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The Polish Legions

1914–1918 · 15 articles · about 80 min of reading

On 6 August 1914 Józef Piłsudski's First Cadre Company set out from Kraków, and a few weeks later the Polish Legions were formed to fight alongside the Austro-Hungarian army. The legionaries fought the Russians in the Kingdom, in the Carpathians and in Volhynia, and at Łowczówek they showed that they had become a fully fledged army. Germany wanted to make them the core of a Polish army at its side, but in July 1917 the legionaries of the I and III Brigades refused the oath, and Piłsudski ended up in Magdeburg. The series runs from the march of the Cadre Company through Krzywopłoty, Łowczówek and Kostiuchnówka, the oath crisis and the Commandant's arrest to the Second Brigade's breakthrough at Rarańcza and the last fight of Haller's legionaries at Kaniów.

1914

  1. 016 August 1914EventKey moment2 minAustria-Hungary declares war on RussiaThe starting point: on the day two partitioning powers go to war with each other, Piłsudski's First Cadre Company sets out from Kraków and crosses into the Kingdom of Poland.On 6 August 1914 the Austro-Hungarian ambassador in St Petersburg handed over the declaration of war. The monarchy's main front shifted to Galicia.
  2. 0211 September 1914Event5 minThe great Austro-Hungarian retreat in GaliciaThe Legions' first crisis: in the retreat from Galicia the Eastern Legion falls apart, and only the men around Haller take the oath and join the new 3rd Regiment.On 11 September 1914 Conrad ordered the Austro-Hungarian armies back behind the San, then the Dunajec. Russia took most of Galicia and besieged Przemyśl.
  3. 0328 September – 8 November 1914BattleKey moment7 minBattle of Warsaw and DęblinPiłsudski's legionaries in the great autumn battle on the Vistula: at Laski and Anielin they fight one of their first large battles with the Russians.In autumn 1914 the Germans and Austrians struck through the Kingdom of Poland at Warsaw and Dęblin. The Russians halted them on the Vistula and drove them west.
  4. 047 October 1914Event1 minAustro-Hungarians retake MáramarosszigetThe other branch of the Legions, the future Second Brigade, begins its war in the Carpathians: the skirmish near Máramarossziget is the Legions' first action in the Eastern Carpathians.On 7 October 1914 Austro-Hungarian troops, supported by the Polish Legions, drove the Cossacks out of Máramarossziget, capital of Máramaros, taken days before.
  5. 0530 October 1914Event2 minRussians take StanisławówMołotków, one of the first large and bloodiest battles of the Legions against the Russians, halts the Carpathian regiments' autumn advance on Stanisławów.The British chronicle records the Russian capture of Stanisławów on 30 October 1914. The town had, however, been in their hands since early September.
  6. 0615–28 November 1914BattleKey moment6 minBattle of KrakówIn the Battle of Kraków the Legions gain their first legend: the fight at Krzywopłoty passes into their tradition as "the Legions' Thermopylae".In November 1914 the Austro-Hungarian army sallied from Kraków fortress to hit the flank of the Russians marching on Silesia, then fell back to its forts.
  7. 071–12 December 1914BattleKey moment9 minBattle of LimanowaVictory at Limanowa opens Nowy Sącz to the Legions, and there Piłsudski's units are reorganised into the First Brigade of the Polish Legions.In December 1914 the Austrians struck from the hills at the flank of the Russians nearing Kraków. After ten days at Łapanów and Limanowa the Russians withdrew.
  8. 0822–25 December 1914BattleKey moment8 minBattle of ŁowczówekThe First Brigade's first battle, fought on Christmas Eve too, shows that Piłsudski's volunteer units have become a fully fledged army.On 22–25 December 1914 the Legions' First Brigade retook the hills above the Biała near Tarnów on the march and held them against the Russians for three days.

1915

  1. 0919 February 1915Event2 minAustrians take StanisławówThe Legions' Carpathian winter: Lieutenant Colonel Haller's group, the later Second Brigade, takes part in the winter offensive that briefly wins back Stanisławów.The British chronicle records the Austrian capture of Stanisławów on 19 February 1915. Other sources say they entered a day later and held it for two weeks.

1916

  1. 104 June – 20 September 1916BattleKey moment12 minBrusilov offensiveThe Legions in the Brusilov offensive: Kostiuchnówka costs them about 2,000 killed and wounded and becomes one of the most important battles in their tradition.From 4 June 1916 Brusilov's four armies broke the Austro-Hungarian front in Volhynia and Bukovina. They took hundreds of thousands of prisoners but not Kovel.
  2. 115 November 1916EventKey moment7 minAct of 5 NovemberThe Legions become the Polish Auxiliary Corps, Piłsudski leaves the army, and the emperors' manifesto is above all meant to give the Central Powers Polish recruits.On 5 November 1916 a manifesto of the German and Austrian emperors was proclaimed in Warsaw and Lublin, promising a Kingdom of Poland without a king or borders.

1917

  1. 129 July 1917Event4 minOath crisisThe turning point of the series: the refusal of the I and III Brigades to swear ends the Legions in their existing form and Piłsudski's cooperation with the Central Powers.On 9 July 1917, at Piłsudski's call, I and III Brigade legionaries refused an oath of brotherhood in arms with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Internment followed.
  2. 1322 July 1917EventKey moment3 minArrest of PiłsudskiThe creator of the Legions becomes a prisoner of Germany: the Commandant spends over a year in Magdeburg, and captivity makes him a symbol of the struggle for independence.On the night of 21–22 July 1917 the Germans arrested Józef Piłsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski in Warsaw. The Commandant spent over a year in Magdeburg.

1918

  1. 1415 February 1918Event5 minBattle of RarańczaThe Second Brigade's break with Austria: for the first time Polish units fighting alongside the Central Powers openly break with them, arms in hand.On the night of 15–16 February 1918 Colonel Haller's Second Brigade of the Legions broke through the Austrian front at Rarańcza in protest at the Ukraine peace.
  2. 1511 May 1918BattleKey moment6 minBattle of KaniówThe end of the road for Haller's legionaries: in the Polish II Corps they resist the Germans at Kaniów, which becomes a symbol of armed opposition to the Central Powers.On 11 May 1918 the Germans surrounded and attacked the Polish II Corps near Kaniów. After a day of defence, Haller's corps, out of ammunition, capitulated.