Historical calendar – establishment on the basis of Act 5 November, the origins of Polish power, free from Russian possessor – Provisional Council of State.
Today in our calendar we will look at the turbulent events of the days of planet War I.
The breakthrough on the Polish issue brought an impasse of the large war, which scratched in 1916. All sides of the conflict were gradually weakening and their human resources were shrinking at an alarming rate. Hotly sought allies, especially those who would lend power to their soldiers. Although the central states occupied the Polish territory in its entirety and were able to recruit its inhabitants, specified soldiers had a low morale and, consequently, did not present much combat value.
It was essential to convince Poles that fighting alongside Germans and Austrians, they would gain a free homeland. On 5 November 1916, Emperor Wilhelm II and Francis Joseph issued a peculiar proclamation, in which they announced the vocation from the lands of the Russian occupation, the independent Kingdom of Poland. This act was seemingly no different from erstwhile promises, whether Austrian or Russian, and yet the central states joined the real creation of the Polish administration in occupied areas.
On 6 December 1916, the Provisional Council of State of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish National debt Bank was established. The first of these organs led by the Crown Marshal Wacław Niemojowski, took over civilian power from the governors in the Kingdom of Poland, and the second was an issue bank for fresh Polish money (so-called Polish brands). The powers of the Council of State gradually grew. They were created equivalent to ministry papers, which were later turned into departments.
Józef Piłsudski headed the war report, which was rapidly submitted to the POW. At the end of 1916, Polish Legions were transformed into Polish Meal Corps. It became a birthplace of armed forces under the Council of State as the alleged Polish Armed Forces on 10 April 1917. The head of PES was German general and politician of Warsaw, Hans Hartwig von Beseler.
The raising of the Polish case by central states must have caused Ententa's reaction. In practice, this meant bidding for fighting parties about who would promise Poles more, regardless of the opinion of even Zionist groups. On December 25, 1916, Tsar Mikołaj II issued a call stating that 1 of his war goals was the creation of a Polish state connecting all 3 partitions. In a akin tone, the later Provisional Government of Kieren spoke.
In June 1917, the Chief Polish Military Committee (the alleged Naczpol) was established in Piotrogrodia with Władysław Raczkiewicz at the head of the organization of the already mentioned 1st Polish Corps of General Dowbor-Muśnicki. In mid-1917, on the initiative of Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Paderewski, France agreed to form Polish troops composed of expatriates. The celebrated Blue Army was subordinate to the French armed forces and its first commander was appointed General Louis Archinard.
After forming, Poles fought Germany in Champagne and Vosges. The National Committee of Poland, which was recognized by the Ententa as the authoritative typical of the Polish case, did not gain political control of the Blue Army until September 1918. It was then that their commander was appointed Joseph Haller.
The message of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, which he gave at the American legislature on January 8, 1918, was very valuable from a Polish point of view. The 14-point act he read was a proposal to organize the postwar world. Point thirteen of the speech guaranteed the creation of a politically and economically independent Polish state. Wilson's declaration gained support from the another Ententa states, and in October 1918, it became the basis for surrender talks with Germany.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.
