Historical Background
While Kingdom of Prussia already possessed 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; Polish language was abolished as official language and German introduced. Prussian ruler Frederick the Great who hated and despised Poles hoped to replace them with Germans Prussian officials who spread German language and culture often despised Poles, who were portrayed as 'backward Slavs'. Lands of Polish nobility were confiscated and given to German nobles. German colonists were settled
The War of the Fourth Coalition between Napoleonic France and 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 ToruĊ Corps.
The low morale of Germans contributed to the French victory at the battle of Jena-Auerstedt.
Read more about this topic: Greater Poland Uprising (1806)
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