Select Pages

• Under this term we understand the Polish armed (...)
• The commander of the military district (...)
• As a result of organisational work (...)

As a result of organisational work in the region, four (infantry) rifle divisions were formed, each consisting of four regiments organised into two-regiment brigades.

– The 1st Greater Poland Rifle Division was formed in January 1919 and consisted of regiments 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Greater Poland Riflemen. After unification with the Polish Army, this unit received the name of the 14th Greater Poland Infantry Division (GPolID).

– The 2nd Greater Poland Rifle Division: formed on 6th March 1919; regiments: 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Greater Poland Riflemen. After its name was changed, this became the 15th Greater Poland Infantry Division.

– The 3rd Greater Poland Infantry Division: formed at the beginning of June 1919. It consisted of the following regiments: 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Greater Poland Riflemen. After unification, this became the 17th Greater Poland Infantry Division.

The fourth large unit at this level was the Pomerania Rifle Division formed by order of the Supreme Command of the Polish Armies of 7 August 1919 (initially its name was supposed to be the 4th Greater Poland Rifle Division). This was an army which was intended for the occupation of the Pomeranian territories granted to Poland as a result of the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Having completed its task, the unit was given the name of the 16th, Infantry Division in March 1920. The composition of the respective regiments was mixed.

– The Toruń Rifle Regiment consisted mostly of Pomeranian residents. After unification, it received the name of the 63rd Infantry Regiment.

– The Grudziądz Rifle Regiment consisted mainly of soldiers from Kuyavia as well as the regions of Oborniki and Czarnków. From March 1920, this was the 64th Grudziądz Infantry Regiment.

– The Starogard Rifle Regiment – formed as late as on 7 October 1919, mainly from soldiers from Vistula Pomerania. It then became the 65th Starogard Infantry Regiment.

– Kasubian Rifle Regiment – formed at the same time, but in Poznań. Though it consisted of soldiers from the Kasubian region, organisationally, it never went beyond the staff level. After unification, it was expanded and renamed as the 66th Kasubia Infantry Regiment.

The commander of the Divisions was Colonel Stanisław Skrzyński.

The involvement of the Greater Poland units in the battles on the Eastern Fronts led to the necessity of merging garrison (i.e. complementary) battalions in Greater Poland. Thus, in October 1919, a Garrison Regiment consisting of four battalions was formed. After several restructuring and renaming operations in March 1921, it received the number and name of the 73rd Infantry Regiment.

Relatively speaking, the most permanent structure was that of the People’s Guard, which fulfilled tasks related to territorial defence. The commandant of this formation was Colonel J. B. Lange, formally nominated by General J. Dowbór-Muśnicki in day order No. 36 of 9 February 1919. At the end of May and the beginning of June 1919, when the threat of the German offensive began to loom, it was necessary to increase the number of line troops. Thus, on 30 May 1919, the People’s Guard was renamed as the National Defence Army with Colonel J. B. Lange as the National Defence Inspector. As time passed by, the National Defence became the base for the reserve regiments of the Greater Poland Armies. The People’s Guard and the National Defence were infantry formations. Altogether, eight National Defence battalions were formed. They were the basis for the establishment of a reserve regiment in September 1919 and January 1920, which participated in the repossession of the territories granted to Poland – this subsequently became the 74th Infantry Regiment of the Polish Army. In January 1919, the Guard and Security Service was dissolved. Two garrison battalions subordinated to the commander of the 1st Military District were formed from it.

The cavalry of the Greater Poland Army was organised into a cavalry brigade, consisting of four Greater Poland Uhlan Regiments; however, it never participated in any operations in the region as a combined single unit. During the first period of the Uprising, small cavalry units were formed along the respective front line sections. Their size and composition varied. They were used for reconnaissance, patrolling and covering operations. During the first period of the Uprising, small cavalry units were often established in the respective towns on a temporary basis. They patrolled the surrounding areas and fulfilled liaison functions. For instance, at the beginning of January 1919, the Nadgoplański Squadron was formed - then, it was apportioned among the respective uhlan regiments. There were many such units outside Poznań at that time, however, none of them ever transformed into a larger cavalry unit. In April 1919, the 1st Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade, led by Colonel Aleksander Pajewski, was formed from the first and third regiments. In 1919, the formation of the 4th Uhlan Regiment was commenced in Poznań and was finished in Grudziądz and Toruń. However, the 1st Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment, renamed as the 15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment on 7 January 1920, enjoyed the greatest recognition in the tradition of the Greater Poland Uprising.

The Greater Poland artillery was formed ad hoc, as the armament, ammunition and other necessary equipment were obtained. Despite its small size, it played a significant role on the insurgent fronts, especially the northern one, near Szubin. Cannons under Polish command were used for the first time in military action during the seizure of the air base in Ławica, on the night of 5-6 January 1919. The Artillery Command, led by Second Lieutenant Zygmunt Łakiński, was appointed within Central Command on 9 January 1919. Finally, over 50 cannons of eighteen different types were found in different German depots. More often than not, they were rather obsolete; any modern cannons in good technical order were still being used by German line units at that time. Also, fully functional aiming and communication devices and artillery maps were deficient and this necessitated the organisation of repair workshops. The manufacture of artillery ammunition was launched in the H. Cegielski factory. The captured artillery equipment sufficed to provide two field (light) artillery regiments and two heavy artillery batteries. The cannons were used in combat for the direct support of attacking infantry or in defence, for firing straight at the enemy. Fire from covered positions or as a preparatory attack could not be taken into consideration because of the shortage of ammunition. However, the presence of the Polish cannons on the front also played a great psychological role.

On 12 January 1919, the scope of activity of Artillery Command was agreed. On 19 January, it received the name of Artillery Inspectorate. On 14 January, the formation of the 1st Light Artillery Regiment (LAR) was announced. Its commander was Colonel Lieutenant Anatol Kędzierski; one week later, that officer took the post of Artillery Inspector. As well as the 1st LAR, the 1st Heavy Artillery Battalion started to be formed in the barracks in the Sołacz district in Poznań. Soon the Polish artillerymen were located in the post-German barracks at Magazynowa Street (Solna Street), and then at Prittwitz-Gaffron Fort. The 2nd Field Artillery Regiment was established there.

The formation of the horse artillery began on 16 March 1919; this was a battalion established on the basis of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment. Two heavy artillery regiments consisting of three battalions were formed in May 1919. After consecutive reorganisations, in June 1919, the Greater Poland Army artillery consisted of three field (light) artillery regiments, two heavy artillery regiments, one horse artillery battalion, two reserve battalions and a non-commissioned officer school. The great deficiencies in staff were eliminated by the organisation of training and the inflow of officers from outside of Greater Poland.

In October 1919, the Greater Poland artillery was reorganised in accordance with the requirements of the Polish Army. These were three artillery brigades (each of these consisted of a field artillery regiment and a heavy artillery regiment), which, upon incorporation into the Polish Army, received consecutive numbers - the 15th, 16th and 17th Artillery Brigades. On 25 November 1919, the Artillery Inspectorate was transformed into the Artillery Inspectorate of the Greater Poland Front. Until that time, the respective artillery battalions were still used based on the needs of the given front or front sections; this type of combat arm had not previously occurred in combat in its full structure.

After the seizure of the air base in Ławica, the Greater Poland Air Forces consisted of four squadrons, which subsequently participated in the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920. Aeroplanes did not really play any significant role on the insurgent fronts. By order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of 20 July 1921, the 3rd Air Regiment, which existed until the outbreak of World War II, was formed in Poznań-Ławica.

On 21 January 1919, the Technical Army Inspection was established with Colonel Jan Skoryna as its leader. This army included: motorised units, communication service, sappers, armoured trains and railway units. The communication units were of utmost importance. They were formed in the Winiary Fort in Poznań, i.e. at the Citadel, with a strong radio-station and convenient conditions for the training of soldiers. On 21 January, units of telephone operators were incorporated into the Greater Poland Telegrapher Battalion.

In January 1919, the 1st Sapper Battalion was formed. It had its seat in the barracks in the Wilda district in Poznań; the commander of this unit was Captain Witold Butler. If needed, the Greater Poland sappers were used on the respective fronts. On 17 January 1919, they participated in fighting for a German armoured train near Rynarzewo, and then they built field fortifications on the Northern Front. They stayed there until the repossession action.

There were three armoured trains in the Greater Poland Army (”Danuta”, ”Goplana” and ”Rzepicha”) and a Railway Army Battalion, formed from the 2nd Sapper Battalion from 2 June 1919.

The medical-sanitary service of the Greater Poland Armies was organised efficiently. Organisationally, its personnel came mostly from the circles of the Department of Medicine at the Society of the Friends of Arts and Sciences in Poznań. The organisational base included sanitary groups of the Polish Red Cross as well as girls and young women trained within the structures of the “Sokół” Gymnastic Society and the scouts. Those groups commenced their activity immediately after the outbreak of fighting in Poznań at the end of December 1918. During the period of peace and quiet, physicians trained their own personnel and later on, after the outbreak of the uprising, they would provide aid to the injured soldiers. However outside Poznań, most of the Polish units had to cope on their own, providing medical aid to the injured, until 7 January 1919.

After the establishment of Central Command, the Sanitary Inspectorate with a titular General Second Lieutenant Ireneusz Wierzejewski as its Head was established. The first fully successful test of the efficiency of the functioning of the medical-sanitary service was its involvement in the seizure of the airport in Ławica on the night of 5-6 January 1919. After that, sanitary trucks with professional personnel accompanied every important operation of the Polish units. Within the structure of the Greater Poland Army, this structure was managed by the Sanitary Office (I. Wierzejewski) and the Sanitary Department which closely cooperated with it (headed by Józef Grobelny,MD). In the respective divisions, regiments and battalions, there were physicians responsible for the conducting of their profession at a given level. In the ranks of the companies, there were sanitary non-commissioned officers and porters. The division included a sanitary company consisting of 160 people, on top of this, the Greater Poland Armies had six field hospitals at their disposal. The largest permanent military hospital was located in Poznań, in the building which preserved its function from the middle of the 19th century until the year 1945. In total, there were 219 medical doctors, 23 dentists and 25 pharmacists serving in the structures of the Greater Poland Army; the sanitary units included 1300 privates, excluding nurses and porters. Thus, the armed forces of the entire region were well secured in this respect.

During the peak period of the development of the Greater Poland Armies, in the summer of 1919, the Armed Forces of the Former Prussian Partition consisted of 120000 soldiers (including the People's Guard), of which 72000 were ready for an immediate march to the front. This constituted 16% of the entire population of the region - the greatest number of people on the then Polish territories. This figure represented approximately one fifth of the armed forces of the entire Republic of Poland. This target was successfully achieved owing to the high awareness of the inhabitants of the region, their willingness to make sacrifices and their sense of duty as well as the determination of the political-administrative leadership, (the Commissariat of the Supreme People's Council) and the military command consisting of officers from three different armies, in all the organisational work. It must actually be mentioned that the highest authorities of Greater Poland Armies also included people who had served in the Austrian army and Polish Legions.

In June 1919, the Front Group Commands were liquidated, transforming them into Greater Poland Rifle Division Commands. The temporary composition of the divisions was established by the day order of Central Command, dated 10 July 1919. Each of the newly established three divisions consisted of two brigades, while those, in turn, were each composed of two regiments.

The 1st Greater Poland Rifle Division (the former Western Front); commanded by General Lieutenant Filip Dubiski: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th Greater Poland Rifle Regiments.

The 2nd Greater Poland Rifle Division (the former Northern Front); commanded by Colonel Albin Jasiński: the 4th, 5th, 9th and 10th Greater Poland Rifle Regiments.

The 3rd Greater Poland Rifle Division (the former Southern Front); commanded by GeneralWincenty Odyniec: the 6th, 8th, 11th, and 12th Greater Poland Rifle Regiments.

By a declaration of the Supreme People's Council in Poznań, dated 25 May 1919, and later by a decree dated 15 August 1919, the Greater Poland Army was subordinated to the Supreme Command of Polish Armies, while still maintaining its separate organisation (Day Order No. 213 of Central Command, dated 21 August 1919). Ultimately, this formality was fulfilled by a decree of the Commander-in-Chief on 20 August 1919. The official incorporation of the Greater Poland Army into the Polish Armed Forces took place on 28 August 1919, but the formal order of the Ministry of Military Affairs regarding this matter was issued as late as 10 December that year. As soon as the Greater Poland Army became part of the Polish Armed Forces all units and independent subunits changed their names and numbers.

At the same time, 13 November marked the date of the establishment of the Command of the Greater Poland Front, whose task was to recover the territories granted to Poland by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, and of the Command of the Poznań General District - the subsequent Corps District Command VII. The Greater Poland Front was dissolved on 8 March 1920.