Polish–Swedish War (1620–1629)

Timeline

1. 1620–1621Riga · LatviaTensions between Sweden and Poland on the Livonian border escalated in 1620; in 1621 Gustavus Adolphus led an army to besiege Riga, capturing the city that September. The war fully began, and Sweden gained a strategic foothold on the eastern Baltic coast.
2. 1622–1624Estonia and Livonia · LatviaBetween 1622 and 1624, Sweden gradually occupied the main fortresses along the coasts of Estonia and Livonia. Poland organized counterattacks but failed to retake Riga; both sides maintained a stalemate on the eastern border while Sweden consolidated control over Baltic trade routes.
3. 1625–1627Polish–Prussian border · PolandAfter 1625 Swedish forces advanced deep into Poland proper and toward the Prussian border; peace talks in 1626–1627 repeatedly failed. Poland simultaneously faced pressure from the Ottomans and Russia, making it difficult to concentrate forces to recover lost territory; the war continued and drained Commonwealth resources.
4. 1629Altmark · GermanyOn 25 September 1629, with French mediation, Sweden and Poland signed the Treaty of Altmark: Sweden retained Estonia, most of Livonia, and customs revenues from ports such as Danzig, while Poland received a six-year truce. The war ended in a Swedish strategic victory, and Gustavus Adolphus then turned his forces toward the Thirty Years' War.