Kościuszko Uprising

Background. The uprising was an attempt to liberate the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from external influence after the Second Partition of Poland (1793) and the creation of the Targowica Confederation. In 1794 the Russians demanded a further downsizing of the army to 15,000, and Kościuszko, though worried an uprising had little chance against the three partitioning powers, was forced to execute his plan earlier than expected, setting off for Kraków on 15 March 1794.

Outbreak in March 1794. On 12 March 1794 General Antoni Madaliński, commander of the 1st Greater Polish National Cavalry Brigade of about 1,500 men, decided to disobey the order to demobilize and advanced his troops from Ostrołęka to Kraków. Learning that the Russian garrison had departed Kraków, Kościuszko entered the city on the night of 23 March 1794, and on 24 March he announced the general uprising in a speech in the Kraków town square, assuming the powers of Commander-in-Chief of all Polish forces.

Racławice and Warsaw. Kościuszko scored a victory at Racławice on 4 April 1794, turning the tide by personally leading an infantry charge of peasant volunteers (kosynierzy, scythemen). The victory was promoted in Poland as a major success and helped spread the uprising to other areas, instigating the Warsaw Uprising of 1794, in which the Polish people overthrew the Russian garrison in Warsaw.