Michał Sokolnicki (1760, in Wierzeja – 1816, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) was a Polish nobleman (of

Nowina coat of arms Nowina () is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several '' szlachta'' families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original clan consisted of only 24 families. History Nowina is one of the oldest Polish heraldic marks ...

), general, military engineer, politician, and writer. Sokolnicki studied in Warsaw's Corps of Cadets and fought in the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution ) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservat ...

as well as the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794. In 1797 he presented the French Directory with a document entitled "Aperçu sur la Russie". This became known as the so-called " Testament of Peter the Great", which Napoleon Bonaparte used for anti-Russian propaganda purposes in 1812, and has been widely publicised since, although scholars have since established that the document is a forgery.Neumann, Iver B. "Europe's post-Cold War memory of Russia: cui bono?" in ''Memory and power in post-war Europe: studies in the presence of the past'' ed. Jan-Werner Müller. Cambridge University Press, 2002: p. 132McNally, Raymond T. "The Origins of Russophobia in France" in ''American Slavic and East European Review'' Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr., 1958): pp. 173-189 From 1797 on, Sokolnicki was a member of the

Danube Legion The Danube Legion ( pl, Legia Naddunajska; or the Rhine Legion - french: Legion du Rhine) was a unit of Poles in the service of Napoleonic France. It was also known as the 3rd Polish Legion. Origin It was formed on 8 September 1799 in the Batav ...

and later of the Polish Legions in France under Napoleon. After 1808, he was a general in the army of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

and took part in the

Polish–Austrian War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria). In this war, Polish forces of the N ...

, where he was instrumental in defeating the Austrians in two major battles. Sokolnicki then took part in

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. After Napoleon's defeat and the Duchy's occupation by Russia, he removed himself from public life and died in an accident in 1816. Sokolnicki was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(12 August) and the Commander's Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...

(22 August 1809).

References

External links

The Will of Peter the Great / Testament of Peter the Great
1760 births 1816 deaths People from Szamotuły County Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Virtuti Militari Polish generals People of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars {{Poland-mil-bio-stub