This article is about Polish Legions on the Eastern Front in World War I. For Polish Legions on the Western Front in World War I, see Blue Army (Poland). For other units named the Polish Legions, see Polish Legions (disambiguation).
The Legions took part in many battles against the forces of the Imperial Russia, both in Galicia and in the Carpathian Mountains. They suffered heavy casualties outnumbered three to one in the Battle of Łowczówek. They captured Kielce, and in 1915 took part in the offensive on Warsaw. In June 1916 the unit had approximately 25,000 soldiers.[1] Both the number of troops and the composition of units changed rapidly. After the Battle of Kostiuchnówka where 2,000 Polish soldiers died delaying a Russian offensive, Józef Piłsudski demanded that the Central Powers issue a guarantee of independence for Poland and partially succeeded.[5] The Polish Legions became the Polish Auxiliary Corps. After the Act of 5th November of 1916 which pronounced the creation of the puppet Kingdom of Poland of 1916–18, the Polish Legions were transferred under German command. However, most of the members refused to swear allegiance to the German Kaiser and were interned in Beniaminów and Szczypiorno (the Oath crisis). Approximately 3,000 of them were drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army and sent to the Italian Front while approximately 7,500 stayed in the Polish Auxiliary Corps, part of the failed German Polnische Wehrmacht.
According to Prit Buttar, "When war broke out, Piłsudski was quick to recognize that an important preliminary step in Poland's path to independence was the defeat of tsarist Russia..." Piłsudski was no supporter of the Central Powers, and once Russia had been driven out of Polish territory, he believed that he and his fellow Poles would have to persuade the Germans and Austro-Hungarians to leave too, but he held secret meetings with representatives of France and Great Britain to make clear to the western members of the Entente that Polish troops would never fight against them, only against Russia."[6]
The formation of the Legions was declared by Józef Piłsudski in his order of August 22, 1914. The Austrian government, having jurisdiction over the area, officially agreed to the formation on August 27, 1914.
Artillery Battalions with served with I, II, and III Brigade
Cavalry Regiments: 1st served in I Brigade; 2nd served in II Brigade; 3rd served in III Brigade
Infantry Regiments: 1st, 5th, 7th served in I Brigade; 2nd, 3rd served in II Brigade; 4th served in both II and III Brigades; 5th, 6th served in III Brigade.
The commanders of the Legions were consecutively: Gen. Karol Trzaska-Durski (September 1914 – February 1916), Gen. Stanisław Puchalski (until November 1916), Col. Stanisław Szeptycki (until April 1917), and Col. Zygmunt Zieliński (until August 1917). After the war ended the officers of the Polish Legions became the backbone of the Polish Army.
Below is a list of prominent Polish battles against the Imperial Russian Army in 1914–16, leading to victories in most cases, with notable exceptions especially during the Brusilov Offensive of 1916.
^Spencer Tucker; Laura Matysek Wood; Justin D. Murphy (1996). The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 332. ISBN0-8153-3351-X – via Google Print.
^Urbankowski, Bohdan (1997). Józef Piłsudski: Marzyciel i strateg (Józef Piłsudski: Dreamer and Strategist) (in Polish). Vol. 1–2. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo ALFA. pp. 251–252. ISBN978-83-7001-914-3.
^Buttar, Prit (2017). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 192. ISBN978-1-4728-2489-9.
^Piotr Galik, Fakty.Interia.pl at Internet Archive. (in Polish)See also: Mieczysław Wrzosek, Polski czyn zbrojny podczas pierwszej wojny światowej 1914-1918, Państwowe Wydawnictwo "Wiedza Powszechna", Warszawa 1990.
January 01, 1970
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This article is about Polish Legions on the Eastern Front in World War I For Polish Legions on the Western Front in World War I see Blue Army Poland For other units named the Polish Legions see Polish Legions disambiguation The Polish Legions Polish Legiony Polskie was a name of the Polish military force the first active Polish army in generations 1 established in August 1914 in Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Triple Entente on one side comprising the British Empire the French Republic and the Russian Empire and the Central Powers on the other side comprising the German Empire and Austria Hungary 2 The Legions became a founding myth for the creation of modern Poland in spite of their considerably short existence 1 they were replaced by the Polish Auxiliary Corps Polish Polski Korpus Posilkowy formation on 20 September 1916 merged with Polish II Corps in Russia on 19 February 1918 for the Battle of Rarancza against Austria Hungary and disbanded following the military defeat at the Battle of Kaniow in May 1918 3 against Imperial Germany General Haller escaped to France to form the Polish army in the West against the anti Polish German Bolshevik treaty 4 Polish LegionsLegiony PolskieEurope in 1914 the Central Powers in brown Col Jozef Pilsudski with his staff in front of the Governor s Palace in Kielce 1914 Col Jozef Pilsudski and his officers 1915 Pilsudski in Otwock 1915 II Brigade of the Polish Legions in Volhynia c 1915 16 The Legions took part in many battles against the forces of the Imperial Russia both in Galicia and in the Carpathian Mountains They suffered heavy casualties outnumbered three to one in the Battle of Lowczowek They captured Kielce and in 1915 took part in the offensive on Warsaw In June 1916 the unit had approximately 25 000 soldiers 1 Both the number of troops and the composition of units changed rapidly After the Battle of Kostiuchnowka where 2 000 Polish soldiers died delaying a Russian offensive Jozef Pilsudski demanded that the Central Powers issue a guarantee of independence for Poland and partially succeeded 5 The Polish Legions became the Polish Auxiliary Corps After the Act of 5th November of 1916 which pronounced the creation of the puppet Kingdom of Poland of 1916 18 the Polish Legions were transferred under German command However most of the members refused to swear allegiance to the German Kaiser and were interned in Beniaminow and Szczypiorno the Oath crisis Approximately 3 000 of them were drafted into the Austro Hungarian army and sent to the Italian Front while approximately 7 500 stayed in the Polish Auxiliary Corps part of the failed German Polnische Wehrmacht Contents 1 History 2 Battles 3 Notable officers who served in the Polish Legions 4 Polish Legions prominent members 5 See also 6 External links 7 Notes and referencesHistory editAccording to Prit Buttar When war broke out Pilsudski was quick to recognize that an important preliminary step in Poland s path to independence was the defeat of tsarist Russia Pilsudski was no supporter of the Central Powers and once Russia had been driven out of Polish territory he believed that he and his fellow Poles would have to persuade the Germans and Austro Hungarians to leave too but he held secret meetings with representatives of France and Great Britain to make clear to the western members of the Entente that Polish troops would never fight against them only against Russia 6 The formation of the Legions was declared by Jozef Pilsudski in his order of August 22 1914 The Austrian government having jurisdiction over the area officially agreed to the formation on August 27 1914 The unit became an independent formation of the Austro Hungarian Army thanks to the efforts of the KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament Personnel came mostly from former members of various scouting organizations including Druzyny Strzeleckie and Zwiazek Strzelecki as well from as volunteers from all around the Austro Hungarian Empire Initially the Polish Legions were composed of two legions the Eastern and the Western Legion both formed on August 27 After a Russian victory in the Battle of Galicia August September 1914 the Eastern Polish legion refused to fight on behalf of the Austro Hungarian side against Russia and was disbanded on September 21 On December 19 the Western legion was transformed into three brigades the I Brigade of the Polish Legions under Jozef Pilsudski formed in mid December the II Brigade of the Polish Legions under Jozef Haller de Hallenburg formed between mid December and March sources vary and the III Brigade of the Polish Legions under Zygmunt Zielinski later Boleslaw Roja formed on May 8 1915 All brigades had the following Artillery Battalions with served with I II and III Brigade Cavalry Regiments 1st served in I Brigade 2nd served in II Brigade 3rd served in III Brigade Infantry Regiments 1st 5th 7th served in I Brigade 2nd 3rd served in II Brigade 4th served in both II and III Brigades 5th 6th served in III Brigade The commanders of the Legions were consecutively Gen Karol Trzaska Durski September 1914 February 1916 Gen Stanislaw Puchalski until November 1916 Col Stanislaw Szeptycki until April 1917 and Col Zygmunt Zielinski until August 1917 After the war ended the officers of the Polish Legions became the backbone of the Polish Army Operations of Polish Legions and the Pulawy Legion nbsp Battles editBelow is a list of prominent Polish battles against the Imperial Russian Army in 1914 16 leading to victories in most cases with notable exceptions especially during the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 Battle of Nowy Korczyn 23 24 September 1914 Battle of Laski and Anielin October 21 October 26 1914 Battle of Molotkow October 29 1914 Battle of Krzywoploty 17 18 November 1914 Battle of Marcinkowice 5 6 December 1914 Battle of Lowczowek December 22 December 25 1914 Battle of Pustki 2 May 1915 Battle of Konary May 16 May 25 1915 Battle of Rafajlowa January 23 24 1915 Kirlibaba January 18 22 1915 Rarancza June 13 1915 Battle of Rokitna 15 June 1915 Battle of Jastkow July 29 July 31 1915 Battle of Kostiuchnowka July 4 July 6 1916 Battle of Rarancza 15 16 February 1918 7 Notable officers who served in the Polish Legions editFollowing the foundation of the Second Polish Republic many served in the Polish Army and held political as well as elected offices Tomasz Arciszewski Leon Berbecki Zygmunt Berling Waclaw Kostek Biernacki Wladyslaw Bortnowski Edmund Charaszkiewicz Walerian Czuma Boleslaw Wieniawa Dlugoszowski Gustaw Orlicz Dreszer Wiktor Tomir Drymmer Boleslaw Bronislaw Duch Karol Durski Trzaska Kazimierz Fabrycy Emil August Fieldorf Stanislaw Grzmot Skotnicki Tadeusz Rozwadowski Michal Karaszewicz Tokarzewski Tadeusz Kasprzycki Roman Kawecki Zdzislaw Kawecki Franciszek Kleeberg Tadeusz Klimecki Bronislaw Prugar Ketling Tadeusz Rozycki Kolodziejczyk Alojzy Wir Konas Stefan Kossecki Jan Kowalewski Wincenty Kowalski Marian Kukiel Julian Kulski Tadeusz Kurcyusz Jozef Kustron Ludwik de Laveaux officer Mieczyslaw Mackiewicz Kazimierz Mastalerz Henryk Minkiewicz Jozef Dowbor Musnicki Mieczyslaw Norwid Neugebauer Leopold Okulicki Kazimierz Orlik Lukoski Wilhelm Orlik Ruckemann Antoni Pajak Witold Pilecki Tadeusz Piskor Wladyslaw Belina Prazmowski Tadeusz Puszczynski Bronislaw Rakowski Ludomil Rayski Boleslaw Roja Juliusz Rommel Stanislaw Grzmot Skotnicki Piotr Skuratowicz Edward Rydz Smigly Mieczyslaw Smorawinski Kazimierz Sosnkowski Mieczyslaw Boruta Spiechowicz Julian Stachiewicz Waclaw Stachiewicz Kazimierz Stamirowski Stefan Starzynski Aleksander Stawarz Zygmunt Bohusz Szyszko Wiktor Thommee Wladyslaw Wejtko Jozef Olszyna Wilczynski Jan Wlodarkiewicz Wlodzimierz Zagorski general Jozef Zajac Ferdynand Zarzycki Marian Januszajtis Zegota Lucjan Zeligowski Juliusz Zulauf Michal Rola Zymierski Franciszek OwsianyPolish Legions prominent members edit nbsp Tomasz Arciszewski nbsp Jozef Beck nbsp Zygmunt Berling nbsp Waclaw Kostek Biernacki nbsp Tadeusz Brzezinski nbsp Walerian Czuma nbsp Stefan Dab Biernacki nbsp Henryk Dobrzanski nbsp Bronislaw Duch nbsp Karol Durski Trzaska nbsp Emil Fieldorf nbsp Jozef Haller de Hallenburg who commanded II Brigade nbsp Tadeusz Jordan Rozwadowski in an Austro Hungarian military uniform 1918 nbsp Tadeusz Kasprzycki nbsp Franciszek Kleeberg nbsp Tadeusz Klimecki nbsp Adam Koc nbsp Stefan Kossecki nbsp Marian Kozielewski nbsp Julian Kulski nbsp Jozef Kustron nbsp Kazimierz Mastalerz nbsp Henryk Minkiewicz nbsp Mieczyslaw Norwid Neugebauer who commanded 6th Regiment and 3rd Brigade nbsp Leopold Okulicki who served in 3rd Legions Infantry Regiment nbsp Gustaw Orlicz Dreszer nbsp Wilhelm Orlik Ruckemann nbsp Antoni Pajak nbsp Witold Pilecki nbsp Tadeusz Piskor nbsp Wladyslaw Belina Prazmowski nbsp Stanislaw Puchalski nbsp Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz President of Poland nbsp Tadeusz Rozycki Kolodziejczyk nbsp Juliusz Rommel nbsp Stefan Rowecki nbsp Waclaw Sieroszewski nbsp Wladyslaw Sikorski nbsp Piotr Skuratowicz nbsp Edward Rydz Smigly nbsp Mieczyslaw Smorawinski nbsp Kazimierz Sosnkowski nbsp Waclaw Stachiewicz in 1917 after the Oath Crisis nbsp Kazimierz Stamirowski nbsp Stefan Starzynski nbsp Stanislaw Szeptycki nbsp Wiktor Thommee nbsp Michal Karaszewicz Tokarzewski nbsp Wladyslaw Wejtko nbsp Jozef Olszyna Wilczynski nbsp Wlodzimierz Zagorski general nbsp Jozef Zajac nbsp Ferdynand Zarzycki nbsp Marian Januszajtis Zegota nbsp Zygmunt Zielinski nbsp Michal Rola ZymierskiSee also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polish Legions in World War I Polish Legions disambiguation Stanislaw Skarzynski Czeslaw Zbieranski Association of the Polish Youth Zet Blue Army Poland First Cadre Company Greater Poland Uprising 1918 1919 Kingdom of Poland 1916 1918 List of Polish divisions in World War I My Pierwsza Brygada Polish Army Veterans Association in America Polish Legion of American Veterans Polish Auxiliary Corps Polish I Corps in Russia Polish II Corps in Russia Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division Polish Military Organisation Polish Rifle Squads Polska Sila Zbrojna Riflemen s Association Union of Active Struggle The Seven Lancers of BelinaExternal links editCentek Jaroslaw Polish Legions in 1914 1918 online International Encyclopedia of the First World War Brudek Pawel Polish Legionaries Union in 1914 1918 online International Encyclopedia of the First World War Notes and references edit a b c M B B Biskupski 2012 Independence Day Myth Symbol and the Creation of Modern Poland OUP Oxford pp 9 11 ISBN 978 0 19 965881 7 Willmott H P 2003 World War I New York Dorling Kindersley p 15 ISBN 0 7894 9627 5 OCLC 52541937 WIEM Encyklopedia 2015 Polski Korpus Posilkowy at PortalWiedzy onet pl in Polish Spencer Tucker Laura Matysek Wood Justin D Murphy 1996 The European Powers in the First World War An Encyclopedia Taylor amp Francis p 332 ISBN 0 8153 3351 X via Google Print Urbankowski Bohdan 1997 Jozef Pilsudski Marzyciel i strateg Jozef Pilsudski Dreamer and Strategist in Polish Vol 1 2 Warsaw Wydawnictwo ALFA pp 251 252 ISBN 978 83 7001 914 3 Buttar Prit 2017 Russia s Last Gasp The Eastern Front 1916 17 Oxford Osprey Publishing p 192 ISBN 978 1 4728 2489 9 Piotr Galik Chwalebna zdrada Rarancza 1918 Fakty Interia pl at Internet Archive in Polish See also Mieczyslaw Wrzosek Polski czyn zbrojny podczas pierwszej wojny swiatowej 1914 1918 Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Wiedza Powszechna Warszawa 1990 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polish Legions in World War I amp oldid 1219179651, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
