War of the Polish Succession Begins

October 10, 1733

When the Polish throne fell vacant, France backed Stanislaw Leszczynski; Russia and Austria backed Augustus of Saxony. Armies marched; Leszczynski was besieged in Danzig. The war that followed was fought mostly in Italy and the Rhineland. Poland's consent was not really required, which was, by then, the Polish condition. The peace rearranged Italian duchies and confirmed that Poland existed chiefly for others to quarrel over.