Der Kriegerprinz lebt - How a Warrior Prince changed European History

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In 1701, Europe had once again become engulfed in War, this time on both sides of the Continent. In the West, King Carlos II de Hapsburg of Spain had died without issue and due to that, there was no true heir to the Spanish Hapsburgs and the line had died out. This lead to a succession crisis as two men now had claim to the Throne of Spain : Phillip of France, the Duke of Anjou and Grandson to Louis XIV and Archduke Charles von Hapsburg of Austria, Carlos’ Austrian cousin. Both men had a strong claim due to the fact that Louis XIV and Charles’ father Emperor Leopold I von Hapsburg of Austria, were not just the husbands of Carlos’ older half sisters but also sons of his aunts. Phillip’s claim had stronger legitimacy due to the fact that the Bourbon claim was older than Leopold’s, but the Austrian branch of the Hapsburgs claimed that Phillip’s grandmother, Queen Maria Theresa von Habsburg of France, recounced the Spanish throne for herself and her descendents as part of her marriage contract. The French countered that the contract was supposed to be paid by a never given dowry and so the Bourbons would take Spain as that Dowry.



Despite the Duke of Anjou declaring that he would give up any and all claims to the Throne of France in order to become King of Spain, the prospect of the French having influence over the massive global empire under Spain’s control was too much to bear and thus a coalition of England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, Hapsburg Spaniards, and the Brandenburg-Prussia and Poland-Lithuania Union, perhaps due to the influence of Queen Maria Anna Josepha, who was a sister of Emperor Leopold and Aunt to the Claimant Charles, on King Karol Emile I, her husband, sprung up and challenged Phillip and Louis, starting the War of the Spanish Succession.



In the East, A grand coalition of Russia, Denmark, and the Brandenburg-Prussia and Poland-Lithuania Union declared war on the Swedish Empire in 1700 for a variety of reasons, with the Danish looking to regain lost land in Scania that was failed to be gained in the Scania War 21 years prior, Russia was looking to regain land that had been lost in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, which ended their access to the Baltic, and the Brandenburg-Prussia and Poland-Lithuania Union was looking to gain land in Pomerania and Livonia. Sweden, under the leadership of the 14 year old Charles XII, wasn’t thought of by the alliance as much of a threat due to Charles XI’s isolationism and pacifism during his reign, but this would be changed by his successor, who sought his own personal glory and gain.



The first war that began in earnest was the War in the East, with King Frederik IV of Denmark, a son-in-law of sorts to the King of Poland and brother-in-law to the heir Oskar’s brother, Karl August, marrying Frederik’s sister, Sophia Hedwig, launched an attack on Sweden’s ally of Holstein-Gottorp, laying siege to the city of Tonning in March of 1700. At the same time, King Karol Emile I Kudas launched a double offensive, with his own personal force heading for Livonia while his sons, the Princes Oskar and Jacobus, were sent to Pommerania with their own forces. Soon, Karol reached the city of Riga, while the Princes reached the city of Stettin. Finally, Russia, under Tsar Peter I Romanov, launched their own offensive to Swedish Ingria near Finland, looking to take the crucial fortress of Narva.



Charles would determine that Denmark was the lesser threat and would be easier to defeat and remove as a threat. The Swedish Baltic Fleet was able to outmaneuver the Danish Blockade of Sound and landed an army near the Danish Capital City of Copenhagen. At the same time, an Anglo-Dutch fleet, with both states being allies of Sweden in this war, had also set course for Denmark. Together with Charles’ forces, they bombarded the city from July 20th-26th until finally, Denmark agreed to withdraw from the war in the Peace of Travendal. Following this speedy victory, Charles quickly moved his forces to the Baltic Coast and face the Russians and the German King of Poland. In November of that year, the First Battle of Narva saw Military success for the Swedish, giving the Russians a crushing and humiliating defeat.



With these victories, the Swedes looked to have the upper hand and make peace quickly, with Sweden’s chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna, attempting to do the bidding in the favour of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers to end the War and make Charles the Arbiter of Europe. These attempts failed, however, due to the key victories of the Polish and Germans respectfully at Riga and Stettin, with the first victory allowing for the Polish to take firm control of Southern Livonia and for the Germans to hold mastery over Pommerania. Charles, deciding to take matters into his own hands, marched south, looking to quickly defeat the Polish, depose Karol Emile, and then march into Russia. By this time, the Prince Karl August/Karol Augustus was in command of his own force of 24,000 and was to be the reserves of the main Army in Livonia, with the four major armies involved in the current engagements getting 10,000 men each from the newly raised Brandenburg-Prussian army of 40,000. This gave Karol a projected force of 108,000 thanks to his son’s own force with an additional 96,000 men at the ready in the Commonwealth and a combined 68,000 in Pomerania under the command of the Elder princes.



With the Dutch Republic and England’s withdrawal from the current war for the start of the War of the Spanish Succession, Charles realized he would have to act fast and marched to meet Karol’s massive force in South Livonia and soon, they would indeed meet and engage one another near the Lake Inesis in what is called the Battle of Inesi. The battle was 13 hours long, going from 7 AM - 8 PM on July 27th, 1701, but it would end in a stunning Polish victory. The Poles had suffered 300 dead, 900 wounded, and 70 missing while the Swedish, a smaller force of 77,000, had suffered even worse, with 950 dead, 2070 wounded, 580 captured, and 360 missing, likely captured as well. With this victory, the myth of Swedish military invincibility had been vanquished and Poland had once again become the preeminent military power in Eastern Europe. Never again would Sweden be able to launch an offensive against any member of the alliance.



Karol was able to return to Warsaw a victor and had been greeted with a surprising amount of supporters, who stated “Long live the King, for he has driven the Swedes back when no one else could!”. One of the first things the King would upon his return was to order the creation of another two armies of 24,000 in Poland and 20,000 in Brandenburg-Prussia in order to reinforce him in his campaigns going northward while he had Prince Karol Augustus remain in the Commonwealth to ensure loyalty while he was gone. In Pomerania, things changed a little when Prince Oskar was ordered to aid the Imperial Forces in the War of the Spanish Succession, thus leaving only Prince Jacobus’ force of 34,000. In order to give him more troops, a further 5,000 Brandenburg-Prussian troops and 10,000 more Polish Troops would be trained and sent to Brandenburg-Prussia in order to assist in the occupation of Pomerania. Karol would continue to move North with the Ultimate goal of taking Tallinn and thus ending Swedish Hegemony over the Baltic in favor of a return of Polish Hegemony.



Due to Poland’s success, Tsar Peter, looking to not be outdone by his Ally, went on the move, capturing Narva in 1703 as the Swedish were still reeling from their loss at Inesi. In the Summer of 1704, with Tallinn under siege by the Polish and the Russians having practically achieved their goal, Charles decided to take one last ditch effort to get Poland out of the War as Quickly as possible and that was to strike at the Home of the Polish King, Brandenburg-Prussia, more specifically, an Invasion of Brandenburg and the capture of Berlin to force Karol to the negotiating table. On April 15th 1705, Charles moved as quickly as he could to Pommerania, quickly resecuring Stettin after a quick and victorious battle against Prince Jacobus’ Force in June of 1705.



Panicking, Prince Karol Augustus moved his forces out of Poland and attempted to halt the Swedish Advance, inflicting a costly battle against the Swedes that, while still a victory for them, stalled their progress long enough for Karol, who had wrapped up his siege of Tallinn in May, to march south for his homeland’s defense. The King Elector’s force would meet with that of his Sons and two of the reserve forces he had ordered be recruited, bringing his force to that of 205,000 while Charles’ force was around 120,000. The two rulers would meet once again at the Battle of Templin, on August 22nd, 1705. The battle would rage for 17 hours from 6 AM to 11 PM with both sides battling with as much courage as possible, with Charles knowing this would be his last hope to change the War in Sweden’s favor while Karol knowing that this war would likely be the last major battle of the war should he win. At the end of the day, Charles ordered a hasty withdrawal, ending the battle in a pyrrhic victory for the Polish-German army, which suffered 820 killed, 4150 wounded, and 500 missing to the Swedish’s 210 dead, 920 wounded, and 140 missing.



However high the cost, Victory was still achieved and by the end of the Year, Sweden had lost all gains it had made. From 1706-1708, there would be minor battles between the Alliance and Sweden but nothing like the War from 1700-1705. On October 7th, 1708, Swedish Ambassadors to Poland and Russia sued for Peace and talks were held in the City of Dresden until an agreement was reached. On May 3rd 1709, the Great Northern War ended in the Treaty of Dresden that saw Poland gaining Livonia and Estonia, Brandenburg-Prussia gaining Pomerania, and Russia gaining Ingria before there were harsh restrictions placed upon Sweden’s military and navy and an agreement that 5 % of all it’s revenue for the next 10 years was to go to Russia, Poland-Lithuania, Brandenburg-Prussia, and Denmark equally, meaning that 20 % of Swedish Revenue was to go to foreign powers for a decade. Despite Charles’ initial reluctance, he had no real power to object and, fearing what might happen should he reject the treaty, he agreed to sign it. This war would end Swedish dominance in Eastern Europe for good and would also serve as the spark for the later Great Eastern War in 60 years.



In the West, the War began in earnest when France, looking to secure the Spanish dutchies in Italy,occupied Milan and Mantua and Victor Amadaeus II, Duke of Savoy, allied with France, his daughter Maria Louisa marrying Philip. In May 1701, this initial success was reversed with the arrival of an Imperial Army under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy in Northern Italy and by February 1702, victories at Carpi, Chiari, and Cremona would force the French forces behind the Adda River, East of Milan.



Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, who was one of France’s best generals at the time, was able to recover many of the losses but in October of 1703, Victor Amadaeus declared War on France. By May, France held all but Turin in Savoy with victories at Cassano and Calcinato forced the Imperialists back into the Trentino Valley. Many of these initial Imperial defeats was due to the fact that the manpower of their ally, Poland, was focused on their own war with Sweden which, by 1707, was all but over, thus allowing King Karol Emile to send forces to assist the Allies with some Russian Armies for assistance as well. A force of 58,000 Poles and Brandenburgers under the command of the general Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski arrived in Italy to assist Imperial Forces in November 1707, with an additional 22,000 Russians under the command of Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov backing them up thanks to the Agreement of Poltava of July 1707, which agreed that for 4 years, 51,000 Russian troops would be allowed to assist Poland and Alliance forces against France.



With the arrival of these extra 80,000 men was crucial for the Imperial war effort in Italy as it allowed them to attack and capture the key french base of Toulon before aiding Victor Amadaeus in retaking his lost territories of Nice and Savoy, with the Battle of Oulx culminating in the defeat of the French Army in the region as well as the Death of Vendôme, allowing Allied forces to march into Southern France nearly unchallenged. However, the french were not just being inflicted defeat after defeat in Italy, but elsewhere as well.



Early on in the war, the objective of the Alliance in the Low Countries theatre was the security of the Dutch Frontier, threatened by the Alliance of France, Bavaria, and the ruler of Liege and Cologne, Joseph Clemens of Bavaria. Throughout 1702, most of the barrier was recaptured by Allied forces but the 1703 campaign, marred by Imperial inefficiency, led to the failure to capture Antwerp and a defeat at Ekeren that would put the Alliance on the back foot. In the upper Rhine, early on, Imperial forces under the command of Louis of Baden was forced on the defensive, with the only offensive success being the capture of Landau in 1702.



Over the course of 1703, French victories at Friedlingen, Hochstadt, and Speyerbach along with the captures of Kehl and Breisach and the recapture of Landau would give a direct threat to Vienna, Austria’s capital. In 1704, Franco-Bavarian forces pushed their advantage by advancing while the Austrians would struggle against Rakoczi’s revolt in Hungary, diverting crucial imperial forces from every front. To relieve the pressure and keep the French forces distracted until the Polish were able to arrive en masse, the English general John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, First Lord of the Treasury, marched up the Rhine and united his forces with those of Louis of Baden and Eugene of Savoy before crossing the Danube on the 2nd of July. On the 13th of August, the major Allied victory at the Battle of Blenheim forced Bavaria out of the War and the Treaty of Ilbersheim placed it within Austria’s rule.



Attempts to exploit this success was floundered in 1705 due to the inefficiency of the allied forces once again, though by Late 1705, a force of 34,000 under the Polish Heir Oskar Kudas was able to enter the Theatre with an additional 6,000 Brandenburger and 12,000 Polish troops to assist the Imperial forces. The Prince took supreme command of the Allied Force and was able to launch proper offensives against France that saw many of their early victories reversed quickly and the capture of Antwerp in June 1706 led to a reversal of fortunes for the Allies to now be on the doorstep of victory in the Theatre, despite a revolt against Leopold’s oppressive rule in Bavaria in 1705. In March 1707, the Allies successfully breached Northern and Eastern French defences by taking Lille and Metz before later defeating French forces at the Battles of Bethune, Sedan, and Etain on June 6th, June 15th, and July 9th, forcing French forces to withdraw further in France. The Arrival of the forces of King Karol and Prince Jakub of Poland and Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev of Russia, a combined force of 210,000, to the Front put even more pressure on France to end the War, but Louis XIV remained defiant, believing that France needed to hold on just a little longer in order to turn the tide of the War and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.



The Allies, seeing how delusional this idea was thanks to their vast reserves of Manpower given by Poland and Russia, decided to launch a critical blow to the Bourbon Alliance. In March of 1708, the Allied forces in Italy went west instead of the South that the Bourbons were planning on, marching into and capturing the cities of Marseille and Avignon before defeating a combined Franco-Spanish Army in the Battle of Nimes on May 13th before being followed up by the capture of Montpellier a week later. On June 20th, the City of Toulouse fell to Allied forces and with it, for the first time in the war, the Spanish Mainland was under direct threat of Invasion by the Allies and, on July 6th-27th, the Allied forces, under the command of Prince Eugene, Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski, and Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, crossed the Pyrenees and arrived near Barcelona, a city held by the Pro-Grand Alliance Catalans and King Charles.



Early on, the Allies knew that victory in Spain was critical if Archduke Charles was to become the next King but until the 1707 and 1708 campaigns, the Habsburgs saw the defense of Northern Italy and Suppression of Hungary’s rebellion as much more crucial priorities for the war. The Anglo-Dutch approach to the Iberian theatre was a mercantilist strategy of securing trade in the medditerreanean and the acquiring of commercial access to Spain’s vast empire, which made it more important to the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic. The Kingdom of Spain itself was a union between the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and had been ever since the unification of the country in the 1490s under Ferdinand V of Castile and Isabella I of Aragon, with Aragon having been divided into the Principality of Catalonia, as well as the Kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia. Majorca, Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia had declared their support for Phillip in 1701 while Catalonia, spurred on by anti-Castilian and anti-French sentiment, supported Charles along with most of Aragon and Valencia, but this explanation simplifies what was, in theory at least, a civil war.



The Anglo-Dutch strategy required a naval base in the area in order to be successful. The attempted attack on Cadiz in September 1702 was a failure but victory at the Battle of Vigo Bay on the 23rd of October by the Dutch convinced King Peter II de Braganza of Portugal to change sides, joining the Grand Alliance and leaving the Bourbons in May of 1703. This gave the Allies key access to Lisbon and in March 1704, the newly crowned Charles III of Spain (Known locally as King Carlos III) arrived in Portugal to begin a land campaign. In May of 1704, a Bourbon army won several minor battles along the Spanish/Portugeuse border despite the Allied capture of Gibraltar, a vital position that determined access to the Medditerrenean. Attempts to retake it were repulsed in the Naval Battle of Malaga in August and a siege being abandoned in April 1705.



In June of 1705, the ‘Pact of Genoa’ forged by Catalan Representatives and England opened up a second front in the North east. The loss of Barcelona and Valencia to Catalonia’s rebellion left Toulon as the only major Bourbon port in the Western Medditerreanean until that city’s loss in 1707 to the Allies. Phillip attempted to retake Barcelona in May 1706 but his efforts were repulsed and, with his absence, Allied forces from Portugal were able to briefly enter Madrid and Zaragossa before resupply difficulties were met, forcing them to withdraw. By November, Phillip would have control of all of Spain except Catalonia, where Charles had arrived to after his failed portugal expedition.



Every attempt to regain the initiative in 1707 was stopped with the Allied defeat at Almanalsa in April. However, with the capture of Toulon and the arrival of the large Allied force at Barcelona, as well as the British capturing Menorca in 1708 and the Alliance’s forces marching closer and closer to the gates of Paris in France causing French troops in Spain to return to defend their homeland, the theatre looked to be turning in favor of the allies once more. In September of 1708, Valencia had been recaptured by the Allies as well as the Captures of Murcia, Cartagena, and Almeria in October and November respectfully and the British capture of Malaga and Huelva would effectively give the allies control of Spain’s East and South Coasts. With the captures of Seville and Granada by the end of the year as well as the major victories in France, the War was effectively turning in favor of the Grand Alliance.



However, in January of 1709, the Alliance hit a snag. Knowing that most of this success was due to his large forces, which were assisting the Alliance’s manpower shortages going into the sixth year of war, as well as the Russian forces, King Karol had the bargaining power over them and thus, he requested that Emperor Joseph elevate the Duchy of Prussia, which he had ruled along with Brandenburg since 1688, to the Status of Kingdom, meaning he would be both King of Poland AND King of Prussia, a dual kingdom as well as confirm Prince Oskar as heir to Brandenburg, Prussia, Poland, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire (Oskar was elected Prince of the Romans in 1707 by the Empire, making him the official heir to the emperor in the case he should not have a male heir). The Emperor was placed in a pickle, for if this happened, the Austrian realm could grow massively in the East, something that could likely lead to another succession war and there would be a rival kingdom to the Habsburgs rule of Bohemia.. However, King Karol had stated that if his demands weren’t met, then he would withdraw from the war and thus, his forces would no longer be available (though it has become clear to future historians that this was a threat that wouldn’t be acted upon due to Queen Maria Anna Josepha’s influence over the King to support her nephews).



On February 16th, Joseph relented and thus, on March 3rd 1709, King Karol Emile I of Poland, also known as Elector Karl Emil I of Brandenburg, was declared King Karl Emil I of Prussia and given an official throne and crown. He would signify this gigantic moment by annexing Brandenburg unofficially and West Prussia officially into East Prussia, uniting his old realm into one complete kingdom. This convinced the Polish King to stay in the war and fight for a tad bit longer, though the Agreement of Poltava was nearing its second year and coming close to expiration, meaning the war would have to end quickly in order to ensure the russian forces remained in the war. In April, the Alliance decided to make six pushes all at once. In the South of Iberia, they would head to Toledo. In the East of Iberia, they would push to Cuenca. In the West of Iberia, they would capture Leon and push towards Salamanca. In the North of Iberia, after securing landfall, they would push towards Aranda de Duero.



In France, the forces in the North would push towards Paris while the forces in the East would push towards Troyes before both forces consolidated together and besieged Versailles. A Number of Battles were fought at Bilbao, Zaragoza, Salamanca, Ponferrada, Ciudad Real, Burgos, Valladolid, Soria, Boniches, Amiens, Compiegne, Verdun, and Chaumont throughout May-July of 1709 and with the signing of the Treaty of Dresden officially ending the Polish war against Sweden in May meaning that the full might of Poland would be put on the Bourbon Alliance, it was clear the War was approaching its end. Phillip of Anjou, with his situation worsening by the day, fled to France knowing that the war in Spain was lost while Louis XIV, realizing that the War was most certainly not going to end in France’s favor unless something changed quickly, attempted to rally all remaining French forces to battle one last time. From August to October, Madrid and Paris were under siege before falling in Early November. The Last major battle of the War was when Louis XIV battled King Karol at the Battle of Sens on November 19th, a major french defeat that convinced Louis to finally sue for peace after over 8 years of complete war.


For months, both sides discussed a peace treaty to the end of the war in the city of Moscow, granted by Karol’s friend and ally Tsar Peter I the Great who agreed to be Arbiter of the talks, until on July 15th, 1710, the Treaty of Moscow was finalized with the following terms :

• Archduke Charles von Habsburg of Austria is to be recognized as King Carlos III de Habsburg of Spain while giving up his claims to the Austrian realm as well as to Naples and Sicily.
  
  
  
• Philip de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, Grandson of King Louis XIV of France, and Son of Grand Dauphin of France Louis de Bourbon, is to become King Felipe IV de Bourbon of Naples and Sicily, giving up all claims to the French and Spanish Throne for him and his future descendents.
  
  
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• King Karol Emile I of Poland-Lithuania is to be recognized as the King of Prussia along with his realms in Brandenburg and Poland
  
  
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• Polish Prince and Heir Apparent to the throne of Prussia Oskar von Hohenzollern-Habsburg/Kudas-Habsburg was to be recognized as the Heir to Austria and the Prince of the Romans, Heir to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In return, Oskar will forfeit his realms in Hungary and Italy to Emperor Joseph I’s Daughters Maria Josepha (Who is to become Queen of Hungary) and Maria Amalia as Queen of Italy while also forfeiting his realm in Romania to his Uncle, Count Frederick von Hohenzollern of Neumark. The Prince will forfeit any claims of his or his future descendents for these realms.
  
  
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• The reforms that Philip of Anjou enforced in Spain during his time as the Pretender King are to be recognized and maintained under the rule of Carlos III and his successors.
  
  
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• Sardinia is to be ceded from Spain to the Duchy of Savoy.
  
  
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• Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy is to be recognized as King Victor Amadeus I of Sardinia.
  
  
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• The Spanish Netherlands is to be ceded to Austria.
  
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• The Dutch Republic is allowed to create several fortresses inside the former Spanish Netherlands for protection against future French incursions.
  
  
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• All members of the Grand Alliance gain Commercial rights in Spain’s Empire
  
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• All Gains made by Britain in Iberia is to be returned to Spain
  
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• Prince Oskar would rule Bavaria temporarily until he ascends to the thrones of either Prussia or Austria first, in which case his other uncle, Margrave Christian Ludwig von Hohenzollern of Brandenburg-Schwedt, is to become the next ruler of Bavaria.
  
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• Upon Oskar’s ascension of Holy Roman Emperor, the Duchy of Silesia in full will be ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia while the electorate of Bohemia will be transferred to Bavaria, as no single ruler can hold two electorates.
  
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• France is to pay a hefty 10 % of its yearly income to all members of the grand alliance at the start of every year for the next five years (Beginning on January 1st, 1711)
  
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• France is to keep her military restricted by 16 % and her navy restricted by 25 % for the next 10 years.
  
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• All Allied gains made in the campaigns of 1707-1709 in France proper will be returned to France while Antwerp, Liege, and several other cities and provinces in the Empire and Netherlands is to be annexed by Austria or Prussia respectfully.
  
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• All signatures of this treaty officially ratify this treaty and the next King of France is to recognize the Treaty himself upon his ascension as well as any new monarch of the throne of any of the States that sign the original treaty is to declare the continuation of these terms until the tenth year (January 1st, 1721) has passed.
  
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• This treaty is to take full effect on January 1st, 1711.
  
  

Initially, Archduke Charles wanted to push further and take Naples and Sicily but at this point, all sides were exhausted of War and threatened to leave the alliance should Charles continue the war on his own, forcing him to recognize the reality of the situation. With the signing of the treaty, all European powers demobilized their forces, with King Karol keeping his force of around 75,000 intact and standing for the post war period. King Carlos III was disliked by the Spanish populace but they had no other option but to accept him as their king and were indeed glad he kept many of Phillip’s reforms intact. Meanwhile, France was in crisis. After 9 years, a War in favor of the King’s grandson ended with little to no gain for France itself besides gaining the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily as an Ally through Phillip of Anjou, though it would take many more years for the populace’s distaste for costly wars that had little to no gain for France despite the word of the monarch to finally boil to a fever pitch.



Russia and Poland, however, had been able to take their rightful spots as the masters of Eastern Europe with Russia now gaining battle hardened men who fought in Western Europe for 2 years while King Karol gained enough legitimacy to bring about the reformation of Vivente Rege in Poland, which allowed for the election of the next King while the current was still living. Many in the Sejm initially rejected the proposal and rose up in the July Revolt of Pinsk-Baranovichi, which was brutally crushed under King Karol’s boot. Days later, Prince Oskar was elected as the next King of Poland when Karol died. It was with this reform that slowly, King Karol and later his successors would go about removing the power of the Sejm until it was a mere puppet of the King, bringing Absolutism and Stability to Poland.

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As you notice, much of everything up to Riga in the GNW and up till 1705 is the same and that’s due to the fact that really, I don’t think much would’ve changed early on because the things that have happened don’t really change much of the military situation until Later on. From here on out, however, everything changes.

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No problem genyodectes, take your time.

Nothing to add, only that I like the detail you have put in there, again, keep up the work.