Honor czy defetyzm? Dylematy Antoniego Pawła Sułkowskiego na tle wyborów Polaków w 1813 roku
Honour or defeatism? Antoni Paweł Sułkowski’s dilemmas in the context of the decisions of Poles made in 1813

Author(s): Jarosław Czubaty
Subject(s): History
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to a dramatic part of prince Antoni Paweł Sułkowski’s life. In October 1813, during the retreat of the Great Army after the defeat at Leipzig, the general who was young at that time was suggested by his more experienced colleagues as the candidate to become the commander in chief of the remnants of the Polish army which followed Napoleon to France. Under their influence Sułkowski, who assumed command, promised the officers and the soldiers that the Polish corps would accompany the emperor to the border of France and then would abstain from further activities and return to the countrythat was occupied by the Russians. A few days later, after an improvised meeting with Polish officers, Napoleon convinced them that the Polish raison d’être requires them to continue their struggle alongside him. Sułkowski, who did not intend to break his word of honour, resigned and turned himself over as a private person to Napoleon’s enemies. Sułkowski’s decision, which was analysed in the context of similar decisions made in 1813, constitutes a starting point for consideration of the norms and principles of conduct in public life embraced by the Poles at the end of the Napoleonic period.

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