Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės karybos problemos Augusto III valdymo laikotarpiu (1733-1763)

LTIstoriografijoje dažniausiai teigiama, kad Augusto III laikais nebuvo surenkama pusės LDK kariuomenei numatyto etato. Tai daugiausia daroma remiantis laikotarpio amžininku J. Kitowicziumi, kuris teigė, kad LDK kariuomenę tesudarė 2-3 tūkstančiai asmenų. Tačiau šaltiniai pateikia kiek kitokį vaizdą. Apie 1740 m. LDK kariuomenę sudarė daugiau nei 3,5 tūkst., o apie 1760 m. - arti 4 tūkst.4 Tikslesnius skaičius pateikti labai sunku, kadangi nemaža trūkumų įvairių kariuomenės rūšių sąrašuose (atostogaujantys, sergantys, komandiruotieji, laukiantys eilės priėmimui į pulką, trūksta atskirų kariuomenės rūšių sąrašų kiekvienais metais ir t. t.). Tačiau galime teigti, kad tiek 1740 m., tiek 1760 m. visos kariuomenės rūšys surinko daugiau kaip pusę numatyto etato. Štai etate buvo numatyta 400 husarų; jų apie 1740 m. buvo 297, apie 1750 m. - 313, iš 1 200 petihorų atitinkamai 860 ir 923, iš 700 lengvųjų kavaleristų - 534 ir 528. Panaši padėtis buvo ir svetimšalių autoramente. Netgi nesurinkus reikiamo kontingento kariuomenė turėjo materialinių problemų. Biudžetas karo reikalams nuo XVII a. beveik nebuvo padidintas, o pinigų vertė krito. Pažymėtinas geras svetimšalių autoramento, kuriam vadovavo Jurgis Flemingas, rengimas. Tarp karių vyko šaudymo, plaukimo, bėgimo varžybos. Karininkai ir puskarininkiai buvo mokomi inžinerinių įgūdžių (apkasų ruošimas, tiltų statymas), kareiviai - skaityti bei rašyti5. LDK pėstininkų rengimo lygis atitiko geriausių Europos kariuomenių lygį. V dešimtmečio pabaigoje vadovybės iniciatyva čia sustiprėjo prūsų įtaka (iki tol - saksų), matyt, dėl Prūsijos laimėjimų Austrijos įpėdinystės kare (1740-1748 m.). Pirmiau nei austrai ir prancūzai lietuviai batalionuose priėjo prie trijų eilių rikiuotės [p. 549-550].

ENIn the struggle for the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stanisław Leszczyński had to yield to Augustus III, supported by Russia. While in exile in France in 1736 Leszczyński suggested the Republic should have an army of 100 000 men. That plan was not realized. According the decision of the Diet of 1717 the Polish army was to have 18,000 men, and the Lithuanian army - 6,000. However, in actual fact, in the reign of Augustus III these numbers were smaller. In their research historians often cite the contemporary memoir writer J. Kitowicz, stating that the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted of 2.000 to 3.000 men. The data and the documents, quoted in the articles of Marian Lech and M. Skibinski lead to the conclusion that the Lithuanian army consisted only of a half of the personnel number, established by the Diet. About the year 1740 that number was slightly over 3,500 men, and in 1760 - nearly 4,000. Infantrymen and dragoons were known for their good combat training. In the Lithuanian State Archive of History (Vilnius) there are documents, related to the artillery of Augustus III. That might be due to the fact that in the 18th century the ordnance corps of the Grand Duchy was stationed in Vilnius. It consisted of over a hundred men. However, it had no guns, suitable for action - they had been lost in the Northern War already. The guns that were kept at the arsenal of Vilnius were not fit for use, they could not even be repaired. Only after a long interval, in 1784, guns, suitable for firing, were acquired.At the end of Augustus Ill’s reign the army of the Grand Duchy had about 4,000 men, and the total number of members, serving in the armed forces of the Republic, was 16,000. At that time the armies of the neighbouring countries were much larger: 200,000 men in the Prussian army, 350,000 - in Russia and 280,000 - in Austria (in ca. 1760). The armies of those countries were permanently engaged in wars. The soldiers of the Grand Duchy (with the exception of light cavalry) were used only for the suppression of rebellions and for certain guarding functions. In the formations of the Saxon troops the uhlans participated in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and in the Seven Years War (1756-1763). Questions, concerning the armed forces of the Republic and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were discussed in the Diets of 1738, 1740, 1744, 1746 and 1748. Offers were made to raise funds for the enlargement of the army. In this respect internal and international circumstances were most favourable in 1744 and 1746. However there was no unanimity among the nobles and no decisions were adopted either on military or on other matters. After the Diet of 1744 military questions were discussed at the province dietines of the Grand Duchy, too. The gentry proposed to increase the army to 10-15,000 men, however financial resources that were found were sufficient only for 2,000 - even the army of that time was larger. The Diets of 1750 and 1752 paid less attention to military problems.At that time the Russian army was master of the situation in Lithuania. In the Seven Year War local young men were recruited under compulsion for their Russian armed forces. The nobles of the Grand Duchy had their private armies, mostly used for the suppression of rebellions. Jeronim Florian Radvila (1715-17600), investing great resources, built up a regular army of 6,000 men, and he also had 6,000 irregulars. Rigidly militaristic order was peculiar to that large army. His brother Michal Kazimierz Radvila (1702-1762), the great hetman of the Duchy, also had a private army and after the death of J. F. Radvila he inherited his brother’s riches and army. Thus, in the case of the Radvilas it was difficult to distinguish between the state and private armies. The Radvilas had even private military schools. It is quite possible that during the reign of Augustus III the best opportunities were missed to build up the army and defend the Motherland.