Anniversary of the signing by Janusz Radziwiłł of the Kieydan Agreement with Swedes, which broke the Polish-Lithuanian Union from 1569.
Today in our calendar we will look at the first phase of the Swedish invasion of Poland from 1655.
The attack on the Republic of Poland was led from 2 sides – Pomerania and Inflant. On 21 July 1655 he entered Wielkopolska at the head of 14,000 soldiers of the Field Marshal Arvid Wittenberg. A fewer weeks later, Charles Gustav himself crossed the border with another 12,000. Prior to the concentration of hostile troops, the Polish side gathered over 13,000 common departures and 1,300 Lung Infantry in the camp close the ujście. As leader of the Sejm, he appointed the boy of “Pope of Protestants in Poland” – Bogusław Leszczyński.
This magnate, for individual material advantages, turned to Catholicism, but inactive supported Polish dissidents financially like his father. His bribery and financial embezzlements with bribes for Members of the Sejm inclusive are known. When, during 1 of the votes, a associate broke down and did not vote as he intended, he was to exclaim, “Who is the boy that I did not give him?” Leszczyński, for unknown reasons refused to take command and fled to Wrocław.
Shortly after the full Wielkopolska was occupied by Swedes, he returned to ask them for protection for his estates. Interestingly, he relied on his desertion and portrayed it as merit.
In the end, Krzysztof Opaliński and Andrzej Grudziński took command of the military gathered at the mouth. erstwhile the Swedish army approached the Polish camp, after a short fight they capitulated, giving Wielkopolska to the Swedes, for the cost of leaving their property in peace. In the face of the departure of the common moving home, the country faced the enemy with an opening. On the news of the surrender, Jan Kazimierz planned to renounce the Polish crown for the Habsburgs, if only they undertook military aid against the Swedes.
The lonely king withdrew from the capital, leading a fewer delaying forces. On September 8, the enemy seized Warsaw without a fight, and then began to prosecute the Polish king in the confederate direction. After the failure of the conflict at Żarnowiec, Jan Kazimierz went to Lenny Śląski, while the Swedes besieged Stefan Czarniecki in Krakow, which capitulated in the mediate of October. Meanwhile, in Lithuania, Janusz Radziwiłł and his cousin Bogusław went to the enemy side.
On October 20, 1655, the elder of them signed the Kieidan Agreement, under which he gave the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the authority of Karol Gustav, or de facto broke the Polish-Lithuanian Union from 1569.
In the face of Russian-Cossack attacks on the Lublin region, the Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław “Rewera” Potocki was forced to pass to the side of the Swedes. At this point, almost the full country was under occupation. From larger fortresses, he defended only Malbork, Puck and Protestant Gdańsk, who fought due to his opposition to Swedish hegemony in the Baltic trade.
Contrary to the promises from the mouth and Kiejdan, Swedes did not spare Polish civilians. Rape, robbery, and execution were on the line. Villages and manors were burned, and churches and Catholic monasteries were massively robbed and desecrated, frequently turning them into military magazines. There was mass plunder of works of art and valuable manuscripts specified as the works of Nicholas Copernicus.
The vast areas of the flourishing country have been ravaged. The expanding business panic led to a boil; in many places armed troops were organized to fight the partisan with the invader. The most celebrated guerrilla was Krzysztof Żegocki, who was 1 of the first to start fighting the Swedes in Wielkopolska. However, the opposition of the fewer noble-boy troops was besides weak and posed no greater threat to the hostile rule.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.
