| Polish Armed Forces in the East | |
|---|---|
 Anuhlan of the Puławy Legion | |
| Active | 1914–1920 |
| Disbanded | 1920 |
| Country | Poland |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire |
| Branch |  Imperial Russian Army |
| Type | Military formations |
| Engagements | World War I Russian Revolution of 1917 Polish-Ukrainian War |
Polish Armed Forces in the East (Polish:Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie,Russian:Вооруженные силы Польши на Востоке) aroundWorld War I is a term used for several Polish military formations formed inRussia and operating in the period of 1914–1920 (First World War,Russian Revolution of 1917, and the early stages of thePolish-Ukrainian War andPolish-Soviet War). Early formations were part of theImperial Russian Army. Later, during the Russian Revolution, the Polish formations were mainly allied to theWhite Russian forces and the Western powers (both theGerman Empire and theEntente). All the formations (or their remains) were eventually incorporated into thePolish Army by 1920.
Puławy Legion was a Polish military formation ofWorld War I, as part of theImperial Russian Army.[1] It was created in late 1914 from volunteers gathered together due to several initiatives, most notably of which was that of the pro-RussianPolish National Committee[1] The initiative was supposed to counteract thePolish Legions ofJózef Piłsudski forming under theAustro–Hungarian Army. The formation finished organizing in January 1915; at that time it numbered about 1,000 soldiers, and constituted abattalion of the Russian Army. A second unit, theLublin Legion, was created as well. Later, in a reorganization, the Legions were renamed: the Puławy Legion into the 739 New Aleksandrovo Squad and the 740 Lublin Squad.[1] The formation was used in combat against theGerman Empire.[1] The Legion fought on the frontlines from March till September 1915, when it was withdrawn to rest and reinforce.[1] Eventually, the Legion was disbanded in October 1915 and reorganized into thePolish Rifle Brigade.[1]
ThePolish Rifle Brigade was formed as part of the Imperial Russian Army in October 1915 on the basis of the previous Legion formation.[1] The Brigade was commanded by generalPiotr Szymanowski, later by generalAdam Sławoczyński and then generalBolesław Olszewski.[1] The Brigade was deployed to the frontlines in March 1916, at about 8,000 strength.[1] In January 1917 it was reorganized into thePolish Rifle Division.[1] The Division commander was generalTadeusz Bylewski, succeeded by colonels Żeligowski and Rządkowski, and then general Symon.[1] In mid June the division was deployed to the frontlines in East Galicia.[1] The Division's formation was partially disrupted by theRussian Revolution of 1917. Eventually it was incorporated into the Polish I Corps as its 1st Rifle Division.[1]
The Polish Corps were formations organized around the time of the Russian Revolution, grouping together Polish units and focusing on protecting Polish people.[2]
Polish I Corps in Russia was a Polish military formation formed inBelarus, in August 1917 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, from soldiers of Polish origin serving in theRussian Army.[2] Its goal was to defend Poles inhabitingparts of Poland under Russian partitions and support the formation ofindependent Poland.[2] The Corps was formed at the initiative of theChief Polish Military Committee, a Polish faction in the revolutionary and split Russian Empire military. It was commanded by generalJózef Dowbor-Muśnicki,[2] and numbered about 29,000 soldiers. In the chaotic period at the end of theFirst World War on theEastern Front, the Polish I Corps fought against theBolshevikRed Army, cooperated with theGermanOber Ost forces[2] in takingMinsk, and after acknowledging theRegency Council in May 1918, it surrendered to the German forces inBabruysk.[2] The soldiers were given safe passage toWarsaw, where they became part of the newly createdPolish Army.
In addition to the I Corps, there were also thePolish II Corps in Russia and thePolish III Corps in Russia. The II Corps was formed on 21 December 1917 inSoroca (now inMoldavia), then aBessarabian region disputed by revolutionaryUkraine andRomania.[2] The Corps avoided major engagements, and concentrated on protecting the Polish inhabitants of the region. In February 1918 the corps merged with theBrigade II of the Polish Legions[2] and by late March Stankiewicz (and/or Glass) was replaced by the brigade commander, GeneralJózef Haller.[2] The II Corps numbered at that point over 8,000.[1] After theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed betweenRussia and theCentral Powers, the Germans demanded that the Polish forces surrender.[2] The Poles refused to lay down their arms and was defeated by the Germans at thebattle of Kaniów (10–11 May).[2] Some soldiers who also avoided capture (mostly from the4th Rifle Division), moved towardOdessa.[2] The III Corps was formed in early 1918 in Ukraine.[1] It numbered about 3,000 people and was never fully fleshed.[1] It was commanded by GeneralEugeniusz de Henning-Michaelis, GeneralAleksander Osiński and ColonelJuliusz Rómmel.[1] It was engaged in heavy fighting with insurrectionist Ukrainian peasants and was eventually disarmed by the Austro-Hungarian units in April 1918.[1]
Polish units, namely as the4th Rifle Division (Poland) and5th Rifle Division (Poland), also fought in theMurmansk region, inSiberia and inOdessa regions. Those units were the only part of thePolish military which took part in theRussian Civil War. The 4th Division, under the command of GeneralLucjan Żeligowski, it operated as an ally of theWhite movement from autumn 1918 to August 1919 in southernRussia (near Odessa) and eventually ending inBessarabia, before being repatriated to Poland.[1] The 5th Division, also known as theSiberian Division andSiberian Brigade, operated inSiberia, where it was formed in the summer of 1918.[1] That unit was partially forced to capitulate by late 1920, although most soldiers returned to Poland in the aftermath of theTreaty of Riga.[1] In addition to those two divisions, there was also theMurmansk Group which was engaged in the fighting inArchangel as part of generalEdmund Ironside's allied force.[3] Several smaller units were briefly formed in other places, such as inTbilisi.[3]