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Józef Antoni Poniatowski

Prince
Józef Antoni Poniatowski
Prince Joseph Poniatowski by Józef Grassi.jpg
Józef Poniatowski by Josef Grassi 1813–1814
Józef ks Poniatowski CoA.svg
Nickname(s) The Polish Bayard
Born 7 May 1763 (1763-05-07)
Vienna, Austria
Died 19 October 1813 (1813-10-20) (aged 50)
Weiße Elster River, near Leipzig, Saxony
Allegiance  Austrian Empire
Chorągiew królewska króla Zygmunta III Wazy.svg Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
France France
Years of service 1780–1813
Rank Marshal of France
Awards Order of Saint Stanislaus Order of Black Eagle's Order of the Red Eagle
Order of White Eagle Grand Cross Star of Virtuti Militari Order Grand Cross of Legion of Honour

Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjuzɛf anˈtɔɲi pɔɲaˈtɔfskʲi]; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire.

A nephew of King Stanisław II Augustus, his military career began in 1780 in the Austrian army, where he attained the rank of a colonel. In 1789, after leaving the Austrian service, he joined the Polish army. Poniatowski, now in the rank of major general and commander of the Royal Guards, took part in the Polish-Russian War of 1792, leading the crown forces in Ukraine, where he fought a victorious battle of Zieleńce.

After the king's support for the infamous Targowica Confederation Poniatowski was forced to resign. In 1794 he participated in the Kościuszko Uprising and was in charge of defending Warsaw for which he was subsequently exiled. In 1798 Poniatowski was permitted to return, however, he refused the offer to serve in the Imperial Russian army submitted to him by Tsar Alexander I.

In 1806, after the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, Józef Poniatowski was appointed the minister of war. In 1809 he commanded a 16,000-strong army during the Austro-Polish War and achieved tactical success over a larger and more experienced Austrian troops in the battle of Raszyn. This is was followed by the advance into the territory of Galicia. The conflict ended with miraculous Polish victory which allowed the Duchy to partially recover lands once lost in the Partitions of Poland.


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