War of the Polish Succession ( 1587 – 88 ) The War of the Polish Succession or the Habsburg - Polish War took place from 1587 to 1588 over the election of monarch after the death of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory . The war was fought between factions of Sigismund III Vasa and Maximilian III , with Sigismund eventually being crowned King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . Two major battles of this conflict included the Siege of Kraków , in which Maximilian III failed to capture the capital of the Commonwealth , and the Battle of Byczyna , in which Maximilian was forced to surrender . Sigismund ' s victory was significantly the doing of Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski , who stood behind both the political intrigue and the military victories of this conflict . Background . In 1576 , following the death of previous Polish king , Stefan Batory , the Swedish king Sigismund III Vasa and Habsburg Maximilian III , Archduke of Austria took part in the election to the joint Polish – Lithuanian throne . Each of the two candidates had supporters in the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth with the two opposing sides gathered around pro - Sigismund Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski and the Primate of Poland , Stanisław Karnkowski on one side and the pro - Maximilain Zborowski family on the other . Bad blood between Zamoyski and the Zborowski family dated years past ; tensions during the elections ran high . Sigismund , supported by Zamoyski and the former king ' s wife , Anna Jagiellon , was elected King of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth on 19 August 1587 and recognized as such by the " interrex " , the Primate Karnkowski . However , the election was disputed by the other candidate , Maximilian III of Austria , and opponents of Sigismund chose not to respect the election outcome , decreeing that Maximilian was the rightful monarch three days later , on 22 August . Zborowscy called for the rokosz ( legitimate right to rebel ) and the election ended in chaos , with several killed and many wounded . For both Zamoyski and Zborowski , losing was not an option , as they knew the losing side would likely pay a severe price , from confiscations and prestige loss to a possible death sentence for treason . Neither Sigismund nor Maximilian were present in the Commonwealth at that time . After receiving news of his election , both Sigismund and Maximilan made haste for Poland . Sigismund arrived at Danzig ( Gdańsk ) on the 28 September , and after approximately two weeks he had departed to Kraków , where he arrived in 9 December and was crowned on 27 December . Maximilian attempted to resolve the dispute by bringing a military force to Poland – thereby starting the War of the Polish Succession . He took Lubowla , but after a failed attempt to storm Kraków ( the capital of Poland ) in late 1587 , successfully defended by Zamoyski , he retreated to gather more reinforcements , pursued by the forces loyal to Sigismund . While waiting for reinforcements , he was defeated at the Battle of Byczyna on January 1588 , and forced to surrender . This marked the end of this conflict . Aftermath . After the intervention of a papal envoy , Maximilian was released , but only after spending thirteen months as a " guest " of Zamoyski . In the Treaty of Bytom and Będzin ( signed on 9 March 1589 ) Maximilian had to renounce the Polish crown and Rudolf II , Holy Roman Emperor had to pledge not to make any alliances against Poland with Muscovy or Sweden . The town of Lubowla , taken early in the conflict by Maximilian , was returned to Poland . Upon his return to Vienna he failed to honor his pledge and renounce his claim to the Polish crown ( he would do so only in 1598 ) . Nonetheless , there would be no serious military tensions between the Commonwealth and the Habsburgs , as each would quickly became concerned with other issues .