercantile interests in Poland's primary port ofGdańsk, which saw them as a threat to their trade routers. This led to the development of a privateer port inPuck. By the 17th century, Poland-Lithuania was ruled by theHouse of Vasa, and was involved ina series of wars with Sweden. The Vasa kings attempted creating a proper fleet in 1627, andWładysław IV Vasa built a dedicated port for the navy atWładysławowo. However, his attempts repeatedly failed due to lack of funds in the royal treasury; furthermore, seeing little need for a navy theszlachta refused to raise taxes for its creation and Gdańsk continuously opposed the idea of a navy as well. Although Władysław bought 12 ships, they were sold between 1641 and 1643, marking the end of the Commonwealth Navy.[25]
Due to a lack of centralized logistical system, the Commonwealth's armies were encumbered by largebaggage trains. To some degree, this was turned into an advantage with the development of thetabor – military horse-drawnwagons, 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]
With the growing influence of foreign powers in the Commonwealth, the Russian-dominatedSilent 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: theImperial Russian Army numbered 300,000; thePrussian Army andImperial 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 tocorruption. 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 forceremonial 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 formingconfederations, 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 theConstitution 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 theWar 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, theKościuszko Uprising.[39]
Lithuania portalWiadomo, 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.
