Treaty of Narva (1704)

The Narva Treaty, also known as the Działyński Pact , was an attack and protection alliance between the faction of Poland-Lithuania loyal to the Saxony and the Saxon - Russian alliance against Sweden. It was on August 19th ^July. / August 30, 1704 ^greg. , in the city of Narva (now Narva in Estonia ), closed ten days after the city was stormed by Russian troops.

prehistory

On July 12, 1704 Stanislaus I. Leszczyński was elected king against the will of the majority of the Polish nobility under the protection of the Swedish army.

Before the Great Northern War began, August the Strong was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1699 he made alliances with Denmark-Norway and Russia , these formed the basis for a combined attack on the Swedish Empire. The newly elected King of Poland had promised to bind the Swedish province of Livonia back to the Polish crown. In the autumn of 1699, preparations for the invasion of Livonia began . In the middle of his campaign against the Swedish parts of Holstein-Gottorf , the Danish King Frederick IV suffered a decisive defeat in the Swedish landing at Humlebæk . In the peace of travendal Denmark withdrew from the alliance. This enabled the Swedish King Karl XII. rush to the aid of the besieged city of Riga with his troops and repel the Saxon attack. The Russian ally was also defeated in front of Narva and had to withdraw.

In the following time, the Saxons were pushed back further and further into the interior of Poland by Karl's main army. Some of the nobles subsequently concluded a treaty with Sweden and Poland-Lithuania was split into two camps. One part of the Confederation of Sandomir continued to support the legitimately elected King August II and the nobles who turned to Sweden supported Stanislaus I. Leszczyński in the Confederation of Warsaw (1704) . On July 12, 1704, he won the election to the counter-king, but always had to be supported militarily by the Swedes.

Because despite that of Karl XII. The legitimately elected Polish-Lithuanian King Augustus the Strong continued to receive support. The army in particular was three-quarters behind the Saxon regent. For the benefit of the Polish people and their unity, the Saxon king entered into negotiations with Russia and the anti-Swedish coalition.

The contract

The contract for Poland was negotiated by Thomas Działyński . He was a commander of the Saxon-Polish army and previously took part in the siege of Narva . The treaty was signed by Peter the Great of Russia, August the Strong and a majority of Polish-Lithuanian nobles.

The contract was both offensive and defensive. Saxony and Russia agreed to continue the war against Sweden together and not to conclude a separate peace with Sweden. The Russian Tsar promised to support August the Strong with 200,000 rubles a year , which were intended to pay for and equip the Polish Crown Army (26,200 infantrymen and 21,800 horsemen). In addition, the Tsar promised the Poles to return the Polish territories in Ukraine that had been conquered on the side of the Cossacks in an uprising since 1702 . Likewise, all Russian conquests in Livonia were to be turned over to Poland at the end of the war. To support the fight against the Swedish king, Peter was to provide the Polish king August with a contingent of 12,000 fully equipped soldiers for the war year 1705. The contract also promised a new campaign by the Russian tsar against Livonia .

The consequences

Immediately after the conclusion of the contract, Anikita Ivanovich Repnin was sent to Polotsk with twelve regiments of cavalry and infantry , where she submitted to the Polish command. But he was also ordered not to face a major battle with the contingent, as Peter I was certain that the Poles were not up to a major field battle. So he preferred to rely on small raids.

The treaty was initially beneficial for both sides, because it was advantageous for Russia if as many Swedish forces as possible were tied up in the Polish theater of war. The long-term impact was evident in the Russian campaign of Charles XII. from 1707 to 1709, when planned reinforcements for Charles from Poland were stopped in the battle of Koniecpol .

The treaty was also advantageous for August II, as his influence in Poland had steadily diminished due to the severe defeats against the Swedish king. So he now received financial and military help in the fight against the Swedes. However, with the conclusion of the contract it also became clear that the leadership role in the war had now finally passed to the Russian ruler.

The faction of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility, which were loyal to the Swedish king and Stanislaus I. Leszczynski, formed an alliance against Saxony and Russia. The Treaty of Warsaw was signed in November 1705.

See also

• List of the international treaties of the Great Northern War

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Illustration of the Narva Treaty (original document in Russian). Retrieved June 1, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Eugene Schuyler: Peter The Great. Part 2. Reprinted edition. Kessinger Publishing, Whitefish MT 2004, ISBN 1-4179-7143-6 , p. 29.
3. ↑ Erich Donnert : Peter the Great. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1988, ISBN 3-7338-0031-1 , p. 65.

literature

• Peter Hoffmann : Peter the Great as a military reformer and general. Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-631-60114-3 .