Polish Armed Forces in the East (1914–1920)
Polish Armed Forces in the East in World War I is a term used for several Polish military formations formed in Russia in the period of 1914-1920.
Puławy Legion
Puławy Legion was a Polish military formation of World War I, as part of the Imperial Russian Army. It was created in late 1914 from volunteers gathered together due to several initiatives, most notably of which was that of the pro-Russian Polish National Committee, supported by Polish National Democrats. The initiative was supposed to counteract the Polish Legions of Józef Piłsudski forming under the Austro–Hungarian Army. The formation finished organizing in January 1915; at that time it numbered about 1,000 soldiers, and constituted a battalion of the Russian Army. The formation was used in combat against the German Empire. Eventually, the Legion was disbanded in October 1915 and reorganized into the Polish Rifle Brigade.
Polish Rifle Brigade and Division
The Polish Rifle Brigade was formed as part of the Russian Army in 1915. In the period 1916-1917 it was reorganized into the Polish Rifle Division. The Division was never fully formed due to the Russian Revolution.
Polish Corpses
Polish I Corps in Russia was a Polish military formation formed in Belarus, in August 1917 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, from soldiers of Polish origin serving in the Russian Army. Its goal was to defend Poles inhabiting parts of Poland under Russian partitions and support the formation of independent Poland.
The Corps was formed at the initiative of the Chief Polish Military Committee, a Polish faction in the revolutionary and split Russian Empire military. It was commanded by general Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, and numbered about 29,000 soldiers. In the chaotic period at the end of the First World War on the Eastern Front, the Polish I Corps fought against the Bolshevik Red Army, cooperated with the German Ober Ost forces in taking Minsk, and after acknowledging the Regency Council in May 1918, it surrendered to the German forces in Babruysk. The soldiers were given safe passage to Warsaw, where they became part of the newly created Polish Army.
In addition to the I Corps, there were also the Polish II Corps in Russia and the Polish III Corps in Russia.
Polish Forces in Murmansk, Siberia and Odessa
Polish units also fought in the Murmansk region, in Siberia and in Odessa regions. See 5th Rifle Division (Poland) and 4th Rifle Division (Poland)