Historical calendar: the anniversary of the removal from service in the Republic of Poland of the chief Lithuanian forces, Louis Wirtemberski. The Prince has been charged with treason.
Today in our calendar we will look at the career of a man who, being a Prussian agent, has reached the highest position in the Republic Army.
Ludwik Wirtemberski was from the German princely family. His parents were Frederick Wirtemberski and Frederick Brandenburg – Schwedt. He was conliged with the most crucial families in central Europe, but it was the Prussian roots that proved decisive for his worldview and direction of career development. He received his home education and joined the army very young. He loved the strict discipline and efficiency of the Friderist army.
Valuable for his leadership talent by the king himself, he gradually advanced to the general degree. In the '70s, he became active with slow-sea. He was, among others, a associate of the Prussian lodge with a national census "Augusta zu goldenen Krone".
In 1784, he married Maria Czartoryska, alleged illegitimate daughter of Stanisław August Poniatowski. He had Adam's boy with her. Although he may have done so, Louis was in no hurry to talk for designation of nobility (the alleged indigenate) by Poles. He took his wife to Prussia and continued to service Frederick II and his boy Frederick Wilhelm II.
The situation changed in 1788 erstwhile the large Sejm was established in the Republic of Poland. The patriotic camp began to grow the army and needed hundreds of experienced officers. On the another hand, anti-Russian abroad policy required seeking allies to check Catherine's Tsaric. Prussia was very keen to agree to the deal. As part of this, they sold stone rifles of their production to Poles and hoped to abandon Gdańsk and Toruń.
In 1789, Ludwik Wirtemberski obtained a Polish indigenate and became the commander of the Małopolskie Crown Army Division. His father-in-law, Adam Czartoryski, was his father-in-law. Shortly after the authoritative signing of the Polish-Prussian alliance of 1790, he was appointed chief commander of the Lithuanian army. Stanisław August and his surroundings were impressed by the cognition and experience of the military Vittemberg prince. Louis' promotion was besides of political importance – a motion of goodwill towards Berlin to strengthen the covenant between both countries.
Soon it was revealed that military cognition itself was not everything. Sentimentism and want reasoning of the Polish elite led to a real catastrophe. Louis remained faithful to King Prusai during his service in Poland, with whom he secretly contacted. At his command he deliberately and deliberately staged and delayed the modernization and auction of the Lithuanian army. He did not execute the orders of the Military Commission of the Both Nations and did not prepare Lithuania for defence in the event of a Russian invasion.
He didn't strengthen the fortresses, he didn't rise supplies, he didn't make meaningful defence plans. By his actions at the time of the war of 1792, Lithuanian units were in a dire state, much worse than the crown forces commanded by Józef Poniatowski. 33 – the thousandth corps of Mikhail Krechetnikov arrived in Lithuania. Louis then sabotaged the actions of his army, delayed its concentration and retreat. Minsk and Vilnius died practically without a fight. shortly there was a ghost of a complete breakdown of the front.
His inaction Prince Wirtemberski explained Warsaw with an alleged illness. He was expected to have fever and fever, so he was in charge of bed all the time. The disaster of his subordinate troops was only halted by an initiative of middle-level officers contrary to the will of the commander, who did a large deal to guarantee that their troops did not panic and withdrew from the endangered laps. Meanwhile, civilian – military commission staff in Łomża arrested a fishy courier carrying a letter to Berlin, addressed to the mysterious name Mauclair.
After the package was opened, it turned out that the correspondence of Prince Wirtemberski with the Prussian king himself was intercepted. He boasted about being a simulator and promised to proceed sabotaging the activities of his subjects. After sending to Warsaw and revealing the contents of the letters, Louis abruptly recovered and zealously headed the army as if nothing had happened. The betrayal, however, was so apparent that even naive Warsaw decision-makers could not uncertainty it.
On June 1, he was resigned and expelled from the army. However, he was not deprived of the prior Order of the White Eagle. The fresh leaders of Lithuanian forces were Józef Judycki, and then Michał Zabieło. Unfortunately, the situation which the first commander led to caused that they could only lead a hold and retreat towards the Bug. By this time Louis had already made his way to Prussia.
In consequence to the betrayal of her spouse, Maria Czartoryska sent him a request for divorce. He only agreed to give him his son, Adam, whom he then raised in a spirit of hatred for Poles. The same fought in the November uprising on the Russian side and drove his own parent out of the palace in Puławy.
In 1797 Louis remarried. His choice was Henrietta Nassau – Weilburg, with whom he had 5 children.
Ludwik Wirtemberski is an example of a foreigner who became a Polish traitor while performing a very advanced public function over the Vistula. utilizing his position he led a mole, an agential occupation calculated to defeat Russia. After the betrayal came out, he boldly wanted to proceed in command. His conchachts with the Prussian king prove that Warsaw's alliance with Berlin was dishonest from the beginning and the Prussians consistently sought a fresh partition.
Louis's past shows first of all that in vital matters for you, it is better to bet on little capable Polish patriots than on talented and planet celebrated foreigners who have nothing in common with our country.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.
