Greater Poland uprising of 1806 was a Polish military insurrection which occurred in the region of Wielkopolska, also known as Greater Poland, against the occupying<ref>Quarterly review of scientific publications Przednia okładkaPolska Akademia Naukowa Ośrodek Rozpowszechniania Wydawnictw Naukowych Ossolineum, page 55, 1969. In the first one on the ground of preserved plans of archives in Merseburg, the plans of fragments of extension of Poznan, from 1793 to 1806, are described. It is the date of the first Prussian occupation of Great Poland</ref>"in 1806 provided the impetus for a Polish uprising against Prussian occupation in 1806 and again in 1830–1831" Why Nations Fight: Past and Future Motives for War Richard Ned Lebow, page 153 Cambridge University Press 2010 Prussian forces after the Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772–1795).
The uprising was organized by General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski to help advancing French forces under Napoleon in liberating Poland from Prussian occupation. The Wielkopolska Uprising was a decisive factor that allowed the formation of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807) and the inclusion of Wielkopolska in the Duchy of Warsaw.
Historical background
While the Kingdom of Prussia already possessed a large Polish population in Upper Silesia, it gained additional Polish citizens during the partitions of Poland. From the beginnings of Prussian rule Poles were subject to a series of measures aimed against them and their culture, notably the Polish language was abolished in favour of German.
The War of the Fourth Coalition between Napoleonic France and the Kingdom of Prussia gave hope to the Polish inhabitants of Greater Poland of recovering their independence and ending oppressive Prussian rule.
Napoleon, counting on the benefits of gaining control over lands on the other side of Prussia, sent a group of emissaries to South Prussia to collect information about the situation in the province and the sympathies of the Polish citizens. On 20 September 1806 the emperor issued orders to form a new division from Polish deserters from the Prussian army. There were so many that two days later, Napoleon decided to form a second division.
The open conflict between France and Prussia ensured that Prussia could only maintain a small number of troops in Greater Poland. Moreover, a large portion of those soldiers were Polish nationals. This caused a great deal of trouble for Prussian commanders; for instance, between 1 November and 20 December, 3000 Polish troops (1/7th) deserted from the Toruń Corps.
Mission of General Dąbrowski
In order to organize a diversion on the back of Prussians, Napoleon chose General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, who was staying in Italy. Dąbrowski was chosen for this mission because he had a great respect in Greater Poland from his military leadership during the uprising of 1794.
Napoleon sent a message to Dąbrowski on 5 October 1806, and on 22 October the General met with the Emperor at Dessau. During this audience, Napoleon ordered Dąbrowski to go to Poznań and organize regular Polish troops. After four days of preparation, Dąbrowski proposed to the French Emperor his plan of forming a Polish army of 40,000 soldiers. To realize this plan, Dąbrowski asked to have Polish officers from other Napoleonic units sent to him, and on his special request, Józef Wybicki was designated to become the future head of the civilian authorities. This group heard from Napoleon, who was already in Berlin, that "[Poles] have to deserve independence" and, when asked whether he would create a Polish State, Napoleon answered: "I will see whether the Poles are worthy of being a nation".
Uprising
Dąbrowski sent emissaries before him to Poznań, to evaluate the situation. After they returned to the General with the news that the whole "region is full of patriotic spirit and joy about the success of the French Army", Dąbrowski and Wybicki entered the city on 3 November 1806 leading the first units of the French army. Their arrival became a large Polish patriotic demonstration. On this same day, Dąbrowski called Poles to stand with arms on Napoleon's side and fight against Prussian occupation. Dąbrowski and Wybicki created Voivodship Commissions (Komisja wojewódzka) whose tasks were to take administrative control and keep the area quiet, preventing fights about social and economical issues.
Dąbrowski's and Wybicki's proclamation was enthusiastically adopted by the bourgeoisie but with reserve by the szlachta. Therefore, in the newly created Poznań Department, Polish units were formed mostly in large urban areas like Poznań, and in the countryside, mobilisation was very slow.