Editing Bar Confederation (section)

==Civil war and foreign interventions==
[[File:Marshall of the Confederation of Bar Michał Hieronim Krasiński takes a Turkish dignitary.PNG|thumb|Marshal of the Bar Confederation Michał Krasiński receives an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dignitary.]]

=== 1768 ===
[[File:Bar Confederation 1768-1772.PNG|thumb|A map of the Bar Confederation 1768–72]]

The confederation, encouraged and aided by Roman Catholic France and Austria, declared war on Russia.<ref name=WIEM/> Its irregular forces, formed from volunteers, magnate militias and deserters from the royal army, soon clashed with the Russian troops and units loyal to the Polish crown.<ref name=WIEM/> Confederation forces under [[Michał Jan Pac]] and Prince [[Karol II Stanislaw Radziwill|Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł]] roamed the land in every direction, won several engagements with the Russians, and at last, utterly ignoring the King, sent envoys on their own account to the principal European powers, i.e. Ottoman Empire, the major ally of Bar confederation, France and Austria.

King Stanislaus Augustus was at first inclined to mediate between the Confederates and Russia, the latter represented by the Russian envoy to [[Warsaw]], Prince [[Nikolai Repnin]]; but finding this impossible, he sent a force against them under [[Hetman|Grand Hetman]] [[Franciszek Ksawery Branicki]] and two generals against the confederates. This marked the Ukrainian campaign, which lasted from April till June 1768, and was ended with the capture of [[Bar, Ukraine|Bar]] on 20 June.<ref name=WIEM/> Confederation forces retreated to [[Moldavia]].<ref name=WIEM/> There was also a pro-Confederation force in [[Lesser Poland]], that operated from June till August, that ended with the royal forces securing Kraków on 22 August, followed by a period of conflict in Belarus (August–October), that ended with the surrender of [[Nesvizh]] on 26 October.<ref name=WIEM/>

The simultaneous outbreak of the [[Koliivshchyna]] in [[Ukraine]] (May 1768 – June 1769) made major confederation forces retreat to Ottoman Empire beforehand and kept the Confederation alive.

The Confederates appealed for help from abroad and contributed to bringing about war between Russia and the [[Ottoman Empire]] (the [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)]] that began in September).

=== 1769–1770 ===

[[File:Bar confederation flag.JPG|thumb|The [[standard (flag)|standard]] of the Bar confederates on wall paper]]

The retreat of some Russian forces needed on the Ottoman front bolstered the confederates, who reappeared in force in Lesser and Greater Polands by 1769.<ref name=WIEM/> In 1770 the Council of Bar Confederation transferred from its original seat in Austrian part of [[Silesia]] to [[Hungary]], whence it conducted diplomatic negotiations with France, [[Austria]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Turkey]] with a view to forming a stable league against Russia. The council proclaimed the king dethroned on 22 October 1770. The court of [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] sent [[Charles François Dumouriez]] to act as an aid to the Confederates, and he helped them to organize their forces.<ref name=WIEM/> He fortified several fortresses around Kraków ([[Tyniec]], [[Lanckorona]], [[Częstochowa]]) and formed a Confederate infantry detachment to protect the warehouses in [[Podolia]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AP9UAAAAcAAJ&q=Tyniec&pg=PP13 Dumouriez Band I, pp. 207–209]</ref>

The Confederates began operating in Lithuania, although after early successes that direction too met with failures, with defeats at [[Białystok]] on 16 July and Orzechowo on 13 September 1769.<ref name=WIEM/> Early 1770 saw the defeats of confederates in Greater Poland, after the battle of Dobra (20 January) and Błonie (12 February), which forced them into a mostly defensive, passive stance.<ref name=WIEM/>

{{multiple image
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 | header            = Remnants of the [[Bar, Vinnytsia Oblast#Bar Fortress|Bar Fortress]] (now in Ukraine), designed by [[Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan]]
| image1 = (01)_OLD_BAR_FORTRESS_TOWN_OF_BAR_REGION_OF_VINNYTSIA_STATE_OF_UKRAINE_PHOTOGRAPH_BY_VIKTOR_O_LEDENYOV_20160509.jpg
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| image2 = (02)_OLD_BAR_FORTRESS_TOWN_OF_BAR_REGION_OF_VINNYTSIA_STATE_OF_UKRAINE_PHOTOGRAPH_BY_VIKTOR_O_LEDENYOV_20160509.jpg
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| image3 = (1)_OLD_BAR_FORTRESS_IN_TOWN_OF_BAR_REGION_OF_VINNYTSIA_STATE_OF_UKRAINE_VIDEO_BY_VIKTOR_O_LEDENYOV_20160501.ogg
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| image4 = (1)_VIEW_ON_TOWER_WALLS_OF_OLD_BAR_FORTRESS_IN_TOWN_OF_BAR_REGION_OF_VINNYTSIA_STATE_OF_UKRAINE_VIDEO_BY_VIKTOR_O_LEDENYOV_20160501.ogg
| alt4 = Tower walls
| image5 = (2)_PANORAMIC_VIEW_ON_OLD_BAR_FORTRESS_AND_SURROUNDING_OLD_CATHEDRALS_IN_TOWN_OF_BAR_REGION_OF_VINNYTSIA_STATE_OF_UKRAINE_VIDEO_BY_VIKTOR_O_LEDENYOV_20160501.ogg
| alt5 = Panorama
}}
An attempt of Bar Confederates (including [[Casimir Pulaski]]<ref name="Kajencki2005"/>) to kidnap king Stanislaus II Augustus on 3 November 1771 led the Habsburgs to withdraw their support from the confederates, expelling them from their territories.<ref name="Stone2001-272"/> It also gave the three courts another pretext to showcase the "Polish anarchy" and the need for its neighbors to step in and "save" the country and its citizens.<ref name=WIEM/><ref name="Pickus2001"/> The king thereupon reverted to the Russian faction, and for the attempt of kidnapping their king, the Confederation lost much of the support it had in Europe.<ref name="Stone2001-272"/>

=== 1771–1772 ===
Its army, thoroughly reorganized by Dumouriez, maintained the fight. 1771 brought further defeats, with the defeat at [[Lanckorona]] on 21 May and Stałowicze at 23 October.<ref name=WIEM/> The final battle of the war was the siege of [[Jasna Góra Monastery|Jasna Góra]], which fell on 13 August 1772.<ref name=WIEM/> The regiments of the Bar Confederation, whose executive board had been forced to leave Austria, which previously supported them, after Austria joined the Prusso-Russian alliance, did not lay down their arms.<ref name="DaviesE"/>

Many fortresses in their command held out as long as possible; [[Wawel Castle]] (defended by [[Marquis de Choisy]]) in Kraków fell only on 28 April;<ref name="Corwin"/><ref name="hn"/> [[Tyniec]] fortress held until 13 July 1772;<ref name="nr"/> [[Częstochowa]], commanded by [[Casimir Pulaski]], held until 18 August.<ref name="Corwin"/><ref name="Davies392"/> Overall, around 100,000 nobles participated in 500 military clashes in 1768–1772.<ref name="Lieven">{{cite book |editor-first=Dominic |editor-last=Lieven |editor-link=Dominic Lieven |title=The Cambridge History of Russia: Volume 2, Imperial Russia, 1689–1917 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2006 |page=171 |isbn=9780521815291|quote= His [Stanisław Poniatowski] victory heralded both reform and Russian influence, both of which were inimical to the conservative Polish–Lithuanian nobles united in the Confederation of Bar. About 100,000 nobles fought 500 engagements between 1768 and their final defeat in 1772}}</ref> Perhaps the last stronghold of the confederates was in the monastery in [[Zagórz]], which fell only on 28 November 1772. In the end, the Bar Confederation was defeated, with its members either fleeing abroad or being [[Sybiracy|deported to Siberia, Volga region, Urals]] by the Russians.<ref name="DaviesE"/>

In the meantime, taking advantage of the confusion in the Commonwealth, already by 1769–71, both Austria and Prussia had taken over some of its border territories, with Austria taking [[Szepes County]] in 1769–1770 and Prussia incorporating [[Lauenburg and Bütow Land|Lauenburg and Bütow]].<ref name="Brit2"/> On 19 February 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in [[Vienna]].<ref name="Corwin"/> A previous secret agreement between Prussia and Russia had been made in [[Saint Petersburg]] on 6 February 1772.<ref name="Corwin"/> 

Early in August, Russian, Prussian, and Austrian troops fighting the Bar confederation in the Commonwealth occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. On 5 August, the three parties issued a manifesto about their respective territorial gains on the Commonwealth's expense.<ref name="Brit"/>

Bar Confederates taken as prisoners by the Russians, together with their families, formed the first major group of Poles and Lithuanians exiled to Siberia ([[sybirak]]).<ref name="DaviesE"/> It is estimated that about 5,000 former confederates were sent there.<ref name=WIEM/> [[Russian Empire|Russia]] organized 3 [[concentration camp]]s in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for Polish captives, where these concentrated persons have been waiting for their deportation there.<ref name="wk"/>

===International situation after the defeat of Bar confederation and its Ottoman allies===
Around mid-18th century the European [[Balance of power (international relations)|balance of power]] shifted, with Russian victories against the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)]] strengthening Russia and endangering [[Habsburg]] interests in that region (particularly in [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]]). At that point Habsburg Austria started to consider waging a war against Russia.<ref name="Brit"/><ref name="lit"/> France, friendly towards both Prussia and Austria, suggested a series of territorial adjustments, in which Austria would be compensated by parts of [[Prussian Silesia]], and [[Prussia]] in turn would receive Polish Ermland ([[Warmia]]) and parts of the Polish [[fief]], [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]]{{snd}}already under [[Baltic Germans|Baltic German]] hegemony.<ref name="Brit"/>

King Frederick II of Prussia had no intention of giving up Silesia gained recently in the [[Silesian Wars]]. He was interested in finding a peaceful solution – [[Russo-Prussian alliance|his alliance with Russia]] would draw him into a potential war with Austria, and the Seven Years' War had left Austria's treasury and army weakened.{{cn|reason=the opposite is true; Austria was weakened, Frederick won and made a profit during the war.|date=June 2023}} He was also interested in protecting the weakening Ottoman Empire, which could be advantageously utilized in the event of a Prussian war either with Russia or Austria. Frederick's brother, [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802)|Prince Henry]], spent the winter of 1770–71 as a representative of the Prussian court at Saint Petersburg.<ref name="Brit"/>

As Austria had annexed 13 towns in the Hungarian Szepes county in 1769, violating the [[Treaty of Lubowla]], Catherine II of Russia and her advisor General [[Ivan Chernyshyov]] suggested to Henry that Prussia claim some Polish land, such as Ermland. After Henry informed him of the proposal, Frederick suggested a partition of the Polish borderlands by Austria, Prussia, and Russia, with the largest share going to Austria. Thus Frederick attempted to encourage Russia to direct its expansion towards weak and non-functional Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth instead of the Ottomans.<ref name="Brit"/> <!--Austrian statesman, [[Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz]], counter-proposed that Prussia take lands from Poland in return for relinquishing Silesia to Austria, but this plan was rejected by Frederick.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}-->

Russia considered the weak Poland–Lithuania as its protectorate for a few decades already since the [[Silent Sejm]].<ref name="Luk"/> Poland–Lithuania was devastated by a civil war in which the Bar Confederation's forces attempted to disrupt Russian control.<ref name="Brit"/> The recent Koliivshchyna peasant and Cossack uprising in Ukraine also weakened Polish–Lithuanian position. Further, the Russian-supported king of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus, was seen as both weak and too independent-minded. Eventually the Russian court decided that Poland–Lithuania's usefulness as a protectorate had lessened.<ref name="Brit2"/> The three powers officially justified their actions as compensation for dealing with troublesome neighbor and restoring order to Polish anarchy, for which the Bar Confederation provided a convenient excuse. All three were interested in territorial gains.<ref name="conquest"/>

After Russia occupied the [[Danubian Principalities]], Henry convinced Frederick and Archduchess [[Maria Theresa]] of Austria that the balance of power would be maintained by a tripartite division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth instead of Russia taking land from the Ottomans. Under pressure from Prussia, which for a long time wanted to annex the northern Polish province of [[Royal Prussia]], the three powers agreed on the First Partition of Poland–Lithuania. This was in light of the possible Austrian-Ottoman-Bar confederation alliance<ref name="Corwin"/> with only token objections from Austria,<ref name="Brit2"/> which would have instead preferred to receive more Ottoman territories in the [[Balkans]], a region which for a long time had been coveted by the Habsburgs, including Bukovina. The Russians also withdrew from [[Moldavia]] and Wallachia away from the Austrian border.