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95th Anniversary of First Cadre Company March Out
The outbreak of World War I, in which the states who had partitioned
Poland for the first time faced each other in mortal combat, increased the
Poles' hopes for regaining independence. At that time, Polish independence aspirations concentrated first
of all in the Galicia region. The man who played the leading role in
them was Józef Piłsudski. In response to the outbreak of the war, he
ordered mobilization of the Riflemen's Association 'Strzelec' on 29 and
30 July 1914, and on the next day subordinated the Polish Rifle Squads
to his command. The troops of riflemen from both formations were
concentrated in a pavilion in the Oleandry park, near Cracow's Błonie
Meadows. On 3 August 1914, the First Cadre Company, formed out
of the members of the 'Strzelec' Riflemen's Association and the Polish
Rifle Squads, was sworn in there by Józef Piłsudski. The function
of its commander was entrusted to Tadeusz Kasprzycki 'Zbigniew'.
According to various sources, the company numbered between 144 and
172 soldiers, organized in four platoons.
At about 4 o'clock in the morning of 6 August, the First Cadre Company
marched out of Cracow's Oleandry towards the north, in the direction
of Miechów, heading to the border of the Kingdom of Poland under
Russian rule in order to trigger off an anti-Russian uprising and engage
in combat with Russia. Still on the same day, at 9 o'clock in the morning,
the company reached the border in Michałowice, where the riflemen
symbolically knocked down the border posts and entered the Russian
partition area. After the liberation of Słomniki, Miechów, Jędrzejów
and Chęciny, the city of Kielce was taken on 12 August. On this route,
the First Cadre Company was reinforced by newly formed troops which
followed its tracks. The Company's forces grew step by step ? it entered
Kielce already as a cadre battalion, with Commander Józef Piłsudski
at its head and staff preceded by cavalry.
However, further march towards Warsaw had no chances of success.
Owing to the reluctant attitude of the population, the Company failed to
foment a nationwide anti-Russian uprising.
The military operations of the First Cadre Company were of negligible
military importance, but they played an enormous role in
the consciousness of the Poles. The Company was the first regular
division of the Polish army since the end of the January uprising
of 1863-1864, which set off to fight for independence. Up to that
time, the Poles had been conscripted by force to serve in the armies
of the partitioning states. They were forced to fight under foreign banners
and die in the interests of other countries on faraway battlefields. Only
in 1914 could they appear as a uniform formation in Polish uniforms,
and with Polish eagles on their caps. The First Cadre Company initiated
the process of reconstructing the Polish Army, which turned out to be
so essential in playing out Polish matters during World War I and later,
during the fight for borders of the re-emerging Polish state.
With time, troops subordinated to Piłsudski grew in number. Towards
the end of August 1914, they were used to form the 1st Infantry Regiment
of the Polish Legion, which in December 1914 was transformed into
Brigade I of the Polish Legions, and its commander ? Józef Piłsudski
? was appointed a Brigadier. At a later time, Brigades II and III
of the Polish Legions were consecutively formed. These were the origins
of the legendary formation, which in 1914-1917 fought in the area
of the Kingdom of Poland, Podhale, Eastern Carpathians and in Volhyn,
and greatly contributed to Poland's regaining independence after
123 years of bondage.
Part of the history of Brigade I of the Polish Legions is the badge For
Faithful Service (Za Wierną Służbę), established by Commander Józef
Piłsudski through an order of 6 August 1916, on the second anniversary
of the Cadre Company's march out of Oleandry.
A permanent place in the history belongs also to the famous song
March of the First Brigade, which was a joint work by Andrzej Tadeusz
Hałaciński and Tadeusz Biernacki. In the interwar Poland, that song was
considered as almost a national anthem by Polish Legions' veterans.
It was also the favourite song of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, who called it
'the proudest soldiers' song ever'. The song was often performed during
official state and army ceremonies. After World War II, in the People's
Republic of Poland, it was doomed to oblivion for political reasons.
The song regained it rightful position only after the political
transformations of the year 1989, and at present is again very often
performed during state and army ceremonies.
Wojciech Krajewski
Polish Army Museum in Warsaw