War of the Polish Succession

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War of the Polish Succession
Part of French–Habsburg rivalry
Siege of Danzig by Russo-Saxon forces in 1734
Date 10 October 1733 – 3 October 1735 (1 year, 11 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) Location Poland, Rhineland, Italy Result Treaty of Vienna Augustus III ascends the throne Bourbon and Habsburg territorial gains Territorial changes Austria loses the crowns of Naples and Sicily to Charles of Parma Duchy of Lorraine to Stanislaus Leszczyński (Passed to France following death with guarantee) Duchy of Parma to Austria Grand Duchy of Tuscany to Francis Stephen Poland loses direct control over the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
Belligerents
Poland loyal to Stanislaus I  France Spain Savoy-Sardinia  Duchy of Parma	Poland loyal to Augustus III  Russia  Habsburg Monarchy  Holy Roman Empire (from 1734)  Saxony  Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Jan Tarło Adam Tarło Charles I Berwick † Villars Coigny Broglie Belle-Isle James Fitz-James Albornoz Charles Emmanuel III	Peter Lacy von Münnich Thomas Gordon Eugene of Savoy von Seckendorff von Daun Frederick Louis † de Mercy † Johann Adolf II von Königsegg Frederick William I

The War of the Polish Succession (Polish: Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests. France and Spain, the two Bourbon powers, tested the power of the Austrian Habsburgs in Western Europe, as did the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst Saxony and Russia mobilized to support the eventual victor. The fighting in Poland–Lithuania resulted in the accession of Augustus III, who in addition to Russia and Saxony, was politically supported by the Habsburgs.

The war's major military campaigns and battles occurred outside the borders of Poland–Lithuania. The Bourbons, supported by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, moved against isolated Habsburg territories. In the Rhineland, France successfully took the Duchy of Lorraine, and in Italy, Spain regained control over the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily lost in the War of the Spanish Succession, while territorial gains in northern Italy were limited despite bloody campaigning. Great Britain's unwillingness to support Habsburg Austria demonstrated the infirmity of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance.

Although a preliminary peace was reached in 1735, the Treaty of Vienna (1738) ended the war formally, which confirmed Augustus III as king of Poland and his opponent Stanisław Leszczyński was awarded the Duchy of Lorraine and Duchy of Bar, then both fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. Francis Stephen, the duke of Lorraine, was given the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in compensation for losing Lorraine. The Duchy of Parma went to Austria whereas Charles of Parma took the crowns of Naples and Sicily. The Bourbons won most territorial gains, as the Duchies of Lorraine and Bar went from being the Holy Roman Empire's fiefs to those of France, while the Spanish Bourbons gained two new kingdoms: Naples and Sicily. For their part, the Austrian Habsburgs received two Italian duchies in return, though Parma would soon revert to the Bourbons. Tuscany would be held by the Habsburgs until the Napoleonic era.

The war proved disastrous for Polish–Lithuanian independence, and re-affirmed that the affairs of the Poland–Lithuania, including the election of its ruler, were controlled by the other great powers of Europe. After August III, there would only be one more king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, himself a Russian puppet, and ultimately Poland–Lithuania would be divided up by its neighbors and cease to exist as a sovereign state by the end of the 18th century. Poland–Lithuania also surrendered claims to Livonia and direct control over the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, which, although remaining its fief, was not integrated into it and fell under strong Russian influence that only ended with the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917.