Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Plagued by insufficient funds, it found itself increasingly hard-pressed to defend the country, and inferior in numbers to the growing armies of the Commonwealth's neighbors.

[2] Brzezinski, however, notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units, at least till the early 17th century.

[4] There was a small standing army, obrona potoczna ("continuous defense") about 1,500–3,000 strong, paid for by the king, and primarily stationed at the troubled south and eastern borders.

[4] At its heyday, the Commonwealth comprised parts of the territories of present-day Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, and Russia.

In its first decades, major conflicts included the Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory, the interventions in Moldavia, the Danzig rebellion, and the War against Sigismund.

However, the Chmielnicki Uprising, together with the Russo-Polish War and the Swedish Deluge, all taking place around the same period of the 1650s, crippled the country, resulting in a loss of most of Ukraine to Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo in 1667.

In 1683 the Commonwealth scored its last major victory that resounded on the European scene, the relief of Vienna by King John III Sobieski.

By the 18th century's end, internal conflicts involving foreign enemies, such as the War of the Bar Confederation, led to the dissolution and partitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among its neighbours.

[12][13][14] The name applied to different unit types, regulations and the officer cadres; the majority of regular recruits for both came from within the Commonwealth, particularly from the 1630s onward.

[14] Two or more choragwie (though rarely more than a dozen, and never more than about forty) formed a pułk, a type of a unit similar to the medieval battle or modern division or corps, which was led by the pułkownik.

[3] King John III Sobieski attempted in the 1670s to replace the national-foreign contingent divisions with a single structure, dividing units into infantry, cavalry and dragoons, but it would take many decades before those reforms bore fruit.

[25] Starting in 1613, the growing inefficiencies of the central government, as well as an increase in foreign threats, led to the creation of a local territorial defense force, known as żołnierz powiatowy (district's soldiers raised by the powiat regions).

The most impressive town guard and accompanying fortifications belonged to the port of Gdańsk (Danzig), which boasted 12 infantry companies of 6,000 men total in 1646.

The royal force included a hussar banner, reiter cavalry and infantry units, based upon the "foreign" model.

[31] Finally, there were also some irregular militia or mercenary troops which received no official pay but operated with the government's permission and were allowed to retain their loot; most notable of these were the Lisowczyks of the early 17th century.

[6][14] The hetmans' office appeared in the late 15th century as a result of the wojsko zaciężne's introduction, and a need for more professional army commanders than the king could usually provide.

Grand Crown Hetman had the right to maintain his representatives in the Ottoman Empire, which allowed him to influence Poland–Ottoman relations and also laid groundwork for the first Polish intelligence services.

[25] Due to a lack of centralized logistical system, the Commonwealth's armies were encumbered by large baggage trains.

To some degree, this was turned into an advantage with the development of the tabor – military horse-drawn wagons, usually carrying army supplies.

The first half of the 18th century, following the 1717 Sejm, marks the nadir of the Commonwealth army, as it lacked funds and training, and was primarily used for ceremonial purposes.

[25] Furthermore, the unpaid units of the army were known for mutinying and forming confederations, occupying the Commonwealth's own lands until such a time that they were paid properly or pillaged enough to satisfy themselves.

[2][12][24] The trend reversed itself following the election of the last king of Poland, Stanisław II Augustus, in 1765 and the introduction of the new governing body, Permanent Council, in 1775.