Josef Anton Poniatowski
The Fighting Marshals
by Ian Barstow, UK
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Hmm, doesn't sound very French to me, said the wife, when she asked what this month's collection of reference books were doing littering the floor. And of course, she'd be right. Very astute, my wife, although like most women knows next to nothing about war. Mind you, if Poniatowski had been an aerobics instructor . . . but I digress.
Poniatowski was born on May 7th, 1763 in Vienna, the son of a senior Austrian officer and soon to be a hereditary prince with smatterings of descent from all across Europe. This is not considered essential background information for a marshal of Napoleon's France, but read on anyway.
A year after his birth, Poniatowski's uncle, Stanislaus Augustus was elected king of Poland and thus chucked out a few principalities to the immediate family, as you do. With his father dying in 1773 and his mother an invalid, it was Uncle Stan who take the major interest in young Josef's upbringing. Indeed, it was the King's reformist ideas which were passed on to his nephew. Poland, as has so often been the case throughout history, was in a right mess, rocked on both sides of the boat by loony nationalist and hovering superpowers waiting to carve the place up. Not good.
Stanislaus was frankly past his sell-by date, but he nurtured great hopes that his nephew would carry the torch forwards and to this end he was scrupulously educated with a heavy emphasis on the martial side of the business. In 1778 the young prince was commissioned into the Austrian army, joining the 2nd Carabiniers, and fitting in well with the expected dashing lifestyle of the young cavalry subaltern. Needless to say, he was bossing a squadron by 1781 and by 1786 was lieutenant-colonel of Joseph II's Light Horse. He did show a degree of ability but let's face it, Charles Hawtry would have got on well if he'd had those credentials.
During this time he came under the influence of one General Mack, who proceeded to fill the prince full of useless information about the Seven Years' War. Good to see that he was up to speed with current events. Parallel to this, Poniatowski was being groomed for a life in high politics. About this time the Turks were kicking up a bit of a fuss and having failed in an attempt to raise a Freikorps to fight in Serbia (oops!) Poniatowski was none too impressed with being transferred onto the imperial staff as an aide-de-camp to Francis II. He wanted to get stuck in.
Rather unexpectedly, he got his opportunity. In the April of 1788 the Austrians were besieging Sabatch on the River Save, and desperate for some glory, Poniatowski volunteered to lead an infantry assault on April 24th. Getting to the citadel's rampart, he was caught in a shell-burst which made a nasty mess of his thigh and was at one point on the critical list. On the plus side Francis bumped him up to full colonel for his bravery. It did mean a considerable lay off though, and the prince was left recuperating for the remainder of the year. Then in January 1789 he was recalled to Poland.
Sad to Go
Poniatowski was sad to go. He had been well treated by the Austrians, and had enjoyed his time with the Emperor, yet he was pragmatic enough to ensure that he was released from his oath never to bear arms against Austria. He knew his duties. What he did not know was how much the king expected of him with regards to endangering his own principles of honesty and loyalty. Welcome to the ever-seedy world of politics.
It had been decided by the Diet to raise an army of over 100,000 troops, and the prince suddenly found himself a major-general and sitting on commissions to determine regulations. This was way over his head, and he was shocked at the political machinations which he saw all around him. All this did not stop him getting a reputation as a ladies man ( a fact which delights me as we seem to share the same chubby cheeks) although heavy sessions of boozing did not do his constitution any good at all. In 1790 he took command of the 4th Division at Braclaw, where his limitations as a low-level cavalry commander quickly became obvious.
In 1792 the new Polish constitution made Catherine of Russia apoplectic, and before long there was war. The Russians invaded the Ukraine and came up against Poniatowski, who now commanded the Polish troops there. By all accounts he was more than a little nervous at the prospect of having to command so many troops, but he was nothing if not bold. Initially outnumbered three-to-one, and by better troops, Poniatowski was easily outmanoeuvred by his opposite number Kakhowski. Support failed to arrive as he reserve commander had received a timely bung from the Russians, and the king's bottle was already going.
Running around in ever decreasing circles, Poniatowski accidentally ambushed a column of Russians under Markov, but showing his lack of experience, the prince allowed the Russians to escape with just a middle-range beating, rather than the annihilation which fate had presented him with. It was June 18th, 1792, the same day that King Stanislaus Augustus accepted the Convention of Targowice, which effectively made Poland the Czarina's puppet. Poniatowski was appalled. He considered kidnapping the king, influenced by patriotic zealots, but abandoning that idea he took on a death wish instead, but failed to get himself killed leading risky forays. Finally on July 30th he resigned his commission, disgusted by what Poland had become. Within a few weeks a pamphlet was circulating, written by the prince, wherein he stated that there would be a reckoning for the humiliation which the country had suffered. Unable to tolerate such subversive behaviour, good old Uncle Stan banished him.
Refusing to live under Russian orders, the prince first sought shelter in his old stamping ground of Vienna. For a while Poniatowski's name became mud in Poland, and people rather unfairly blamed him for the king's behaviour. There was a massive groundswell of resentment against the Russians, and in 1794 it boiled over into insurrection. However Poniatowski played no substantive part in it. He id return to Poland, but ended up serving as an ordinary soldier, refusing to take a command due to his political unpopularity. There was an uncomfortable Jacobin mood in the air, and Poniatowski's head must have felt quite uncomfortable on its shoulders for a while.
The leadership of the insurrection had faith in him, several having at one time or another served under him, and eventually he was persuaded to take over a division. This did not go too well and he was overrun by a Prussian offensive, resigning his command in shame. Sadly to compound things Suvorov showed up to crush the revolt and the prince found himself without a command and back in Warsaw, where he had ample time to lick his wounds and ponder over his shortcomings as a commander.
Until 1806 Poniatowski's life is notably uninteresting, based as it was around his estates near Warsaw, which at the time was under Prussian occupation. Catherine of Russian had died in 1796 and the new Tzar, Paul, was a different kettle of fish, and it seems that Russia and Prussia were falling over themselves to award him with things, presumably to get him on-side, as it were. Despite all these 'gifts', Poniatowski succeeded in remaining conspicuously neutral, loathing state politics as he did. In 1806 the king of Prussia made the prince Governor of Warsaw and Minister of War in the new provisional Polish government. Just in time in fact for the victorious French army to show up.
French Overture
Luckily the prince's current mistress was French, a Madame de Vauban, who helped persuade Poniatowski that the best route to full Polish independence was through links with that well known reformer, Napoleon. Early in January 1807 he met Murat in Warsaw, gave him a top-notch antique sword (Stephen Bathori's, if you must know) and promptly got himself an influential friend in the French court. However the Emperor was far less impressed, recognising the prince's weak political skills and not noticing much in the way of a great military record. In fact he described him as a 'lightweight.' Nevertheless, Napoleon had plans for Poland and thus Poniatowski must play a part. Accordingly he was appointed Minister of War in the new Polish Directory and given command of the 1st Polish Legion in French service. For his part Poniatowski was suspicious of the Emperor, believing that he would use Poland for his own ends and then drop her, but despite numerous attempts he failed to get a proper commitment out of Napoleon.
By now Poniatowski's Poland had shrunk to become the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and following the Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 it went to the king of Saxony, much to the prince's disgust. That October he was made commander-in-chief of the Grand Duchy's forces, but under the authority of Davout. Even so, the prince believed that sticking with Napoleon was the best hope for a united Poland.
In 1808 Poniatowski began reorganising his army. He scrapped the system of legions with a proper structure and imposed national conscription. The following year he founded artillery and engineering schools and the latest French tactics were adopted. During this time napoleon began to get a little more impressed, and seeing some potential for troops, he offered the prince a deal. Furnish him with 40,000 well-trained men, and he would restore full Polish independence. Whether or not he had personal doubts about how genuine the offer was, Poniatowski set about the task with some zeal.
Then in 1809, Poniatowski finally got to play with the good guys. If you're French, that is. Napoleon ordered the prince to make aggressive demonstrations along the Galician border, believing that the Poles would be supported by the Russians under Galitzin. Unfortunately the Russians had turned coats and were secretly intent on carving up Poland once and for all.
Thus when Archduke Ferdinand advanced on Warsaw with 30,000 men in April, the Poles were caught with their trousers down. With only 17,000 men, Poniatowski made a stand at Raszyn, fighting well in an inevitable but glorious defeat which went a long way to securing his place in the hearts of the Polish troops. However, this time, instead of gloom and resignation, Poniatowski was filled with a burning nationalistic pride. Having been obliged to surrender Warsaw, a general civil uprising enabled him to scare the pants off Ferdinand, who he chased all over the place, capturing Cracow and becoming a national hero, not to mention significantly enlarging the territory of the Grand Duchy in the process. Napoleon was both surprised and delighted, and a Sabre of Honour arrived by first class post.
Things then slowed up in 1810, and although Napoleon had a far higher regard or the bold Pole's military prowess, he recognised that politically he was something of a loose cannon, and thus had to be treated with great care. Poniatowski had been approached by Tzar Alexander with all sorts of offers of independence et cetera, should he turn coats himself. Recognising Alexander for what he was, Poniatowski reported all this to Napoleon, gaining some extra military funding as a reward.
Bad Year: 1812
1812 turned out to be a very bad year. Initially of course it all seemed rather good. Napoleon informed Poniatowski of his plans to sort out the Russians big time, and this sent a thrill of nationalism throughout the Grand Duchy, which smelt freedom at the end of the tunnel. The Polish contribution of 30,000 men in three infantry divisions and one cavalry division became V Corps along with the Saxons, and command was given to Poniatowski. The Corps fought in a hard supporting role at Smolensk and the prince performed well, but like many others was surprised by Napoleon's orders to follow the retreating Russians, rather than set up winter quarters. V Corps formed part of Murat's advance guard. During this time, the prince regularly put himself about, organising patrols and getting stuck in whenever he could, utilising his light cavalry experience which served him well.
V Corps fought on the right wing at Borodino, which the prince commanded, struggling through the woods at Utitza. Both the Poles and their commander fought gallantly at Borodino, but like Waterloo it was not one of their chief's better days. After the battle V Corps went on with the army to Moscow, but after two days they were sent out in pursuit of the Russians with Murat. In late September the prince was hurt falling from his horse during a night action at Tcharigov. Things began to look really bleak on October 18th. The Russians under Kutuzov, whom Murat and Poniatowski had been watching, suddenly attacked, but were held at bay by the Polish infantry until Murat could drive them of with a well timed cavalry charge. However, from that point onwards the advance guard was only going one way. Backwards.
During the Retreat, V Corps guarded the southern flank of the once-Grand army, during which time the prince as usual put himself about conspicuously. The final concerted action of the remnants of V Corps was when they responded to Eugene's request for help to go back and rescue Davout's cut-off troops. Following this success, if such it can be called, Poniatowski's survivors were merged into Ney's rearguard. Poniatowski sustained another wound from a horse fall at the Beresina crossing, and thereafter was moved by carriage. Finally, on Christmas day he reviewed the survivors of V Corps at Warsaw. It could have been held in a phone box.
Things in the spring of 1813 looked as bad as they had looked good a year before. The Prussians and Austrians wanted to crush the Poles to destroy any feelings of national unity, thus making partition easier, and keeping the potentially dangerous Russians at arm's length. Russia for her part was once more courting the prince, offering the usual sweeteners as long as the Polish ended up answering to the right people. This was a tough time for Poniatowski. He is reported to at one stage have been suicidal, but rejecting all other offers, he remained loyal to Napoleon.
One story which particularly tickled my fancy is that he actually called the Austrian general Schwarzenberg out for behaving in a 'deceitful and dishonourable' fashion. Needless to say the Austrian didn't show up.
Commander of VIII Corps
By March the prince had put together close on 8000 troops and went to see Napoleon. The Emperor, glad of any help at this stage, was delighted to see the hard-fighting Poles, and promptly made Poniatowski commander of VIII Corps, ordering it to Zittau on the French southern flank. Operating against massive numbers of Austrians in the Bohemian passes, VIII Corps fought, won and lost a number of actions prior to the battle of Leipzig, suffering two melee wounds during the early part of October. By October 15th VII Corps was deployed around Markleeburg, when Napoleon arrived to inspect the troops. In his possession was a much-prized baton. Poniatowski had already been given the nod in July, but this was official confirmation. He became twenty-fifth in seniority.
The cataclysm of Leipzig was a nightmare for all concerned. A massive fight by any standards. VIII Corps fought all day on the 16th, being slowly pushed back by three times their own numbers under Kleist. They counter-attacked during the afternoon but not surprisingly Macdonald, the linchpin of Napoleon's plan was not up to it, and the day ended with only 4000 Poles left. Fighting continued on the 18th, and Poniatowski, fighting alongside Augereau, gave as good as he got against Hessen-Homburg who had a serious advantage in numbers. At 1700 hours the Emperor gave the order for a general retreat.
During the night VIII Corps were to fall back into Leipzig with the aim of forming a rearguard with VII and XI Corps to buy time for the rest of the army to escape. Despite being slowly pushed back through weight of numbers things were going all right until the Lindenau Bridge across the Elster was blown up prematurely. This caused a massive panic in the city, and with anarchy all around him, the prince, who was by now carrying four wounds which he had sustained in the fighting, rode his horse into the Elster and attempted to swim for safety. The steep current swept him from his mount and he was only saved by the swift actions of one captain Blechamp. Practically unable to speak, I suspect that Poniatowski finally saw a tragic and glorious escape from life, and mounting another horse, he galloped into the deluge. Shot once more, he fell from his horse and disappeared from sight.
So what do we make of Prince Poniatowski? On a personal level I find nothing to dislike. He liked a drink and a good women, so pretty good so far. He was unfeasibly brave, standing comfortably alongside the likes of Ney and Murat for battlefield heroics. As a light cavalry officer he was excellent, and once allowed time to develop he became a capable subordinate all the way to corps level. He did what he was told and could be relied upon in a crisis. So many of the marshals had the sort of personal lives that one associates with the Great Train Robbers, that Poniatowski is a breath of fresh air. After that piece of junk Jourdan in the last issue, the gallant Poniatowski is a breath of fresh air. And what a glorious, if tragic, way to go. He'll do.
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