Portal:Poland/People

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Stanisław Koniecpolski, (1590/1594 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish nobleman (szlachta), magnate, official (starost and castellan), voivode of Sandomierz from 1625, and Field and later Grand Crown hetman (second highest military commander, after the king) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Stanisław Koniecpolski lived a life that involved almost constant warfare, and during his military career he won many victories. Before he reached the age of 20, he had fought in the Dymitriads and the Moldavian Magnate Wars, where he was taken captive by the forces of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Cecora in 1620. After his release in 1623 he defeated Ottoman vassals the Tatars in 1624. With inferior forces he fought Swedish forces of Gustavus Adolphus to a stalemate in Prussia during the second phase of the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629). He defeated a major Turkish invasion at Kamieniec Podolski in Ukraine in 1634, and during his life led many other successful campaigns against the rebellious Cossacks and invading Tatars. He is considered to be one of the most skilled and famous military commanders in the history of Poland and Lithuania.