Editing War of the Polish Succession (section)

==Death of Augustus II==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 325
| image1            = Portrait of Stanisław I Leszczyński.jpg
| alt1              = Stanislaus I
| caption1          = [[Stanisław Leszczyński]], painting by [[Jean-Baptiste van Loo]]
| image2            = August III the Saxon.PNG
| alt2              = Augustus III
| caption2          = [[Augustus III of Poland]], painting by [[Louis de Silvestre]]
}}

Augustus II died on 1 February 1733. Throughout the spring and summer of 1733, France built up its forces along its northern and eastern frontiers, while the emperor massed troops on the Commonwealth's borders, reducing garrisons in the [[Duchy of Milan]] for the purpose. While the aging [[Prince Eugene of Savoy]] had recommended a more warlike posture to the emperor against potential French actions in the Rhine valley and northern Italy, only minimal steps were taken to improve imperial defenses on the Rhine.

The Marquis de Monti, France's ambassador in Warsaw, convinced the rival [[Potocki family|Potocki]] and [[Czartoryski]] families to unite behind Stanisław. [[Teodor Andrzej Potocki]], [[Primate of Poland]] and [[interrex (Poland)|interrex]] following Augustus' death, called a [[convocation sejm]] in March 1733. Delegates to this sejm passed a resolution forbidding the candidacy of foreigners; this would explicitly exclude both Emmanuel of Portugal and Augustus II's son, [[Augustus III of Poland|Frederick August II]], the [[Elector of Saxony]].

Frederick August negotiated agreements with Austria and Russia in July 1733. In exchange for Russian support, he agreed to give up any remaining Polish claims to [[Livonia]], and promised to [[Anna of Russia]] her choice of successor to the [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia|Duchy of Courland]], a Polish fief (of which she had been duchess prior to her ascension to the Russian throne) which would have otherwise come under direct Polish rule on the death of the current duke, [[Ferdinand Kettler]], who had no heirs. To the Austrian emperor he promised recognition of the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1713]], a document designed to guarantee inheritance of the Austrian throne to Maria Theresa, Charles' oldest child.

In August, Polish nobles gathered for the [[Royal elections in Poland#Procedure|election sejm]]. On 11 August, 30,000 Russian troops under Field Marshal [[Peter Lacy]] entered Poland in a bid to influence the sejm's decision. On September 4, France openly declared its support for Leszczyński, who was elected king by a sejm of 12,000 delegates on September 12. A group of nobles, led by Lithuanian magnates including Duke [[Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki|Michael Wiśniowiecki]] (the former Lithuanian grand chancellor nominated by Augustus II), crossed the [[Vistula]] river and the protection of Russian troops. This group, numbering about 3,000, elected Frederick August II King of Poland as Augustus III on October 5. Despite the fact that this group was a minority, Russia and Austria, intent on maintaining their influence within Poland, recognised Augustus as king.

On 10 October, France declared war on Austria and Saxony. Louis XV was later joined by his uncle, King [[Philip V of Spain]], who hoped to secure territories in Italy for his sons by his second marriage to [[Elizabeth Farnese]]. Specifically, he hoped to secure [[Duchy of Mantua|Mantua]] for the elder son, [[Charles III of Spain|Don Carlos]], who was already [[Duke of Parma]] and had the expectation of the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]], and the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] for the younger son, [[Philip of Parma|Don Felipe]]. The two Bourbon monarchs were also joined by [[Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia]], who hoped to secure gains from the Austrian duchies of [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]] and Mantua.

===Austrian isolation===
[[File:Liesbach-Steinburgg 001.JPG|thumb|[[Fusilier]]s of the [[French Royal Army]] (1735) ]]

When hostilities finally broke out, the Austrians had hoped for aid from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and the [[Dutch Republic]]. Such expectations quickly dissipated as both the Dutch and the British chose to pursue a policy of neutrality. British Prime Minister [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]] justified British neutrality in the conflict by noting that the [[Anglo-Austrian Alliance]] agreed at the 1731 [[Treaty of Vienna (1731)|Treaty of Vienna]] was a purely defensive agreement, while Austria was in this instance the aggressor. This position was attacked by British [[Austrophile]]s who wanted to aid the Austrians against France, but Walpole's dominant position ensured that Britain stayed out of the conflict. 

The Dutch under the leadership of [[Grand Pensionary]] [[Simon van Slingelandt]] mediated between the parties, but were anxious themselves to not have war on their doorstep again. The heavy toll of the previous wars against France on the Dutch economy was still in fresh memory.{{sfn|Van Alphen|Hoffenaar|Lemmers|Van der Spek|2019|p=102}} In early 1733, it appeared that the Dutch Republic was on the verge of war with Prussia. [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles VI]] exerted pressure on Prussia, aiming to align the Republic with Austria. However, this attempt proved unsuccessful as the Dutch chose to remain neutral.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2002|p=67}} The threat of war still forced the Dutch Republic to increase the size of [[Dutch States Army|its army]], just at a time the Dutch had hoped to be able to reduce it appreciably.{{sfn|Israel|1995|p=993-994}}  The French had no wish to provoke Britain and the Dutch Republic and carefully chose not to campaign in the [[Austrian Netherlands]], where [[Dutch States Army]] troops [[Barrier Treaty|garrisoned several fortresses]], while also avoiding the parts of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] that might draw either power into the conflict.

On Austria's southern border, France in November 1733 negotiated the secret [[Treaty of Turin (1733)|Treaty of Turin]] with Charles Emmanuel and prepared for military operations in northern Italy.  It concluded the (also secret) [[Treaty of the Escorial]] with Spain, which included promises of French assistance in the Spanish conquest of Naples and Sicily.  France also made diplomatic overtures to [[Sweden]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]] in a fruitless attempt to draw them into the conflict in support of Stanisław.

The Austrians were thus left largely without effective external allies on their southern and western frontiers. Their Russian and Saxon allies were occupied with the Polish campaign, and the Emperor distrusted [[Frederick William I of Prussia]], who was willing to provide some aid.  Divisions within the empire also affected the raising of troops in 1733, as [[Charles-Albert of Bavaria]], who harbored ambitions to become the next [[Holy Roman Emperor]], signed a secret agreement with France in November 1733, and tried, with limited success, to dissuade other rulers within the empire from the [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]] family from providing troops to the emperor under their treaty obligations. While Britain itself did not provide support, the [[Electorate of Hanover]], where [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] also ruled as an Imperial Elector, proved willing to help. On 9 April 1734, a ''[[Reichskrieg]]'' (imperial war) was declared against France, obliging all imperial states to participate.