Polish Legions in World War I
The Polish Legions was a name of the Polish military force established in August 1914 in Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Triple Entente on one side and the Central Powers on the other side, comprising the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. The Legions became "a founding myth for the creation of modern Poland" in spite of their considerably short existence; they were replaced by the Polish Auxiliary Corps formation on 20 September 1916, merged with Polish II Corps in Russia on 19 February 1918 for the Battle of Rarańcza against Austria-Hungary, and disbanded following the military defeat at the Battle of Kaniów in May 1918, against Imperial Germany. General Haller escaped to France to form the Polish army in the West against the anti-Polish German-Bolshevik treaty.
Col. Józef Piłsudski with his staff in front of the Governor's Palace in Kielce, 1914
Col. Józef Piłsudski and his officers, 1915
Pilsudski in Otwock, 1915
II Brigade of the Polish Legions in Volhynia c. 1915-16
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria; this was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.
Leaders of the Central Powers (left to right): Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany; Kaiser and King Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary; Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire; Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria The caption reads: "Vereinte Kräfte führen zum Ziel" "United Powers Lead to the Goal"
German soldiers on the battlefield in August 1914 on the Western Front, shortly after the outbreak of war
German cavalry entering Warsaw in 1915
German battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz heavily damaged after the Battle of Jutland