The Deluge was a series of devastating mid-seventeenth-century invasions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by Sweden, Russia, Transylvania, Brandenburg and the Cossack Hetmanate, traditionally dated from the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 through the Truce of Andrusovo with Russia in 1667, though the name most specifically denotes the Swedish invasion of 1655 to 1660. Weakened by the Cossack revolt in its eastern territories, the Commonwealth was invaded by Sweden under Charles X Gustav in 1655 in a campaign so overwhelming that within months Swedish forces had occupied nearly the entire country, an event that gave the whole period its name. A Polish national resistance eventually reversed the Swedish occupation, aided by the 1656 Treaty of Wehlau realigning Brandenburg-Prussia, but the Commonwealth never fully recovered, having lost roughly a third of its population and vast territory, including eastern lands ceded to Russia. The Deluge is widely regarded by historians as the end of Poland-Lithuania's status as a European great power.
Facts
CombatantsPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Austrian and Brandenburg-Prussian support, versus the Swedish Empire and Russia, with Cossack and Transylvanian forces 2 OutcomeThe Commonwealth survived but lost about a third of its population and its status as a great power; Sweden retained Livonia under the 1660 Treaty of Oliva and Russia gained Left-bank Ukraine under the 1667 Truce of Andrusovo 2 Classification
Death Toll Min Conflict Type The Deluge
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Commanders and Forces
Polish Winged Hussars defended the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 1655-1660 Swedish invasion known as the Deluge
Uses
Source War scythe (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Deluge (history) (Wikipedia)
Infobox: casualties3
Total dead: 3,000,000-4,000,000
Lead text
In a stricter sense, the term refers to the Swedish invasion and occupation of the Commonwealth as a theatre of the Northern War of 1655-1660 only; in Poland and Lithuania this period is called the Swedish Deluge or less commonly the Russo-Swedish Deluge (Polish: Potop szwedzko-rosyjski) due to the simultaneous Russo-Polish War.
View the Source2. Wikipedia: The Deluge
WikipediaLead section (start year)
During the wars, the Commonwealth lost approximately one third of its population as well as its status as a great power due to invasions by Sweden and Russia.
Lead section (end year)
During the wars, the Commonwealth lost approximately one third of its population as well as its status as a great power due to invasions by Sweden and Russia.
Lead section (combatants)
During the wars, the Commonwealth lost approximately one third of its population as well as its status as a great power due to invasions by Sweden and Russia.
Lead section (outcome)
During the wars, the Commonwealth lost approximately one third of its population as well as its status as a great power due to invasions by Sweden and Russia.
Lead section
The term "deluge" (potop in Polish) was popularized by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel The Deluge (1886). During the wars, the Commonwealth lost approximately one third of its population as well as its status as a great power due to invasions by Sweden and Russia.
View the Source War scythe (Wikipedia)
Uses: War Scythe, Wikipedia article textQuote, Uses: War Scythe, Wikipedia article text
Polish peasants used war scythes during the 17th-century Swedish invasion (The Deluge).
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