Józef Poniatowski (Pax Francia)

Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (7 May 1763 – 19 December 1831) was a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire as well as briefly ruling as the Duke of Livonia from 1814 to 1820 and who also held the title of Prime Minister from 1807-1808 (as acting Prime Minister) , 1821-26 and 1830 to 1831.

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 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 force in the battle of Raszyn. This was followed by the advance into the territory of Galicia. The conflict ended with a Polish victory which allowed the Duchy to partially recover lands once lost in the Partitions of Poland.

A staunch ally and supporter of Napoleon I, Poniatowski voluntarily took part in the French invasion of Russia. He was injured during the fighting for Moscow and returned to Warsaw as a hero as French Forces defeated the Russians later at St.Petersburg. After the War , Napoleon granted Poniatowski the title of Duke of Livonia in which he held for 6 Years before being ousted as a result of the 1820 Revolutions , ending current plans made for a future restoration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth engineered by Poniatowski and Frederick Augustus I of Poland.

After the 1820 Revolutions , Poniatowski retired from the military and held an active role in Polish Politics holding positions such as Minister of War , Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 1820 to his death in 1831. His death was mourned by the Polish People who celebrated Poniatowski as a National Hero with even European Monarchs like the aging Napoleon I attending his funeral describing him as his counterpart in Poland.