Polish Corps in Russia

After the February Revolution Poles in the Russian army set up a Supreme Polish Military Committee, which brought about the formation of three corps. The I Polish Corps under General Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, formed in Belarus from the summer of 1917, numbered nearly 30,000 men at its peak. In January 1918 it refused to disarm, took Bobruisk and fought the Bolsheviks, then made a neutrality agreement with the Germans and recognised the authority of the Regency Council.

The II Polish Corps was formed in Bessarabia from late 1917; in March 1918 it was joined by the II Brigade of the Legions after its crossing of the front at Rarańcza, and Józef Haller took command. On 11 May 1918 it was destroyed by the Germans at Kaniów. The small III Corps in Ukraine, a few thousand strong, was disarmed by the Austrians in June, and the Germans disbanded the I Corps in May. Many of the corps' soldiers later joined the Polish Army.