In the secret 1732 Treaty of the Three Black Eagles, Russia, Austria and Prussia agreed to oppose the election of either Stanislaus or Augustus III and to support Manuel of Portugal instead.

When Cardinal Fleury became French chief minister in 1726, he sought a closer relationship with Spain, helped by the birth of Louis, Dauphin of France in 1729, which seemed to ensure that the countries would remain separate.

[3] Fleury supported Stanisław, hoping to weaken Austria and secure the Duchy of Lorraine, a strategic possession occupied by France for large parts of the previous century.

The current duke Francis Stephen was expected to marry Emperor Charles' heir Maria Theresa, bringing Austria dangerously close to France.

Simultaneously, Philip wanted to regain the Italian territories ceded to Austria in 1714, which led to the Franco-Spanish Pacte de Famille in 1733.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1733, France built up its forces along its northern and eastern frontiers, while the emperor massed troops on the Commonwealth's borders, reducing garrisons in the Duchy of Milan for the purpose.

The Marquis de Monti, France's ambassador in Warsaw, convinced the rival Potocki and Czartoryski families to unite behind Stanisław.

On 11 August, 30,000 Russian troops under Field Marshal Peter Lacy entered Poland in a bid to influence the sejm's decision.

Louis XV was later joined by his uncle, King Philip V of Spain, who hoped to secure territories in Italy for his sons by his second marriage to Elizabeth Farnese.

The two Bourbon monarchs were also joined by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, who hoped to secure gains from the Austrian duchies of Milan and Mantua.

On Austria's southern border, France in November 1733 negotiated the secret Treaty of Turin with Charles Emmanuel and prepared for military operations in northern Italy.

It concluded the (also secret) Treaty of the Escorial with Spain, which included promises of French assistance in the Spanish conquest of Naples and Sicily.

Their Russian and Saxon allies were occupied with the Polish campaign, and the Emperor distrusted Frederick William I of Prussia, who was willing to provide some aid.

This ended major military activity in Poland itself, although it continued to be occupied by foreign troops as Augustus dealt with partisan supporters of Stanisław.

A group of nobles and aristocrats supporting Stanisław formed the Confederation of Dzików in late 1734, and under their commander, Adam Tarło, tried to fight the Russian and Saxon troops, but their efforts were ineffective.

Following France's 10 October declaration of war, it began military operations three days later, invading the Duchy of Lorraine and besieging the imperial fortress at Kehl, across the Rhine from Strasbourg, gaining control of both objectives in a few weeks.

Unable to attack Austria directly, and unwilling to invade the intervening German states for fear of drawing Great Britain and the Dutch into the conflict, France consolidated its position in Lorraine, and withdrew its troops across the Rhine for the winter.

The emperor mobilized his active forces in response to the French attacks, and began the process of calling up the Army of the Holy Roman Empire, establishing a defensive line at Ettlingen, near Karlsruhe.

This cleared the way for the French army under the Duke of Berwick to besiege the imperial fort at Philippsburg, which fell after a siege of two months in July 1734.

A force of 30,000 under Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff crossed the Rhine and began pushing the French back toward Trier, defeating them at Clausen in October 1735, in one of the last battles before preliminary peace terms were reached.

Charles Emmanuel returned the next day to retake command, and resumed his delaying tactics by failing to immediately pursue the retreating Austrians.

Moving south through the Papal States, his army flanked the frontline Austrian defense at Mignano, forcing them to retreat into the fortress at Capua.

The Jacobite pretender's heir, Charles Edward Stuart, who was under 14 then, also participated in the French and Spanish Siege of Gaeta, making his first exposure to battle.

Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia received territories in the western part of the Duchy of Milan west of the Ticino, including Novara and Tortona.

The French (and their allies), hoping for détente and good relations with the Austrians, now also recognized the Pragmatic Sanction that would allow Emperor Charles's daughter Maria Theresa to succeed him.

The acquisition of Lorraine for the former Polish king, however, proved of lasting benefit to France, as it passed under direct French rule with Stanisław's death in 1766.