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Warsaw Uprising of 1794
Part of Kościuszko's Uprising
Kiliński leading Russian prisoners a painting by Wojciech Kossak
Date April 17 to April 19, 1794 Location Warsaw, Poland Result Polish victory
Belligerents
Poland	Imperial Russia
Commanders and leaders
Jan Kiliński, Stanisław Mokronowski	Osip Igelström
Strength
3,500 soldiers, unknown number of civilians	?
Casualties and losses
?	2,000-4,000

The Warsaw Uprising of 1794 (otherwise called the Warsaw Insurrection, Template:Lang-pl) was an armed struggle at the onset of Kościuszko's Uprising by the Polish Home Army and civilian population of the city to liberate Warsaw from Russian forces. It started on April 17, 1794, soon after Tadeusz Kościuszko's victory at Racławice. After two days of city fights the town was liberated from the Russians, who had to flee.

History

Following the Second Partition of Poland of 1793, the presence of Prussian and Imperial Russian garrisons on Polish soil was almost permanent. Although foreign influence at the Polish court, often represented by the person of Russian ambassador Nikolai Repnin, used to be strong even before, it was not until the partitions of Poland that it started to influence common people and not only the Polish government. The presence of foreign occupation forces has contributed largely both to economic collapse of the already-weakened state and to growing radicalisation of the civilian population of Warsaw.

Upon receiving news of Kościuszko's declarations in Kraków and his subsequent victory at Racławice, the tension in Warsaw rapidly grew, and Igelström's orders to arrest those whom he suspected to have any connection with the insurrection only worsened the situation. Both the radical Polish Jacobins and the centrist supporters of King Stanisław August Poniatowski started preparing their plans of removal of the Russian forces from Warsaw, in theory the capital of an independent state. The king, however, remained completely passive. At the same time the Russian forces started the preparations to disarm the weak Polish garrison of Warsaw under Gen. Stanisław Mokronowski by seizing the Arsenal at Miodowa Street. At 5 in the morning of April 17 a Russian unit approached the building, but was repelled by unexpected opposition from the Polish forces. The fights at Miodowa Street prolonged themselves as both sides drew additional reinforcements from all parts of the town. From the onset of the insurrection, the Polish forces were aided by the civilian population. The National Militia was formed out of all able-bodied volunteers and was led by Jan Kiliński, a shoemaking master by trade and one of the most notable burghers of the time. These units, armed with rifles and sabres from the arsenal, finally made the victory sway to the Polish side. The arsenal was secured, but the Polish plan to catch most of the Russian soldiers on the streets rather than in buildings and barracks failed. In several hours the fights spread from a single street at the western outskirts of Warsaw's Old Town to the entire city. The isolated Russian forces continued to resist in several parts of the city, as well as to repeat the assaults on the arsenal. Several major skirmishes took place in Krakowskie Przedmieście, the main street leading southwards, and in front of the Daniłłowicz Palace at Hipoteczna street. Apart from the militias, the most renown units to take part in the liberation of Warsaw were the Polish 10th Regiment on Foot under Col. Ignacy Działyński and a revolted Polish 4th Regiment of Front Guard, previously forcibly conscripted into the Russian Army. An eye-witness of the fights in Warsaw was Jan Piotr Norblin de la Gourdaine, a French-born Polish painter who created a set of sketches and paintings depicting the struggles. Eventually the Russian general, besieged in his house, requested the permission to capitualte and after being gratned a truce he escaped to the Prussian camp nearby Warsaw. The fights ended April 19, with the last Russian units either routed or in retreat. General Mokronowski repeatedly vowed his cousin, King Stanisław August Poniatowski to support the uprising. However, the king refused and the power in the city was seized by the Temporary Highest Council (Template:Lang-pl) composed of the president of Warsaw Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski, Gen. Mokronowski, Józef Wybicki and Kiliński. On May 27 the council was dissolved and passed the power to Kościuszko's Highest National Council (Template:Lang-pl). In the following weeks the National Militia of Warsaw grew to over 20,000 men at arms and constituted a large part of the Polish Army fighting against Russia.

References

Inline:

1. ^ Henry Smith Williams, The Historians' History of the World, The Outlook Company, 1904, Google Print, p.418
2. Template:Pl icon PWN Encyclopedia, IGELSTRÖM IOSIF A.
3. Template:En icon Robert Bideleux. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Routledge. p. 161. ISBN 0415161126. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |chapterurl= and |coauthors= (help)
4. Grzegorz Reszka (2005). "Insurekcja kościuszkowska". polskiedzieje.pl. Retrieved March 29, 2006.
6. Template:En icon various authors. Joseph Klaits, Michael Haltzel, Lee H Hamilton (ed.). The Global Ramifications of the French Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 0521524474. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)

General:

1. Template:Pl icon Wacław Tokarz (1934). Insurekcja warszawska (17 i 18 kwietnia 1794 r.). Lwów: Ossolineum. p. 288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |chapterurl= and |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Gallery of Norblin's sketches
• Original document of the Accession of Warsaw to the National Uprising

• 1794
• Battles of the Kościuszko Uprising
• History of Warsaw