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57-528: Before 1793 the area was part of the Kingdom of Poland ; from 1793-1945 Prussia (within Germany from 1871). The village was known as Kahlberg during that time. It was administered by the city of Danzig (now Gdańsk ) until 1842, and afterwards by the city of Elbing (now Elbląg ). The settlement was first mentioned in 1424 and became a summer resort around 1840. When it came back under Polish rule after

114-720: A change of commander on 4 June, did the Army, now under General Józef Judycki , try to stand and fight the Russians. The Russians however defeated Judycki at the Battle of Mir on 11 June and kept advancing through the Grand Duchy. The Commonwealth army retreated towards Grodno . On 14 June the Russians took Wilno, after only a small skirmish with local garrison; on 19 June, incompetently defended Nieśwież ; and on 20 June, Kaunas , this time without any opposition. Judycki, disgraced,

171-635: A close ally, for Prussian participation in the War of the First Coalition against revolutionary France , because Russia had encouraged Prussian participation, and because Prussia had recently suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Valmy , Prussia should be compensated – preferably with parts of the Polish territory. Russia soon decided to accept the Prussian offer. On 23 January 1793, Prussia signed

228-502: A delaying battle with the Russians at Volodymyr-Volynskyi ( Battle of Włodzimierz ). Meanwhile, Poniatowski's army retreated to the Bug River , where Kościuszko's units on 18 July fought the Battle of Dubienka , which was a draw. With about 5,300 troops Kościuszko defeated the attack of 25,000 Russians under General Mikhail Kakhovsky . Kośicuszko then had to retreat from Dubienka, as the Russians begun flanking his positions crossing

285-620: A nearly four times larger enemy army under General Mikhail Kakhovsky, who had about 64,000 men under his command. Kakhovsky's forces were divided into four corps: 1st, 18,000 strong, under the command of General Mikhail Golenishchev-Kutuzov , 2nd, under General Ivan Dunin , 3rd, under General Wilhelm Derfelden , and 4th, under General Andrei Levanidov . The Targowica Confederates did not represent any real strength; and their attempts to gather popular support in Poland upon crossing borders failed miserably, with only few dozens joining at first; later

342-524: A new gmina , Krynica Morska, which simultaneously was assigned the town status. Krynica Morska is the main tourist destination on the Vistula Spit. The administrative area of the town extends along most of the Polish part of the spit, up to the Russian border, also including a number of other localities such as Przebrno and Piaski (the latter being about 4 kilometres (2 miles) from the border, which

399-510: A new alliance could be formed. Although subsequent events would prove him wrong, the question of whether this could have been foreseen, and prevented through continued military resistance, has been subject to much debate among historians . The Polish military was widely dissatisfied with the ceasefire; Kościuszko, Prince Poniatowski and many others would criticize the King's decision and many, including Kościuszko, would resign their commission in

456-586: A strong Commonwealth would likely demand the return of the lands Prussia acquired in the First Partition . The Constitution was not adopted without dissent in the Commonwealth itself, either. Magnates who had opposed the constitution draft from the start, namely Franciszek Ksawery Branicki , Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki , Seweryn Rzewuski , and Szymon and Józef Kossakowski , asked Tsarina Catherine to intervene and restore their privileges such as

513-486: A treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked and both countries would receive broad swaths of Commonwealth territory. Russian and Prussian troops took control of the territories they claimed, with Russian troops already present, and Prussian troops meeting only limited resistance. In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm , the last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of Russian forces, agreed to

570-528: Is not crossable at present). It has the smallest population of any urban commune ( gmina ) in Poland. Because of the inclusion of mainly rural areas of the spit within its boundaries, it has the lowest population density of any town ( miasto ) in Poland, with 11.74 persons/km². The Lighthouse in Krynica Morska was originally built in 1895. It was destroyed in 1945 after being mined by retreating German forces. A new lighthouse, now open to visitors,

627-515: The Battle of Zieleńce on 18 June. The victory was celebrated by King Poniatowski, who sent the new Virtuti Militari medals for the campaign leaders and soldiers, as "the first since John III Sobieski ". The Russian forces, however, kept advancing. Under the command of Józef Poniatowski, the Polish army retreated in good order, yielding to the more powerful enemy as necessary to avoid annihilation. In early July, near Dubno , Prince Poniatowski and Kościuszko were betrayed by Michał Lubomirski, who

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684-595: The Battle of Zieleńce on 18 June; in the aftermath of the battle the Polish highest military award, Virtuti Militari , was established. The Russians' greatest success in this war was the Battle of Mir on 11 June ( O.S. 31 May). The war ended when the Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski decided to seek a diplomatic solution, asked for a ceasefire with the Russians and joined the Targowica Confederation, as demanded by

741-734: The Kiev Voivodeship , Bracław Voivodeship , Podole Voivodeship and Minsk Voivodeship , and parts of the Vilnius Voivodeship , Nowogródek Voivodeship , Brest Litovsk Voivodeship and the Volhynian Voivodeship . This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 22 July. Russia reorganized its newly acquired territories into Minsk Viceroyalty and Izyaslav Viceroyalty (which in 1795 was split into Podolian and Volhynian Viceroyalties ). Prussia received

798-761: The Kościuszko Uprising began. The defeat of the Uprising in November that year resulted in the final Third Partition of Poland , ending the existence of the Commonwealth. Polish%E2%80%93Russian War of 1792 Around 2,000 according to Russian sources The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition , and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution )

855-774: The Ottoman Empire (the Russo-Turkish War, 1787–1792 and the Austro-Turkish War, 1787–1791 ); the Russians also found themselves simultaneously fighting in the Russo-Swedish War, 1788–1790 . A new alliance between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussia seeming to provide security against Russian intervention, and on 3 May 1791 the new constitution was read and adopted to overwhelming popular support. With

912-601: The Polish–Russian War of 1792 in Defense of the Constitution, the Polish forces supporting the Constitution fought against the Imperial Russian Army , invited by the pro-Russian alliance of Polish magnates , known as the Targowica Confederation. The conservative nobility (see also, szlachta ) believed that the Russians would help them restore their Golden Liberty . Abandoned by their Prussian allies,

969-504: The Commonwealth's government for over a century. The idea of reforming the Commonwealth gained traction from the mid-17th century; it was however viewed with suspicion not only by its magnates but also by neighboring countries, which had been content with the deterioration of the Commonwealth and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and democratic power on their borders. With the Commonwealth Army reduced to around 16,000, it

1026-634: The Commonwealth's territory, while Prussia took 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi). This event reduced Poland's population to a third of what it was before the First Partition. The rump state was garrisoned by Russian troops and its independence was strongly curtailed. This outcome came as a surprise to most of the Targowica Confederates, who had wished only to restore the status quo ante bellum ( Commonwealth magnate -favoring Golden Freedoms) and had expected that

1083-561: The Laws (cabinet of ministers) decided to ask for a ceasefire. Tsarina Catherine demanded that King Poniatowski join the pro-Russian aristocratic faction, the Targowica Confederation; with his cabinet split, he gave in to her demand around 22–23 July, which effectively forced Prince Poniatowski to terminate military resistance. The last military confrontation of the war was fought on 26 July at Markuszów in Lublin province, where an enemy attack

1140-506: The Polish capitulation was a mistake both from the military perspective, and the political one. In the realm of military, the Poles had reasonable chances to defend the Vistula river line, and exhaust the Russian invading forces. From the political one, showing a willingness to fight could have persuaded the partitioning powers that their plan was too costly. King Poniatowski's hopes that

1197-498: The Polish–Lithuanian lands. What was left of the Commonwealth was a small buffer state with a puppet king, and Russian garrisons keeping an eye on the reduced army . Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support. The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support. In March 1794

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1254-611: The Prussian commander of the Lithuanian army, Duke Württemberg, betrayed the Polish-Lithuanian cause by refusing to fight the Russians. He never reached the frontlines, feigned illness in Wołczyn , and issued contradictory orders to his troops. Thus the Army of Lithuania did little to oppose the advancing Russians, and kept withdrawing before their advance. Minsk was abandoned, after some skirmishes, on 31 May. Only after

1311-654: The Russian Empire. By the early 18th century, the magnates of Poland and Lithuania controlled the state – or rather, they managed to ensure that no reforms would be carried out that might weaken their privileged status (the " Golden Freedoms "). Through the abuse of the liberum veto rule which enabled any deputy to paralyze the Sejm (Commonwealth's parliament) proceedings, deputies bribed by magnates or foreign powers or those simply content to believe they were living in an unprecedented "Golden Age", paralysed

1368-674: The Russian ambassador to Poland, Yakov Bulgakov , delivered a declaration of war to the Polish Foreign Minister Joachim Chreptowicz . Russian armies entered Poland and Lithuania on the same day, starting the war. The Russian army numbered nearly 98,000. It was commanded by generals-in-chief Mikhail Krechetnikov and Mikhail Kakhovsky . The Russians also had an advantage in combat experience. The Russian plan called for Kakhovsky to advance through Ukraine, taking Kamieniec Podolski , Chełm and Lublin , and approach Polish capital of Warsaw from

1425-520: The Russian and Prussian territorial demands. The Grodno Sejm became infamous not only as the last sejm of the Commonwealth, but because its deputies had been bribed and coerced by the Russians (Russia and Prussia wanted legal sanction from Poland for their demands). Imperial Russia annexed 250,000 square kilometres (97,000 sq mi), while Prussia took 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi). The Commonwealth lost about 307,000 km , being reduced to 215,000 km . Russia received

1482-807: The Russian-guaranteed Cardinal Laws abolished under the new statute. To that end these magnates formed the Targowica Confederation . The Confederation's proclamation, prepared in Saint Petersburg in January 1792, criticized the constitution for contributing to, in their own words, "contagion of democratic ideas" following "the fatal examples set in Paris". It asserted that "The parliament ... has broken all fundamental laws, swept away all liberties of

1539-646: The Second World War, it was given the name Łysica (the Polish root łys- corresponding to the German kahl , meaning "bald"). In 1958 it was renamed Krynica Morska ( Krynica is an obsolete, poetic term for " spring "; Morska meaning "of the sea", i.e., "sea spring" or "seaside spring") as opposed to the other famous Polish resort of Krynica . In 1991 three former villages, Krynica Morska, Nowa Karczma , and Przebrno of Gmina Sztutowo were united into

1596-542: The aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation of 1792, and was approved by its territorial beneficiaries, the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia . The division was ratified by the coerced Polish parliament ( Sejm ) in 1793 (see the Grodno Sejm ) in a short-lived attempt to prevent the inevitable complete annexation of Poland, the Third Partition. By 1790, on

1653-736: The badly outnumbered Polish pro-Constitution forces fought under Prince Józef Poniatowski a defensive war with some measure of success, but were ordered to abandon their efforts by their supreme commander, King Stanisław August Poniatowski . The King decided to join the Targowica Confederation, as demanded by the Russians. Russia invaded Poland to ensure the defeat of the Polish reforms, with no overt goal of another partition (it viewed Poland as its protectorate , and saw little need to give up chunks of Poland to other countries). Frederick William II of Prussia , however, saw those events as an opportunity to strengthen his country. Frederick demanded from Catherine that for his country's abandoning Poland as

1710-511: The capitulation would allow an acceptable diplomatic solution to be worked out were soon dashed. With new deputies bribed or intimidated by the Russian troops, a new session of parliament, known as the Grodno Sejm , took place in fall 1793. On 23 November 1793, it concluded its deliberations under duress, annulling the constitution and acceding to the Second Partition . Russia took 250,000 square kilometres (97,000 sq mi) of

1767-643: The cities of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Toruń (Thorn), and Gniezno Voivodeship , Poznań Voivodeship , Sieradz Voivodeship , Kalisz Voivodeship , Płock Voivodeship , Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship , Inowrocław Voivodeship , Dobrzyń Land , and parts of the Kraków Voivodeship , Rawa Voivodeship and Masovian Voivodeship . This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 23 September or 25 September (sources vary). Prussia organized its newly acquired territories into South Prussia . The Commonwealth lost about 5 million people; only about 4 million people remained in

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1824-445: The coming weeks. Prince Poniatowski even considered rebelling against his uncle's orders, and even issued orders to bring the King to the army's camp by force if necessary, as was postulated by the more radical faction. Ultimately he decided not to continue fighting against his uncle's will, and the order was rescinded at the last moment before the departure of the group charged with capturing the King. Most Polish historians agree that

1881-400: The command of King Poniatowski as a reserve. Tadeusz Kościuszko proposed a plan where the entire Polish army would be concentrated and would engage one of the Russian armies, to assure numerical parity and to boost the morale of mostly inexperienced Polish forces with a quick victory; this plan was however rejected by Prince Poniatowski. (Only a few months before, however, both commanders had

1938-477: The constitution and refused to help the Commonwealth in any form, even as a mediator, as it was not in Prussia's interest to see the Commonwealth strengthened so that it could threaten Prussia in the future. The Prussian statesman Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg expressed the fears of European conservatives: "The Poles have given the coup de grâce to the Prussian monarchy by voting a constitution", elaborating that

1995-455: The expected front, under Tadeusz Kościuszko , Michał Wielhorski and Prince Poniatowski himself. The Polish Crown army in Ukraine, led by Prince Poniatowski, and supported by Kościuszko, was about 17,000, 21,000 or 24,000 strong (Derdej distinguishes between the primary force of 17,000 and Prince Michał Lubomirski 's reserve division, of 4,500 ). In the southeastern war theater, they faced

2052-485: The gentry and on the third of May 1791 turned into a revolution and a conspiracy." The Confederates declared an intention to overcome this revolution. We "can do nothing but turn trustingly to Tsarina Catherine, a distinguished and fair empress, our neighboring friend and ally", who "respects the nation's need for well-being and always offers it a helping hand", they wrote. The Confederates aligned with Tsarina Catherine and asked her for military intervention. On 18 May 1792,

2109-466: The local garrison, but on 24 they were defeated near Krzemień-Wieś ; this last battle was the first significant Commonwealth victory on the northern front. While Prince Poniatowski and Kościuszko considered the outcome of the war still open and were planning to use the combined Polish-Lithuanian forces to defeat the still separate Russian forces, King Poniatowski, with the consent of the Guardians of

2166-533: The nearby Austrian border. Although the Poles had to retreat from the Bug River line, they were not defeated so far, and a decisive battle or battles at more favorable locations closer to Warsaw were expected. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the Russians crossed the Commonwealth border four days later than in the south, on 22 May. Poland's ally, the Kingdom of Prussia , broke its alliance with Poland and

2223-586: The new constitution. The Kingdom of Prussia was also strongly opposed to the new Polish constitution, and Polish diplomats received a note that the new constitution changed the Polish state so much that Prussia did not consider its obligations binding. Just like Russia, Prussia was concerned that the newly strengthened Polish state could become a threat and the Prussian Foreign Minister, Friedrich Wilhelm von Schulenburg-Kehnert, clearly and with rare candor told Poles that Prussia did not support

2280-490: The number would grow but not significantly, and even the Russians saw them as not having any military value, keeping them from the frontlines. In Lithuania, the Commonwealth Lithuanian Army numbered about 15,000, with an additional Crown detachment of about 3,000. They were commanded by Duke Louis of Württemberg . Württemberg made no plans for the war, and the troops were not readied for action by

2337-411: The numerically superior Russian forces, though they offered significantly more resistance in the south, thanks to the effective leadership of Polish commanders Prince Józef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko . During the three-month-long struggle several battles were fought, but no side scored a decisive victory. The largest success of the Polish forces was the defeat of one of the Russian formations at

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2394-639: The opposite idea – Poniatowski wanted the troops concentrated, and Kościuszko, dispersed). Poniatowski also planned to avoid serious engagements in the first phase of the war, hoping to receive the expected Prussian reinforcements of 30,000 which would bring parity to the two sides. The first Russian forces crossed the border in Ukraine on the night of 18/19 May 1792. The Russians in that theater would encounter significantly more resistance than they expected, as Commonwealth's top commanders, Prince Poniatowski and Kościuszko were stationed there. Kościuszko joined Prince Poniatowski near Janów on 29 May. The Crown Army

2451-405: The political front, the Commonwealth had deteriorated into such a helpless condition that it was forced into an alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The Polish-Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed, giving false hope that the Commonwealth might have at last found an ally that would shield it while it reformed itself. The May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of

2508-525: The reforms of the Constitution of 3 May (which specified an army size of 100,000) numbered only 37,000. The army was reorganizing, with key documents on unit numbers and composition passed as recently as in April; it was also short on equipment and experienced personnel. In the southeast corner of the country – the Ukrainian lands – the Polish forces were initially concentrated separately in three regions of

2565-410: The south. Krechetnikov was to advance through Minsk , Wilno , Brześć Litewski and Białystok , and approach Warsaw from the north, where he was to link with Kakhovsky. Whereas the Russians had good intelligence network in Poland, and were mostly aware of Polish army distribution and strength; the Poles had much less intelligence, receiving contradictory and often erroneous reports, and unsure whether

2622-516: The three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the Repnin Sejm . Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth. The Empress Catherine II was angered; arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792. During

2679-555: The time the war started. The Russian army in that theatre under General Mikhail Krechetnikov was 33,700 strong or 38,000 strong. The Russian army was also divided into four corps: 1st under one of Targowica Confederate leaders, Szymon Kossakowski 7,300 strong, 2nd under General Boris Mellin , 7,000 strong, 3rd under General Yuri Dolgorukov , 15,400 strong, and 4th under General Ivan Fersen , 8,300 strong. Additional Polish forces, about 8,000 strong, were to concentrate in Warsaw under

2736-633: The war would even start up to the point the Russian troops crossed the border. Stanisław August Poniatowski , King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was the commander-in-chief of the Polish forces, but in practice he delegated this position to his nephew, Prince Józef Poniatowski . Poniatowski had in theory at his disposal a 48,000 strong Crown army and the Lithuanian army more than half that size to confront them. In practice, Polish forces, still forming following

2793-464: The wars between Turkey and Russia and Sweden and Russia having ended, Tsarina Catherine was furious over the adoption of the document, which she believed threatened Russian influence in Poland. Russia had viewed Poland as a de facto protectorate. "The worst possible news have arrived from Warsaw: the Polish king has become almost sovereign" was the reaction of one of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko , when he learned of

2850-533: Was built in 1951. Adjacent to it is a small cemetery with a monument to the Soviet soldiers killed in the explosion that destroyed the original building. Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations ) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in

2907-527: Was easy for its neighbors to intervene directly (The Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000 troops overall; The Prussian Army and Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire , 200,000 each). A major opportunity for reform presented itself during the " Great Sejm " of 1788–92. Poland's neighbors were preoccupied with wars and unable to intervene forcibly in Polish affairs. The Russian Empire and Archduchy of Austria were engaged in hostilities with

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2964-519: Was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservative nobility of the Commonwealth opposed to the new Constitution of 3 May 1791 ) and the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great on the other. The war took place in two theaters: a northern in Lithuania and a southern in what is now Ukraine . In both, the Polish forces retreated before

3021-505: Was judged too weak to oppose the four columns of enemy armies advancing into West Ukraine and began a fighting withdrawal to the western side of the Southern Bug River , towards Lubar and Połonne , with Kośiuszko commanding the rear guard. Poniatowski, in the face of significant numerical inferiority of his forces, and promised reinforcements by King Poniatowski, decided to abandon Ukraine and move to Volhynia , where Połonne

3078-411: Was repelled by Polish cavalry led by Poniatowski. At the time King Poniatowski decided to sue for peace, the Polish army was still in a good fighting condition not having suffered from any major defeat nor lack of supplies. King Poniatowski thought that due to Russian numerical superiority defeat was nonetheless imminent, and more could be gained through negotiations with the Russians, with whom he hoped

3135-447: Was replaced by Michał Zabiełło on 23 June. Nonetheless, since Mir, no decisive engagements occurred in the northern theater, as Polish army withdrew in relative order towards Warsaw, after minor defeat at Zelva , eventually taking defensive positions along the Bug river near Brest . Russians took Grodno on 5 July and Białystok on 17 July. On 23 July the Russians took Brest, defeating

3192-453: Was tasked with King Poniatowski with resupplying the troops; instead Lubomirski joined the Russian side and either hid the supplies for the Polish army, or outright passed them to the Russians. Lubomirski, however, was a powerful magnate, and it took until late May for the King officially to relieve him of his command. Within about a month of the Russian invasion, the Poles had mostly retreated from Ukraine. On 7 July Kościuszko's forces fought

3249-408: Was to be fortified as a major defensive point, and where Lubomirski was tasked with gathering supplies. On 14 June Wielhorski's unit was defeated at the Battle of Boruszkowce . On 17 June Poniatowski finally received awaited reinforcements, about 2,000 troops led by Michał Lubomirski. Next day the Poles, led by Prince Poniatowski, defeated one of the Russian formations of general Irakly Morkov at

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