380 WETTIN
neighbouring states. At the accession of the Wettins, the Army of the Republic
was roughly equivalent to those of its potential adversaries. Its 36,000 regulars
had outnumbered the standing armies of both Prussia and Sweden, and were not
far exceeded by those of Russia or Austria. At Kliszow in 1702, and again at
Warsaw in 1705, it was twice defeated by a numerically inferior enemy.
Thereafter, its strength was dissipated by the warring Confederations, and was
permanently hobbled by the provisions of the Silent Sejm. Within twenty years,
it was completely outmatched in every department. In the course of the Saxon
Era, the disparity in the ratio of the Republic's armed forces in relation to
Prussia was to rise to 1:11; in relation to Austria to 1:17; and in relation to
Russia to 1:28.^10 The huge quantities of indigent petty nobles, who formed a
pool of military manpower unequalled in Europe, preferred to serve in the ret-
inues of the magnates than in the regiments of the state. The first attempts to
create an armaments industry, and to provide military training commensurate
with the technical developments of the age, were undertaken not by the
Republic as such, but by the private enterprise of the Radziwitl or the Branicki.
Poland-Lithuania was not short of soldiers. It was a curious paradox; but the
most militarized society in Europe was unable to defend itself. This sorry state
of affairs was first brought to the attention of the world by the War of the Polish
Succession.
In 1733 the death of August II led to a repetition of the conflicts which had
divided the Wettin realm during his early career. In Saxony itself, he was suc-
ceeded by one of his few legitimate sons, also Friedrich-August, without dissent.
But in the Republic, there were difficulties. At an election held in Warsaw on 12
September 1733, the French candidate, Stanislaw Leszczynski, was again suc-
cessful. His success sparked off another international war.^11 Russia and Austria
had declared in favour of the Wettin succession, and a Russian Army marched
in to enforce it. In almost three years of fighting, all opposition was crushed.
French intervention was confined to indirect action against Austria in Lorraine
and Savoy. The election was re-run in October under the safety of Russian bay-
onets, and a hand-picked electorate acclaimed the Saxon as August III. The con-
federated Royal Army was obliged to retire from Warsaw. A coronation was
staged in Cracow in January 1734. The city of Danzig, which had refused to sur-
render, was besieged, and fell to the Russians in May. The Confederation of
Dzikow, which under Adam Tarlo had raised its standard in the cause of
national independence in October 1734 was defeated by Prussian and Russian
troops, after a bold attempt to cross the Oder and carry the war in to Saxony.
Its end came in May 1735.^12 In the Ukrainian palatinates, especially in Braclaw,
and in the Kurpie region of Royal Prussia, the anti-Russian movement assumed
the form of peasant risings, and persisted into 1736. By that time this War of the
Polish Succession had been officially terminated long since at Vienna by agree-
ment of the powers.
The accession of Augustus III brought general relief. Despite the sordid and
violent operations by which it was achieved, no other solution was possible in