How large can the PLC be? Assuming that they didn't get fucked up internally, what territories will she aim for?
Largest possible Poland-Lithuania
- Thread starter The Forty-Eighth Rōnin
- Start date
Going forward from the territory they have in this map..
I imagine they'd want to get Silesia at some point, as it's an awesome place to have economically speaking. Aside from that, they'd probably want to finish conquering the Baltic states, as well as the rest of Western Ukraine down to the Black Sea (including Crimea). That way they could dominate the Baltic and have influence in the Black Sea and surroundings.
That's not the "largest possible PLC", I suppose, but it's a good start.
I imagine they'd want to get Silesia at some point, as it's an awesome place to have economically speaking. Aside from that, they'd probably want to finish conquering the Baltic states, as well as the rest of Western Ukraine down to the Black Sea (including Crimea). That way they could dominate the Baltic and have influence in the Black Sea and surroundings.
That's not the "largest possible PLC", I suppose, but it's a good start.
What about land in Scandinavia. If Sweden still goes into a successional war, Poland may support them, at least have Finland.
Maybe land above Bulgaria?
Originally posted by Napoleon Caesar Augustus
I agree. Silesia, for sure; most probaly also Prussia and rest of historical Livonia (i.e. rest of present day Estonia), perhaps also Pomerania. They would try to establish a firm [resens on the Black Sea; if Crimea is not conquered, they they would try to vassalize Khanate, probably Modlovia too.
Of course assuming PLC im much more interesting in expansion than it was IOTL.
I agree. Silesia, for sure; most probaly also Prussia and rest of historical Livonia (i.e. rest of present day Estonia), perhaps also Pomerania. They would try to establish a firm [resens on the Black Sea; if Crimea is not conquered, they they would try to vassalize Khanate, probably Modlovia too.
Of course assuming PLC im much more interesting in expansion than it was IOTL.
I'd think gobbling up the rest of OTL Moldova, Ukraine (and Crimea), Estonia, Latveria, Poland, and Silesia might work. More penetration into Russia, bits and pieces of OTL Romania, Slovakia, and (maybe?) Czech Republic might be able to happen.
The upper bound is gobbling Russia and then expanding eastwards - taking the whole Siberia and some more. Demographics means that this country will become Russian-dominated and then turn into what we know OTL as Russia in anything but name, so (apart from butterflies) no such drastic change from OTL.
The Polish and Lithuanian (and quite probably Ukrainian) components of the new state will be separate entities from the Russian one, and compared to those areas put together Russia's population won't be that huge at all. Not to mention that Russia will probably remain poorer for a long time. Such a union will also have a completely different, much less autocratic character than the OTL Russian Empire.
Their own motivations will stop them, of course.
Poland-Lithuania had many opportunities to destroy Muscovy and didn't. There was nothing there they saw as valuable.
But let's say that hypothetically they destroy Russia in its infancy because some Polish leader decided to finally put down the yapping dog biting at its ankles. They could take control of Kiev, of course. And then expand down to the Black Sea.
But why would they expand into the endless frozen forest to the east? They wouldn't, because their resources are much better spent securing Ukraine.
Maybe if Poland-Lithuania is a great power in the age of exploration, they'll try to conquer east, but it would be for prestige reasons, not settlement reasons.
Plus if the Central Asian states are left alone until that time, Kazan or some other proto-state could develop into something that could resist invasion.
I'm guessing that several former nomadic states of Central Asians and Mongolians would be much more preferable to PLC than one Russian juggernaut in the east stretching to Alaska.