"The Empire of the Sejm" - a Polish AAR

[Rzeczpospolita]

Prelude

The year is 1795. The Kingdom of Poland has been in a period of steady decline, and there looks to be no hope for recovery. The Prussian Army looms across the western border, whilst the Russian Bear growls from the east. At present, the nation is ruled by King Stanislas Poniatowski. However, the peoples' hope lies not in their Monarch, but in their parliament. An aggressive politician within the Sejm named Krzysztof Kwasniew has begun to vow painful vengeance against all nations that dare threaten the perseity of Poland.

Prussia and Russia, however, seem to have deaf ears to Kwasniew's fiery words.

[Rzeczpospolita]

Chapter 1: "The Second Partition"

February 1795, Racibórz - KRAKÓW, POLAND; Polish/Prussian border

Miłosz Jolowna sighed heavily as he was informed. Governer Łalowski had just sent messangers about the province, stating that King Poniatowski had issued a call-to-arms. All of Poland was being summoned to help resist the surge of usurpers. But alas, much of Poland had already given up hope of resistance. Word had spread that in Volyn, nary larger a group than five thousand men had answered the call and reported to Brest-Litovsk. On the other hand, in Podlasia, more men than guns appeared in Lublin. Miłosz's good friend Jan simply shook his head and laughed grimly.

"Will you go, Miłosz? All the way to Kraków, only to be sent back here to your death?"

"Do you expect any less of me, Jan? When I die, I shall take a thousand Prussians with me to my grave." To that, Jan laughed. "If I were you, Jan, I would...-"

He was cut off by the sound of hooves colliding with the earth, much in the same arrogant manner as "Prussian Cavalry! Holy God, they have arrived already," cried Jan.

"Then let us make them regret stopping in Racibórz!!" growled Miłosz, who already carried a pitchfork in his hands.

¤ ¤ ¤

March 1795, Vilnius - LITHUANIA, POLAND

"RIDE! Sons of Russia, RIDE! For the glory of the motherland, let us destroy all resistance!" shouted General Vladislav Suvorov.

And so they did. Almost twenty-thousand horsemen plodded acrost the Polish landscape, the sun rising behind them, illuminating the scene of terrified peasants. In the distant north, war horns of Lithuania were being sounded. By the time the Knights of Białystok arrived, however, Vilnius lie in ruin and flame, scorched by the terrifying army of Suvorov, which rode on towards Brest-Litovsk.

¤ ¤ ¤

June 1795, WARSZAWA - MAZUR (Masovia), POLAND

The night lit up with fire, as rooftops burned under the hail of Prussian artillery batteries. The city of Warsaw was decimated before it was awoken, and by the time the Polska Armia even set foot into the majestic city, all that was left of the western half was a sickening mix of rubble and bone and blood. The east remained largely untouched. Looming in the distance was General Blücher's prize: the Palace of King Stanislas II Poniatowski. Capturing the Palace would ensure Prussian victory. "Let not Warsaw fall to Russian troops!" The prestigious general had shouted before the expedition set off. "The fall of Poland shall be credited to GERMANS!"

Prince Joszef Poniatowski, Stanislas' son, surveyed his crushed city, as he marched his men calmly to face those of General Blücher. "You shall pay dearly for what you have done today, Friedrich."

Blücher snorted, and snarled in response: "You'll be crushed. Perhaps you have superior numbers, but you have inferior weapons, inferior armour..." he smirked. "And an inferior lineage."

If the words stung Poniatowski, he did not show it. In fact, he smiled coldly into the azure eyes of his opponent. "Of all people, a German should know not to tempt fate with Slavs. Today, if every last one of the men behind me must die for it, I shall see your blood stain the streets of Warsaw!" With that, his men unleashed a furious battle cry. He stepped calmly behind his riflemen, and smiled as they opened fire on the already blasting Prussian front line.

"If the man in front of you is not Polish, let him die!" he shouted, and his troops gave a great yell in affirmation. He then turned to his second in command, General Kosciuszko. "Antanas." he muttered. "Draw your men south, to the borders of Podlasia. As soon as you have reached the border, turn back, and head north-northwest. Attack the Prussians from their lower flank. We shall hold them here."

Kosciuszko nodded in understanding, and immediately he ordered his troops to march southward.

* * *

"There is movement in their lines!" shouted Blücher to his men, firing shots of his pistol between words. "They are beginning their retreat. Press the attack!" He cried, and his men began to close in on the steadily decreasing Polish force.

* * *

But the Polish front held, though they suffered innumerable casualties. Kosciuszko's men seemed to appear from nowhere, and lay into the Prussians heavily. It took a full five months, but by November, the German regiments had been reduced to nothing.

Prince Poniatowski smiled as his foot pressed down upon the German general's neck. "You see, Friedrich? You have crossed the wrong people. When you burn in Hell, I hope that Satan gives you a good view of Berlin. I will personally be there when the Polish flag rises above it."

With that, he lifted his foot briefly, before slamming it down into his enemy's throat, snapping the vertebrae cleanly, and allowing his blood to flow upon the streets.

Warsaw remained under control of Poland.

-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=-

For curious folks:

-=:POLAND:=-
MASOVIA: Poland
Podlasia: Poland
Volyn: Poland
Krakow: Prussia
Lithuania: Russia

[Rzeczpospolita]

Chapter 2: "Niech żyje Polska!"

At the end of 1795, the Poles had lost much of their territory. But, the Polska Armia was resilient and strong, and held on to Masovia and Podlasia. An expeditionary force had been dispatched to secure Kraków, which had since fallen.

The Russians assaulted Warsaw, but their force was too small to inflict any major damage upon the city.

Soon enough, Kosciuszko had taken back Lithuania from the Russians.

January 1796, WARSZAWA - MAZUR (Masovia), POLAND

The victories in Masovia and Lithuania inspired the courage of many men. It had incited thousands more men to extreme patriotism. One of such men was Krzysztof Kwasniew, who stood before the Sejm, and demanded attention.

"Gentlemen of the Sejm. It has clearly been demonstrated over these past few days, that Poland is in dire jeopardy. Our King, Stanislas II has done NOTHING to ebb the tide of foreign invaders in our lands. I propose that this very council of thirteen, that this Mighty Sejm overthrow the fledgeling Monarch, and take the reigns of Poland for our own."

Antanas Tęcza, a representative, stood. "An excellent suggestion. There is only one problem. We haven't the power to do that. The King's own son controls our military. Our coup will never work."

Kwasniew grinned deviously. "Wrong. Prince Poniatowski, for all intents and purposes, is dead. He died at the battle of Racibórz, which initiated this Hellish onslaught. He had gone into hiding, and switched places with one Miłosz Jolowna. The commander of our military now is this Jolowna. The King has not overseen a single military action since the beginning of his reign, so he is none the wiser. Jolowna supports our cause. The only thing left to do is march a small force into the Palace, and demand control."

In the coming weeks, it is said that even though war was being fought throughout the city, the streets of Warsaw were silent. All waited, as a hundred Polish soldiers entered the Palace, and did not exit for days. When they came, word was spread out through the nation that King Stanislas II Poniatowski had officially resigned his crown to Krzysztof Kwasniew -- Hegemon of the Sejm.

* * *

Kwasniew and his underlings of the Sejm promised to drive out the Prussians and Russians. They declared that they would make examples of the two Imperialist nations, and turn Poland into a European power once again.

Almost as soon as the Sejm took control of Poland, the Russians withdrew from Poland, and seemingly prayed the Prussians could work alone. The Sejm could now focus their might on one front: Prussia.

Colonel Siciński's forces trekked across the Prussian-Polish border, and lay their sights on the former Polish province of Wielkopolska. Kosciuszko headed right into the province of Prussia, hoping to smash the enemy where they were strongest.

As soon as Polish troops entered Gniezno, the governor threw the white flag in front of Siciński.

"We have been waiting years for your return. If you give us some time, we shall prepare some men who will be willing to accompany you. All the way to Berlin, if that is where you are headed."

Siciński sighed. "I have been ordered to go into the heart of Poźnan, but no further, unless necessary. This war will re-take only what we have lost. We shall not capture any enemy territory unless it is essential to victory. I have been assigned to Wielkopolska and Poźnan. The great General Kosciuszko is headed north, for our port of Gdańsk."

"Then please," asked the governor. "Allow us to join your noble cause. We will gladly free our brothers in Poźnan!"

The colonel shook his head. "We must press on. We cannot wait. I am sorry. Feel free to follow us when you are prepared. we are marching straight for the centre of the province. it is not far from here."

"We shall aide in any way we can. Good luck to you and your men. "Niech żyje Polska!"

The men in Siciński's unit, and at times, the colonel himself, cried out in echo of the governor's cry. Soon enough, through all the mountains of Poland, it was heard:

"Niech żyje Polska!"
"Niech żyje Polska!"
"NIECH ŻYJE POLSKA!"

-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=-

For curious folks:

-=:POLAND:=-
MASOVIA: Poland
Podlasia: Poland
Volyn: Poland
Krakow: Poland
Lithuania: Poland

-=:PRUSSIA:=-
Wielkopolska: Poland
Prussia: Prussia
Poznan: Prussia
Danzig: Prussia
Brandenberg: Prussia

[Stroph1]

Not a great poistion, but your troops are fighting valiently!

"Niech żyje Polska!"

[Storey]

It's going to be difficult to win but I'll bet you can do it. Good luck.

Joe