Polish Military Organisation
Encyclopedia
Polish Military Organisation, PMO was a secret military organization created by Józef Piłsudski in August 1914, and officially named in November 1914, during World War I
. Its tasks were to gather intelligence and sabotage the enemies of the Polish people. It was used by Piłsudski to create a body independent from his cautious Austro-Hungarian supporters, and it was an important, if somewhat lesser known, counterpart to the Polish Legions
. Its targets included the Russian Empire
in the early phase of the war, and the German Empire
later. Its membership rose from a few hundred members in 1914 to over 30,000 in 1918.
. Active in the Russian-held Kingdom of Poland
, the PMO served as the intelligence
and sabotage
arm of Piłsudski's Polish Legions. In fact, many members of the illegal and secret PMO were at the same time soldiers of the Austrian-backed
Polish Legions. The PMO was commanded militarily by Piłsudski himself, while the political command was a secret "A" Convent headed by Jędrzej Moraczewski
.
Initially active only in Central Poland, with time the PMO units were formed in all parts of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, including modern day Lithuania
, Belarus
, Ukraine
and Russia
. It was mainly preoccupied with intelligence and sabotage, as well as military training of its members and acquisition of arms from various armies fighting on Polish soil. The PMO members were seen as the core of the future Polish Army after Poland regains her independence.
After most of Poland became occupied by the Central Powers in 1915, the PMO became semi-legal and unofficially supported by the German army, which saw it as a useful source of information on Russia and a useful reservoir of skilled officers. However, in July 1917, after the Oath Crisis
in the Polish Legions and the arrest of Piłsudski, the PMO returned to the underground and started covert operations against German and Austrian garrison
s and supply lines. In place of Piłsudski, who was sent to a German prison in the fortress in Magdeburg
, the commander of the PMO became his friend, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, also future Marshal of Poland
.
during the final stages of the Great War, the PMO command decided to take an active part in the war and the organisation went out in the open. In October and November 1918 the revolutions in Germany and Austria-Hungary made the Ober Ost
army collapse. The German units were struck by mass desertions of soldiers who simply left their posts and headed for their homes. The main tasks of the PMO during this period was to disarm the withdrawing soldiers and escort them to Germany. The campaign was successful and gave the new-born Polish state a large quantity of arms and military equipment. By mid-November, most of garrisons in Galicia surrendered to PMO members and the region became controlled by Poland. The PMO members continued the disarming actions in the former Congress Kingdom as well. Finally, the PMO was the core of Polish defences of the city of Lwów in the Battle of Lwów
against the attacking forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (roughly 400 members in the initial phase of the struggle). In December 1918, the members of the PMO were all conscripted into the newly-reborn Polish Army.
-based Directorate
and Hetmanate) remained active the Polish withdrawal from Kiev
in July 1920.
In February 1918, a similar organisation was formed in the German-held Greater Poland
. It was modelled after the original PMO and maintained contacts with her predecessor. It assumed the name of Polish Military Organisation of the Prussian Partition
and its main aim was to liberate the region and attach it to Poland. The members of the PMO became the core of the Greater Polish Army during the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918-1919. After the uprising succeeded, the PMO members were also drafted into the Polish Army, together with other military units fighting in the Uprising.
In February 1919 the PMO was also formed in Upper Silesia
. It had similar tasks to its Greater Polish counterpart and became the core of the Silesian Uprisings
of 1919-1921. Afterwards the members of the PMO members were either demobilised or integrated into the Polish Army or the Polish Intelligence Services
.
. From the documents stolen in POW headquoters safe in Vilnius
and given to Prime Minister of Lithuania
Augustinas Voldemaras
it is clear, that this plot was directed by Józef Piłsudski himself. A PMO-led uprising
did occur in the Sejny
region, at the time controlled by Lithuanian forces, and led to Polish forces gaining control of that disputed territory.
of 1936-38, and as early as 1933, many people of Polish nationality were charged with membership in it, which was illegal, see Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union (1937–1938) for the circumstances, and NKVD Order No. 00485 in particular.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Its tasks were to gather intelligence and sabotage the enemies of the Polish people. It was used by Piłsudski to create a body independent from his cautious Austro-Hungarian supporters, and it was an important, if somewhat lesser known, counterpart to the Polish Legions
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
. Its targets included the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in the early phase of the war, and the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
later. Its membership rose from a few hundred members in 1914 to over 30,000 in 1918.
Intelligence and training
The Polish Military Organization (PMO) can be traced to formations of August 1914 or even earlier, but it was officially founded in November 1914, as a merger of two previously-existing youth para-military organisations: the Drużyny Strzeleckie and the Związek StrzeleckiZwiazek Strzelecki
Związek Strzelecki "Strzelec" was a Polish paramilitary cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in Lwów as a legal front of Związek Walki Czynnej, and revived in Poland in 1991....
. Active in the Russian-held Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, the PMO served as the intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
and sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
arm of Piłsudski's Polish Legions. In fact, many members of the illegal and secret PMO were at the same time soldiers of the Austrian-backed
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Polish Legions. The PMO was commanded militarily by Piłsudski himself, while the political command was a secret "A" Convent headed by Jędrzej Moraczewski
Jedrzej Moraczewski
Jędrzej Moraczewski was a Polish socialist politician who served as first Prime Minister of Poland , from November 1918 to January 1919....
.
Initially active only in Central Poland, with time the PMO units were formed in all parts of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, including modern day Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It was mainly preoccupied with intelligence and sabotage, as well as military training of its members and acquisition of arms from various armies fighting on Polish soil. The PMO members were seen as the core of the future Polish Army after Poland regains her independence.
After most of Poland became occupied by the Central Powers in 1915, the PMO became semi-legal and unofficially supported by the German army, which saw it as a useful source of information on Russia and a useful reservoir of skilled officers. However, in July 1917, after the Oath Crisis
Oath crisis
The Oath crisis was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions.Initially supporting the Central Powers against Imperial Russia, Piłsudski wanted to defeat one of the partitioning powers with the hands of the two remaining...
in the Polish Legions and the arrest of Piłsudski, the PMO returned to the underground and started covert operations against German and Austrian garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
s and supply lines. In place of Piłsudski, who was sent to a German prison in the fortress in Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, the commander of the PMO became his friend, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, also future Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, this rank is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army in other NATO armies.-History:...
.
Sabotage and open fight
With the collapse of the Central PowersCentral Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
during the final stages of the Great War, the PMO command decided to take an active part in the war and the organisation went out in the open. In October and November 1918 the revolutions in Germany and Austria-Hungary made the Ober Ost
Ober Ost
Ober Ost is short for Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten, which is a German term meaning "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East" during World War I. In practice it refers not only to said commander, but also to his governing military staff and the district...
army collapse. The German units were struck by mass desertions of soldiers who simply left their posts and headed for their homes. The main tasks of the PMO during this period was to disarm the withdrawing soldiers and escort them to Germany. The campaign was successful and gave the new-born Polish state a large quantity of arms and military equipment. By mid-November, most of garrisons in Galicia surrendered to PMO members and the region became controlled by Poland. The PMO members continued the disarming actions in the former Congress Kingdom as well. Finally, the PMO was the core of Polish defences of the city of Lwów in the Battle of Lwów
Battle of Lwów (1918)
Battle of Lviv begun on 1 November 1918 and lasted till May 1919 and was a six months long conflict between the forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic and local Polish civilian population assisted later by regular Polish Army forces for the control...
against the attacking forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (roughly 400 members in the initial phase of the struggle). In December 1918, the members of the PMO were all conscripted into the newly-reborn Polish Army.
Later struggles
Contrary to the rest of units, the PMO in the Ukraine (most notably the areas controlled by both the Western Ukrainian government and the areas controlled by the KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
-based Directorate
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
and Hetmanate) remained active the Polish withdrawal from Kiev
Kiev Offensive
The 1920 Kiev Offensive , sometimes considered to have started the Soviet-Polish War, was an attempt by the newly re-emerged Poland, led by Józef Piłsudski, to seize central and eastern Ukraine, torn in the warring among various factions, both domestic and foreign, from Soviet control.The stated...
in July 1920.
In February 1918, a similar organisation was formed in the German-held Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
. It was modelled after the original PMO and maintained contacts with her predecessor. It assumed the name of Polish Military Organisation of the Prussian Partition
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
and its main aim was to liberate the region and attach it to Poland. The members of the PMO became the core of the Greater Polish Army during the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918-1919. After the uprising succeeded, the PMO members were also drafted into the Polish Army, together with other military units fighting in the Uprising.
In February 1919 the PMO was also formed in Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. It had similar tasks to its Greater Polish counterpart and became the core of the Silesian Uprisings
Silesian Uprisings
The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles and Polish Silesians of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against German rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War I...
of 1919-1921. Afterwards the members of the PMO members were either demobilised or integrated into the Polish Army or the Polish Intelligence Services
History of Polish Intelligence Services
This article covers the history of Polish intelligence services dating back to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Commonwealth:Though the first official Polish government service entrusted with espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence was not formed until 1918, Poland and later the...
.
Vs. Lithuania
In Lithuania, the PMO was organizing a secret plot to overthrow the legal government of Lithuania and replace it with one more friendly towards Poland. The plot was planned to occur in August 1919, but it was uncovered by the Lithuanian State Security Department, and mass arrests followed, thus eliminating the possibility of a coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. From the documents stolen in POW headquoters safe in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and given to Prime Minister of Lithuania
Prime Minister of Lithuania
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...
Augustinas Voldemaras
Augustinas Voldemaras
Augustinas Voldemaras was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He served as the country's first Prime Minister in 1918, and again from 1926 to 1929.- Biography :...
it is clear, that this plot was directed by Józef Piłsudski himself. A PMO-led uprising
Sejny Uprising
The Sejny Uprising or Seinai Revolt refers to a Polish uprising in the ethnically-mixed area surrounding Sejny against the Lithuanian authorities in August 1919. When German forces, which occupied the territory during World War I, retreated from the area, the administration was handed to the...
did occur in the Sejny
Sejny
Sejny is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area , on the Marycha river, being a tributary of Czarna Hańcza...
region, at the time controlled by Lithuanian forces, and led to Polish forces gaining control of that disputed territory.
Influence in Soviet Union
Although the PMO was disbanded in 1921, Soviet authorities claimed that it continued to exist; during the Great PurgeGreat Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of 1936-38, and as early as 1933, many people of Polish nationality were charged with membership in it, which was illegal, see Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union (1937–1938) for the circumstances, and NKVD Order No. 00485 in particular.
Commanders
- from August 1914 K. Rybasiewicz,
- from October 1914 ppor. Tadeusz ŻulińskiTadeusz Zulinski (activist)Tadeusz Żuliński , pseudonym Roman Barski, was an activist, member of Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Frakcja Rewolucyjna and Związek Walki Czynnej , Związek Strzelecki . He was an organiser and commander of Polish Military Organisation .-References:...
, - from August 1915 mjr Michał Żymierski,
- from October 1915 mjr Tadeusz KasprzyckiTadeusz KasprzyckiTadeusz Kasprzycki was a member of the Polish Legions in First World War, general of the Polish Army from 1929 and Minister of Military Affairs of Poland from 1935 to 1939....