Background
See also: Franco-Polish alliance (1524)Already during the France-Habsburg rivalry that started in the 16th century, France had tried to find allies to the east of Austria, namely hoping to ally with Poland. Poland's King Jan III Sobieski allegedly also had the intention to ally with France against the threat of Austria, but the greater threat posed by the Muslim-led Ottoman Empire made him fight for the Christian cause in the Battle of Vienna. In the 18th century, Poland was forcibly caused to cease to exist as a proper nation through a method called partition, performed by Russia and Prussia along with Austria, but Emperor Napoleon I of France recreated the Polish state in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. With the rise of a united German Empire in the 19th century, both France and Poland found a new common enemy.
Read more about this topic: Franco-Polish Alliance (1921)
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