[10] In June 1831 General Antoni Giełgud's attack on Wilno failed, and his corps was forced to cross the border with Prussia to avoid complete destruction.

Should those fail, Skrzynecki believed Warsaw would hold out at least several weeks under a siege, after which the main bulk of the Polish Army would still be intact to fight a decisive battle against the Russians, who by then would be cut off from their rear by the Vistula.

[16] The earthworks, usually several metres high and constructed mostly of sand and clay, were reinforced with gabions and surrounded by a dry moat, a stockade and a line of trous de loup.

[20] In case the enemy broke through all three lines of defences, the city centre was also fortified with 30 barricades, embrasures cut through the walls of several buildings and mines hidden beneath major street crossings.

[37] Also, most of the generals in Warsaw lacked faith in the aims of the uprising set by the more liberal-minded members of Sejm and instead were "only doing their job",[37] hoping the status quo would return as soon as the tsar was forced to stand by his promises.

Like his predecessor, Krukowiecki was a conservative and believed the main aim of the November Uprising was the return of the status quo ante with the tsars of Russia as kings of Poland, but respecting the constitution and Polish laws.

[42] A large part of the Polish forces, composed mostly of seasoned soldiers, high in morale thanks to recent victories, was wandering aimlessly through Podlasie, only a couple of days' march from Warsaw.

Only three out of ten members of the Diplomatic Commission voted in favour of further negotiations, and on 5 September the Russian commander was informed that the only acceptable solution had already been made known in the declaration of the Sejm.

[38][39] After several days of quarrels within the Russian staff, it was decided on 4 September that the main thrust should be aimed at the strongest Polish positions behind the suburb of Wola.

[37] At 2:00 Polish observation posts on the Holy Trinity Church and the Astronomical Observatory at Ujazdów Avenue spotted enemy movements and sounded the alarm.

Directly in front of it, on a hill overlooking the battlefield, lay the smaller, irregularly-shaped Fort 57 manned by 300 men under Maj. Józef Krassowski, armed with four pieces of artillery and two Congreve rocket launchers.

To make things worse for the Poles, General Umiński, the commanding officer of the southern sector, focused entirely on the skirmishes around Królikarnia and did not notice what was happening in Wola.

The Russians followed, but their battalions lost cohesion, which allowed the numerically inferior force under Biernacki to hold out inside the fort and cover the flank of the central wing.

Biernacki, fighting in the northern wing, managed to expel the Russian infantry, but was killed in action during the counter-attack, and the Poles withdrew back into the trees on the far side of the fort.

The Siberian regiment entered the fort and forced the crews of carronades, commanded personally by General Sowiński, to withdraw within the walls surrounding the church.

[55] Paskevich expected a Polish counter-attack aimed at recapturing the lost forts, so he ordered his troops to halt the advance, rebuild the ramparts and construct new artillery emplacements facing the city.

[56] His artillery continued to duel with the Poles, but infantry was withdrawn and Paskevich himself left his forces to look for the Corps of General Muraviev to the south, somewhere between Szczęśliwice and the Jerozolimskie Gate.

Despite heavy fire, the Poles reached a point 500 metres (1,600 ft) south-east of Fort 56, where they were met by elements of two Russian rifle regiments (1st and 2nd; ca.

[61] He wanted Paskevich and Grand Duke Michael to promise the return of Poland's independence and a general amnesty in exchange for revoking the act of deposition of Nicholas from the Polish throne.

[64] He also warned that the city's inhabitants would be massacred as in 1794 should fighting continue,[63][65] and stated that the return to full independence under the sceptre of Nicholas was easily achievable, something he knew for sure was not true.

[73] Around 13:30, 132 Russian cannons and four mortars, including 94 guns of the Grand Battery under Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov, opened fire on Polish positions.

[79] The left column suffered significant casualties, but reached Fort 74,[77] only to be met by Polish reinforcements dispatched by General Antoni Wroniecki, the commanding officer of this sector.

[82] The Russian Guard Hussar Regiment under Georg von Arpshofen, riding dapple grey heavy horses and wearing distinctive bright red uniforms, pursued the fleeing Polish cavalry to the space between forts 71 and 72.

[82] Small groups of Russians retreated to rejoin their lines, while others in apparent war fury tried to storm the heavily defended gates of Warsaw and were killed by Polish infantry.

Col. Lukash's grenadiers reinforced with two battalions of the Finnish Guards Regiment (1,300 men, four guns) outflanked Fort 73 from the north and captured a brickyard and yet another fortified inn, the Karczma Żelazna directly to its rear.

[56][62] Although Michael believed the Poles were playing for time to allow Ramorino's Corps to return from Podlasie, Prądzyński convinced him to send General Berg to Warsaw with a draft of an act of unconditional surrender.

[62] The agreement (apparently never signed on paper) stipulated that the Polish Army was free to leave the city, a two-day cease-fire would come into effect and that Warsaw would be spared the horrors it experienced during the 1794 siege.

Berg and Prądzyński then returned to Russian headquarters and Grand Duke Michael agreed to allow the Polish Army free passage to Modlin and Płock, an amnesty to all fighters of the Uprising, and to exchange prisoners.

The letter also expressed his hope that the Russians would allow free passage to troops unable to withdraw by the deadline, and that the army would honour the terms negotiated with Grand Duke Michael.

[9] To commemorate the crushing of the November Uprising, Alexander Pushkin wrote "On the Taking of Warsaw", hailing the capitulation of Poland's capital as the "final triumph" of Mother Russia.