(The young author apologizes for being dissatisfied with the , and so has rewritten it, causing today's second chapter to still be unfinished. It is estimated that it will take another hour and a half. The author is sorry for this. Moreover, today's additional update is probably not going to come out, but it will definitely be made up for tomorrow.)
Phase One: Partition of Poland
On February 19, 1773, Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed an agreement in Vienna to partition Poland. In early August, the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies simultaneously invaded Poland and occupied Polish territories according to the partition agreement.
On August 5, 1773, Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed the treaty to partition Poland. According to the treaty, Belarus between the Drut River and the Dnieper River as well as parts of Latvia, with an area of 92,000 square kilometers and a population of 1.3 million; Prussia occupied Warmia, Pomerania Province excluding Gdansk, Helmnos Province except for Torun, and Malbork Province, with an area of 36,000 square kilometers and a population of 600,000; Austria occupied Krakow Province, the southern part of Sandomierz Province, and the majority of Galicia, with an area of 83,000 square kilometers and a population of 2.65 million.
Phase Two: Accumulation of Conflicts
By 1791, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had deteriorated to such a degree in domestic affairs that it couldn't extricate itself. In foreign affairs, the Commonwealth had formed an abnormal and fatal alliance with its enemy, Prussia.
The Russian-Polish Pact signed in 1790 provided the illusion of security protection to the alliance. The May 3rd Constitution granted electoral rights to the middle class, established a government with separation of powers, and eliminated the pernicious influence of Lapunism. These reforms sparked aggression from the neighboring countries wary of the Commonwealth's revival. Another Polish reform, carried out without Russia's permission, infuriated Catherine II once more. European nations perceived Poland as following in the footsteps of revolutionary France. Russia, tormented by the radical Jacobins, dispatched its army to invade the Commonwealth in 1792.
In the Russian-Polish War of 1792, the Russia-aligned Polish nobility of the Targowica Confederation clashed with Polish forces that supported the Constitution, hoping that the Russian Army would help them return to a noble democracy. The Prussian allies later switched sides, and under the combined pressure of the Targowica Army and the regular Russian forces, the pro-Constitution Polish forces were defeated. Russia's invasion of Poland stifled the country's reforms. The secret aim of the Russian forces was to facilitate another partition (Russia viewed Poland as a protectorate and felt there was no need to let this juicy piece of land slip into other countries' hands). King Frederick William II of Prussia saw these events as an opportunity for territorial expansion. Catherine II demanded Frederick to betray his Polish allies and join the First Anti-French Alliance (which Russia encouraged its participation in and where Prussia suffered a significant defeat), with Prussia being compensated with a more appropriate reward—parts of Polish territory. Russia then decided to accept Prussia's proposal.
On January 23, 1793, Prussia signed an agreement with Russia agreeing to revoke Poland's reforms, and both countries would receive their share of the federal territory. The Russian and Prussian armies occupied the territories they had soon after demanded, with Russian forces already occupying the territories it had claimed, while Prussian forces encountered little resistance.
In 1793, the last Sejm convened by the Confederation, the Grodno Sejm, agreed to the territorial claims of Russia and Prussia under the presence of Russian troops. The Grodno Sejm was infamous not only because it was the confederation's last Sejm but also because its members were bribed and threatened by the Russian forces, as both Russia and Prussia sought formal and legal approval from Poland for their territorial demands. Russia received parts of Minsk Province, Kyiv Province, Braklow Province, Podolia Province, and Vilnius Province, as well as parts of Novogrudok Province, Brest-Litovsk Province, and Volhynia Province (a total of 250,000 square kilometers). It gained recognition from the Grodno Sejm on July 22. Russia incorporated its new territories into Minsk Province, Podolia Province, and Volhynia Province. Prussia received Gdansk (Danze), Thorn, the provinces of Gniezno, Poznan, Sieradz, Kalish, Pulwotsk, Bydgoszcz-Kuyavia, Inowrocław, the Dobreń Region, and parts of Cracow Province, Lava Province, and Mazovian Province (a total of 58,000 square kilometers). It gained recognition from the Grodno Sejm on September 25. Prussia incorporated its new territories into South Prussia. After the second partition, Poland lost about 308,000 square kilometers of land, with its territory reducing to 223,000 square kilometers, and lost 2 million people, leaving its population at only 3.4 million, a mere third of the population before the first partition (10 million).
The third phase: Uprising
On March 24, 1794, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a veteran who had returned from the frontline of the American Revolutionary War, declared a general uprising and took command of all Polish forces. He also swore, "Not to use these powers to oppress anyone, but to defend the integrity of the territories of Poland, to restore national independence, and to protect the liberty of all."
To consolidate the Polish forces, Kosciuszko drafted a conscription order that commanded every five houses in Lesser Poland to send at least one able-bodied man as a representative, equipped with a "Dragon Rider Gun, a lance, or an ax." The Rebel Army that Kosciuszko mobilized, consisting of talented men aged between 18 and 40, numbered at least 10,000. The difficulty of supplying sufficient equipment to the Rebel Army led Kosciuszko to set up militias armed with scythes.
To eliminate the still weak opposition, Tsarist Russia dispatched Brigadier Feodor Denisov's regiment to attack Krakow. On April 4, the two armies met near Racławice Village. In the battle known as the Battle of Racławice, Kosciuszko's troops defeated the numerically superior and better-equipped enemy. After a bloody fight, the Russian forces retreated from the battlefield. Kosciuszko's forces were too weak to pursue and expel the Russian troops from Lesser Poland. Although the strategic significance of this victory was negligible, news of the victory spread quickly, and other parts of Poland joined the uprising. In early April, the Polish Army gathered around Lublin and Volhynia, ready to be dispatched to Russia to join Kosciuszko's forces.
On April 17 in Warsaw, Russia attempted to arrest those suspected of supporting the uprising and to downsize the weak Warsaw Polish Guard under General Stanisław Mokronowski by closing the arsenal on Miodowa Street. This led to an uprising against the Russian guards in Warsaw, led by Jan Kilinski, in front of the indecisive King of Poland Stanisław August Poniatowski. The insurgents were helped by the incompetent Russian envoy and commander Iosif Igelström, and in fact, that day being Holy Thursday, many of the Russian soldiers had come to church for Holy Communion unarmed.