AHC: Save Constitutional (1791) Poland

With no PoDs prior to 1792 (or November 1791 at the earliest), is it possible to save the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth as reformed by the Great Sejm (the May Constitution, etc)? Namely, is it possible for Poland to hold her own against the war with Russia? As an example, FWIG, Polish generals were telling Stanislaw was winnable for them when the king decided to accede to Catherine's demands; could he have held firm?
 
With no PoDs prior to 1792 (or November 1791 at the earliest), is it possible to save the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth as reformed by the Great Sejm (the May Constitution, etc)? Namely, is it possible for Poland to hold her own against the war with Russia? As an example, FWIG, Polish generals were telling Stanislaw was winnable for them when the king decided to accede to Catherine's demands; could he have held firm?

Without let's say a meteor hitting St. Petersburg and killing everyone, or epidemy decimating Russian army that would be a quite ambitious task.
Russians have bigger and better (more experienced) army and better commanders, and even if Poles win some battles and push them out of Polish territory, Russia could come next year with even greater forces, and of course Prussians could stab them in the back (theoretically Poland and Prussia were allied, but Prussia entered that alliance in bad faith, as it was supposed to provoke Russia to invade Poland and allow for another partition). So even if they win Poland will need to quickly negotiate peace with Russia, including another alliance with them, and perhaps giving up some territory.

Poles need a bigger army, for which they need more money, so further taxes need to be raised, more recruits which require change of law that would allow to conscript peasants from private properties, weapons need to be imported because domestic production is limited, something needs to be done with cavalry because it is useless.
Poland probably needs the radical approach of total national mobilization in French style, but for that elites need to treat the danger seriously and king needs to grow a spine.


It would require much more radical steps than those taken in otl, national mobilization,
 
Top