Armia polska w latach 1815–1830. Teoria i praktyka funkcjonowania w systemie konstytucyjnym Królestwa Polskiego

The formation of the Polish Army after the Napoleonic Wars was closely linked with tsar Alexander I’s policies concerning Poles. There were more opponents than supporters of the Polish armed forces among the political and military elites of Russia who regarded the Polish military as a potential adversary. The Constitution of the Kingdom encountered similar reluctance. It included a number of articles defining the position and role of the Polish army which lacked connections with the nation and the Sejm. However, constitutional practice diverged from theory. The army was not part of the constitutional mechanism, and Grand Duke Constantine, the tsar’s brother, was the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the guardian of Russian interests, including military. The process of integrating Polish and Russian armies continued under Constantine’s supervision, but it had not been successfully completed by 1830. The Polish army became a part of Russia’s military forces (vanguard). It was deprived of its own arms industry, organized reserves and an efficient system of fortifications, but despite that, it was able to preserve its national character and was not subdued by the imposed organizational standards (strict discipline, military tactics). The Polish Army recruited Poles from Austria, Prussia and Russia, becoming a warrant of the constitution and a symbol of the Polish armed forces. It proved its allegiance to the Polish nation in the battlefields of the war of 1831.