Poland-Lithuania (Polish: Polska-Litwa), officially the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania (Polish: Królestwo Polsko-Litewskie), is a country located in Central and Eastern Europe. It borders United Baltic Duchy to the north; Russia and Ukraine to the east; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south and Germany to the west.
| Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania Królestwo Polsko-Litewskie Timeline: Domus Iagiellonica
OTL equivalent: Poland,Lithuania,Kaliningrad,Belarus,Western Ukraine | ||||||
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| Motto: "Pro Fide, Lege et Rege" |
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| Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego |
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| Capital | Warsaw | |||||
| Official languages | Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian | |||||
| Demonym | Polish | |||||
| Government | Constitutionnal Monarchy | |||||
| - | King | Mark I | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Rafał Trzaskowski | ||||
| Legislature | Congress | |||||
| - | Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | Diet | ||||
| Currency | Royal Zloty | |||||
| Time zone | UTC +1 | |||||
| Internet TLD | .pl | |||||
The history of human activity on Polish soil dates to c. 10,000 BC. Culturally diverse throughout late antiquity, the region became inhabited by tribal Polans who gave Poland its name in the early medieval period. The establishment of statehood in 966 coincided with a pagan ruler of the Polans converting to Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Church. The Kingdom of Poland emerged in 1025 and in 1569 cemented its longstanding association with Lithuania, thus forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Jagiellonian Dynasty survived in the hands of Stefan I born in 1549. The country thrived since and cemented itself in the following centuries. The Commonwealth waged war alongside Austria against the Ottomans in the late 17th Century. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the kingdom emerging from several wars, cementing a common sense of unity amongst the population. The 19th century saw the borders being fixed with little changes in the 20th century. The country colonized Kenya and Madagascar. During the 20th century, the country emerged victorious of both World Wars I and II, cementing its place on the global stage. The Kingdom is nowadays the main power in Europe.
A constitutional monarchy headed by King Marek I, the government of the kingdom is headed by the Prime Minister, currently Rafał Trzaskowski (PO).
The government is accountable to Congress, which is made up of the Diet and the Senate.
Kingdom's flag
History[]
Debuts and Point of divergence[]
The Kingdom of Poland underwent a major change in 1549:
Queen Barbara Radziwiłł survives and heals her wounds with the help of Italian doctors.
The Jagiellonian dynasty survives in the hands of Stefan, a robust boy born from the union of Barbara and Sigismund II of Poland.
King Sigismund II united Poland and Lithuania during the union of Lublin in 1569 which also restored the royal primogeniture in favor of the Jagiellonian dynasty.
The king, assured of his descendants thanks to his son Stefan, died peacefully on July 7, 1572.
King Stefan I[]
The late king was buried with great pomp on July 12. His son King Stefan I was crowned King of Poland-Lithuania on August 1 in Wawel Cathedral in Krakow.
Stefan Ist undertakes to continue the unification of the two kingdoms and chooses to ally himself by marriage to the crown of Austria. He married Eleonor von Hapsburg on August 12, 1570.
He had two children, Stefan, the future Stefan II, and Maria. Maria was married to Prince Gaston of France.
Kingdom's coat of arms
Prince Stefan married Polish Noblewoman Anna Potocka in 1594.
17th Century[]
Poland joined the Catholic side of Thirty Years War. After initial victories, some nobles across the nation sided with protestant creating great internal unrest. The war ended with the peace of Westphalia.
The last Swedish-Polish war ended with a truce in favor of the latter: the Commonwealth would secure Latvia and the city of Riga.
The Commonwealth crushed the Cossacks rebellions in Ukraine in 1648
Poland participates and helps to win the Battle of Vienna against the Ottomans in 1683, which enshrines the country on the continental stage.
For some decades the Christian Coalition would continue to push back the Ottomans.
18th Century[]
The end of Stefan III's reign and that of Sigismund III are devoted to the reconstruction and consolidation of the kingdom helped by military successes against the Ottomans.
During the Great Northern War, Poland was forced to give Prussia to Brandenburg, part of Baltic region given to Russia.
The country also took part in the War of the Austrian Successor: After initial victories by the Austrian faction (formed by Austria, UK, Hanover, and Poland), the Commonwealth would leave the faction as being upset about the Austrian decision of how to end the war.
The Commonwealth would also take part successfully in the Seven Years Wars securing Prussian lands.
The monarchy stabilizes and reforms, to the detriment of the Diet.
At the end of the century, the country did not escape the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Great Diet from 1788 to 1792 endowed the country with a constitution, ratified on May 3, 1792.
19th Century[]
Poland began its transformation into a modern power.
The administration has been renovated; the armies overhauled. Alliances have been maintained through different marriages and treaties.
Territorial gains are made in 1810 and 1825. Poland integrates parts of Brandenburg, Pomerania, and Silesia. The western border is set on the Oder-Neisse line.
The country began its industrial revolution in 1830 under the reign of the builder King John III.
Infant industries, and in particular the discovery of coal seams in the mountains of the South, accelerated changes in the country.
The kingdom, little affected by the Peoples' Spring of 1848, nevertheless saw its alliances modified in favor of Russia and England.
Rivalries with the German Kingdoms and the Austrian Empire prompted the kingdom to sign an alliance with France in 1860.
At the end of the century, the country carried out colonization actions in Madagascar and Kenya.
Its expansionist efforts were rewarded at the Berlin conference in 1885 which allowed it to legitimize its African territories.
20th Century[]
The beginning of the twentieth century is marked by the continued colonization of Kenya and Madagascar. The capitals of Nowy Gdansk and Nowy Krakow were founded in 1900 and 1905, respectively.
Domestically, the kingdom continued to evolve and the first PSL, PPS and PPM political parties appeared in the 1910s.
King John V opened the twentieth century by launching major railway works and the creation of airfields all over the country.
In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian independence activist. The country is mobilizing its army and preparing for the worst.
World War I[]
At the beginning of August, after the entry into the war of the French, English and Russian allies, it was the turn of Poland-Lithuania to enter the conflict on the side of the Entente against the Central Empires: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottomans.
The kingdom's troops, helped by their Russian allies, are fighting on several fronts.
Only the eastern border with Russia is spared. The colonies, that of Kenya, were also affected and mobilized their troops.
The German and Austro-Hungarian offensives pierced the Allied lines. The armies fell back and a defensive perimeter around Warsaw was quickly established.
In the south, the Ottomans are quickly defeated and pushed back. The southern armies join the rest of the troops, and the counteroffensive is organized.
In early 1915, after a series of Allied attacks, the front stabilized on a Gdansk-Krakow line.
The soldiers entrench themselves and wait for better days.
In 1915 and 1916, the fighting bogged down. Troops perish by the thousands on both sides, but the front line remains largely unchanged.
In 1917, General Piłsudski, recently appointed Generalissimo of the Eastern Armies, prepared a series of offensives aimed at breaking through the enemy front.
The attacks begin in early May and quickly bear fruit. The cavalry, supported by infantry and the recently formed air force, resumed movement warfare.
The border is quickly reached. The armies of the Central Empires are withdrawing from all sides.
Berlin is quickly within range of Polish-Lithuanian artillery. On the side of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, then Hungary, are quickly liberated, hence General Piłsudski begins to turn his eyes to Vienna, the imperial capital.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, beset from all sides, surrendered on February 17, 1918. The Ottoman Empire, after the fall of Istanbul, surrendered on March 1.
Germany finds itself lonely. The Kaiser abdicated on March 12 in favor of his son Wilhelm, responsible for negotiating peace. The meetings take place at Stettin for the eastern flank and at Rethondes for the western flank. Thanks to the miracle of the radio and the wireless telegraph, the two negotiations take place in parallel.
The Germans surrendered on March 15.
Poland regains its prewar borders and is awarded war reparations in the order of millions of gold marks.
The country emerges victorious from the conflict and strengthened on the international scene.
Between two wars[]
The 1920s began with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which saw the Stettin agreements consolidated. Poland regains its occupied territories.
The bloodless country begins to heal its wounds.
The Gold Zloty is devalued in favor of the Royal Zloty and modernization work is restarted.
King John continues his international policy and tries to forge alliances with the recently liberated countries.
An alliance is forged with Ukraine and Romania. Bulgaria joined the Entente in 1925, followed by Greece in 1926.
The 1930s, marked by the Great Depression and the rise in unemployment in the cities, saw a policy of revival and major works put in place. The currency is devalued several times. Work on the Warsaw central station as well as those of industrial centers in Silesia and the Center has started.
Politically, tensions are mounting on the right and on the left. Despite the dissolution of the far-right ONR party, its militias, the famous Phalanges, remain active.
The king and his government are watching with concern the rise of extremes in Europe and preparing for the worst.
The army is rapidly modernizing, work on the Center's military-industrial complex is doubled.
Soon the tanks, cannons and combat planes are mass-produced.
World War II[]
The German army invaded the country, without surprise, on September 1, 1939. The rapid advance was easily contained thanks to modernized troops and an iron defense. The front stabilized around the Gdansk - Krakow line.
In 1940, the front, still stable, saw skirmishes on both sides, without any real breakthrough.
In 1941, overwhelmed on the western front, the Germans began to withdraw their troops. Edward Rydz-Śmigly, general-in-chief of the Eastern Front, launched the "Black Hussar" offensive to resume the offensive and recover the occupied territories.
The offensive was a success, Gdansk fell on May 3 and Krakow on June 2. The border was reached at the beginning of the summer, but the Germans withdrew in good order and held on.
The front stabilized again. The final breakthrough took place at the end of the year, when the enemy troops, who had been pushed down on the western flank, began to flee towards Munich and Berlin.
Both cities were quickly reached. The junction took place in Frankfurt on January 12, 1942.
Munich fell on February 1, 1942, and Berlin on March 3. Kaiser Wilhelm III surrendered unconditionally on the 5th.
The war was over in Europe, but peace was difficult.
The Warsaw agreements saw the partition of Germany and Austria into four zones of occupation: American, British, French, and Polish.
After War period[]
Despite a limited occupation and the annexation of the German zone in 1949, the country emerged from the conflict with difficulty. Only the Marshall Plan boom and the demographic revival of the 1950s saw the country prosper again.
The country was modernized, the highways were renovated, the country had international airports in Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow, and regional hubs in other major cities built.
Under the impetus of the Western Allies, the FRG was created in 1955, encompassing the four zones of occupation.
Kenya declared its independence in 1961 followed by Madagascar in 1963.
The country turned towards the West and democracy.
Michael IV, helped by his ally the French king Henry V, launched the European construction.
The European Confederation was founded by the Brussels Treaty of 1980. The countries commit themselves to help each other economically and to make respect the democratic values in Europe and in the world.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a democratic transition and the creation of the two main right-wing parties PiS and PO in the early 1990s.
Today, the country is the leading European power ahead of Germany and France.
Rulers[]
- Stefan I: 1572 – 1610
- Stefan II: 1610 – 1650
- Stefan III: 1650 – 1685
- Sigismund III: 1685 – 1730
- Ladislaus IV: 1730 – 1755
- John II: 1755 – 1770
- Michael I: 1770 –1790
- Michael II: 1790 – 1821
- John III: 1821 – 1850
- John IV: 1850 – 1880
- Michael III: 1880 – 1910
- John V: 1910 – 1950
- Michael IV: 1950 –1980
- Mark I: 1980 – incumbent
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