Polish Legions in World War I

The Polish Legions (Polish: Polskie Legiony ) of the First World War were founded on August 16, 1914 in Galicia, at the initiative of the Provisional Commission of the Confederate independence parties ( Komisja Tymczasowa Skonfederowanych Stronnictw Niepodległościowych ) and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament. The unit was an independent formation of the Austro Army and consisted initially of two, later three brigades.

  • I. Józef Piłsudski Brigade, later Kazimierz Sosnkowski and Marian Żegota - Januszajtis ( number of employees in 1915: about 5500 soldiers)
  • Second Brigade under Ferdynand Kuttner, later Józef Haller ( headcount in 1915: about 5000 soldiers)
  • III. Brigade under Viktor Grzesicki, later Stanisław Szeptycki, Zygmunt Zielinski and Bolesław Roja ( headcount in 1915: about 6000 soldiers)

The legions led mainly fighting against the Russians in Galicia and the Carpathians. In June 1916, the unit had approximately 25,000 soldiers. After the establishment of the reign of the Kingdom of Poland in November 1916, the Polish Legions were placed under German command (Polish Army ). A short time later, the legions were disbanded and interned their soldiers because they had refused to obey the Emperor in the so-called Eidkrise allegiance. After the war and the restoration of Poland, the officers of the legions formed the backbone of the Polish Army.

Commanders

Supreme Commander of the Polish Legions were:

  • Karol Durski - Trzaska ( September 1914-February 1916 )
  • Stanisław Puchalski (until November 1916)
  • Stanisław Szeptycki (until April 1917)
  • Zygmunt Zielinski (until August 1917)

Known members (selection)

Prominent officers of the Polish Legions were:

  • Władysław Sikorski
  • Stefan Dąb - Biernacki
  • Edward Rydz - Śmigły
  • Kazimierz Sosnkowski

Other (later) famous members included:

  • Józef Beck
  • Henryk Dobrzański
  • Bolesław Bronisław Duch
  • Michał Karaszewicz - Tokarzewski
  • Tadeusz Kasprzycki
  • Franciszek Kleeberg
  • Tadeusz Klimecki
  • Leopold Okulicki
  • Antoni Pająk
  • Tadeusz Piskor
  • Michał Rola - Żymierski
  • Stefan Rowecki
  • Waclaw Stachiewicz
Kielce Carpathian Mountains Polska Siła Zbrojna Oath crisis List of Polish armies in World War II
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