v37_1170 - Essai du Groschen en argent 1812 Dantzig VG.1906

POLAND - GRAND-DUCHY OF WARSAW - FRENCH OCCUPATION OF DANZIG

(1807-1813)

The Grand Duchy of Warsaw is a Polish state created by Napoleon from Polish lands taken over from the Kingdom of Prussia following the Treaty of Tilsitt of July 7, 1807. King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, a loyal ally of Napoleon, became Duke of this state whose area in 1809 was 155,000 km² and had a population of 4,300,000. A very militarized state and emptied of its wealth to support the French war effort on which its survival depends, the country must bear the burden of a colossal French garrison. The Polish armed forces are led by Józef Poniatowski. In 1812, the Poles wanted the duchy to be elevated to the rank of kingdom and for the Lithuanian territories liberated by Napoleon to be attached to it, but the Emperor, out of prudence, made no clear promise..