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The Story of

Poland

972 – 2024

Country in Central Europe

  1. Battle of Cedynia

    24 June 972

    The Battle of Cedynia (also known as the Battle of Zehden) was fought on 24 June 972 near the Oder river, when an army led by Mieszko I of Poland defeated the forces of the Saxon margrave Hodo (or Odo I of Lusatia). Whether the battle actually took place near the modern-day town of Cedynia is disputed in modern scholarship.

  2. Mongol invasion of Poland

    1240–1241

    The Mongol invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland. The first invasion's intention was to secure the flank of the main Mongolian army attacking the Kingdom of Hungary.

  3. Battle of Legnica

    9 April 1241

    The Battle of Legnica (Polish: bitwa pod Legnicą), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz (German: Schlacht von Liegnitz) or Battle of Wahlstatt (German: Schlacht bei Wahlstatt), was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces at the village of Legnickie Pole (Wahlstatt), approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of the city of Legnica in the Duchy of Silesia on 9 April 1241. A combined force of Poles and Moravians under the command of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility and a few knights from military orders sent by Pope Gregory IX, attempted…

  4. Battle of Grunwald

    15 July 1410

    The Battle of Grunwald, also known as the (First) Battle of Tannenberg or the Battle of Žalgiris, was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), and Grand Duke Vytautas, decisively defeated the Teutonic Order, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen.

  5. Polish Golden Age

    1507–1572

    The Polish Golden Age (Polish: Złoty Wiek Polski [ˈzwɔ.tɘ ˈvjɛk ˈpɔl.ski] ) was the Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. Historians argue that the Polish Golden Age ended by the mid-17th century, when Poland was ravaged by the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–57) and by the Swedish and Russian invasion.

  6. Treaty of Stettin

    13 December 1570

    The Treaty of Stettin (German: Frieden von Stettin, Swedish: Freden i Stettin, Danish: Freden i Stettin) of 13 December 1570, ended the Northern Seven Years' War fought between Sweden and Denmark with its internally fragmented alliance of Lübeck and Poland. It also settled Swedish, Danish, and Holy Roman Imperial claims regarding the Livonian War.

  7. Polish–Muscovite War

    1605–1618

    The Polish–Russian War was a conflict fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia from 1609 to 1618. Russia had been experiencing the Time of Troubles since the death of Tsar Feodor I in 1598, which caused political instability and a violent succession crisis upon the extinction of the Rurik dynasty; furthermore, a major famine ravaged the country from 1601 to 1603.

  8. Battle of Warsaw

    1656

    The Battle of Warsaw (German: Schlacht von Warschau; Polish: Bitwa pod Warszawą; Swedish: Tredagarsslaget vid Warschau) took place near Warsaw on July 28–July 30 [O.S. July 18–20] 1656, between the armies of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden and Brandenburg. It was a major battle in the Second Northern War between Poland and Sweden in the period 1655–1660, also known as The Deluge.

  9. Battle of Klissow

    19 July 1702

    The Battle of Kliszów (also spelled Klissow or Klezow) took place on 19 July 1702, near the village of Kliszów in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Great Northern War. A Swedish army under the command of King Charles XII of Sweden defeated a Polish–Saxon army twice the size that was led by King Augustus II the Strong.

  10. War of the Polish Succession

    10 October 1733 – 3 October 1735

    The War of the Polish Succession (Polish: Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests. France and Spain, the two Bourbon powers, tested the power of the Austrian Habsburgs in Western Europe, as did the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst Saxony and Russia mobilized to support the eventual victor.

  11. Siege of Danzig

    1734

    The siege of Danzig of 1734 was the Russian encirclement (22 February – 30 June) and capture of the Polish city-port of Gdańsk, during the War of Polish Succession. It was the first time that troops of France and Russia had met as foes in the field.

  12. Battle of Mollwitz

    10 April 1741

    The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders.

  13. Battle of Hohenfriedberg

    4 June 1745

    The Battle of Hohenfriedberg or Hohenfriedeberg (now Dobromierz, Poland), also known as the Battle of Striegau (now Strzegom, Poland) was one of Frederick the Great's most admired victories. Frederick's Prussian army decisively defeated an Austro-Saxon army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine on June 4, 1745, during the Second Silesian War – part of the War of the Austrian Succession.

  14. Battle of Breslau

    22 November 1757

    The Battle of Breslau (also known as the Battle on the Lohe) was fought on 22 November 1757 in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). A Prussian army of 28,000 men fought an Austrian army of 60,000 men.

  15. Battle of Leuthen

    5 December 1757

    The Battle of Leuthen was fought on 5 December 1757 between Frederick the Great's Prussian Army and an Austrian army commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine and Count Leopold Joseph von Daun. Frederick used maneuver warfare and knowledge of the terrain to rout the larger Austrian force completely.

  16. Battle of Zorndorf

    25 August 1758

    The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with both armies holding their ground and claiming victory.

  17. Battle of Kunersdorf

    12 August 1759

    The Battle of Kunersdorf occurred on 12 August 1759 near Kunersdorf (now Kunowice, Poland) immediately east of Frankfurt an der Oder. Part of the Third Silesian War and the wider Seven Years' War, the battle involved over 100,000 men.

  18. Battle of Landeshut

    23 June 1760

    The Battle of Landeshut was an engagement fought on 23 June 1760 during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). A Prussian army of 12,000 men under General Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué fought an Austrian army of over 28,000 men under Ernst Gideon von Laudon and suffered a defeat, with its commander wounded and taken prisoner.

  19. Battle of Liegnitz

    15 August 1760

    The Battle of Liegnitz on 15 August 1760 saw Frederick the Great's Prussian Army defeat the Austrian army under Ernst von Laudon during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). The armies collided around the town of Liegnitz (now Legnica, Poland) in Lower Silesia.

  20. Battle of Racławice

    4 April 1794

    The Battle of Racławice (Polish: Bitwa pod Racławicami) was one of the first battles of the Kościuszko Uprising against Russia. It was fought on 4 April 1794 near the village of Racławice in Lesser Poland.