The First Cadre Company () was a Polish military formation created in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

was founded by

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

on 3 August 1914 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. It was the predecessor of the Polish Legions, and formed the core of the Polish Legions' First Brigade during

History

The First Cadre Company came into formation when the

Riflemen's Association The Polish Riflemen's Association, known as ''Związek Strzelecki'' (in the plural, ''Związki Strzeleckie''), was an organization formed in great numbers prior to World War I. One of the better known associations, ''Strzelec'' (Rifleman), was a ...

and the

Polish Rifle Squads The Polish Rifle Squads () was a Polish pro-independence paramilitary organization, founded in 1911 by the Youth Independence Organization in the Austro-Hungarian sector of partitioned Poland. Among its founders were Norwid Neugebauer, Marian J ...

were mobilized between 29 July and 2 August 1914 by

. At 6pm on 3 August the First Cadre was formally created in the Oleandry district of

(just east of Jordan Park). On 4 and 5 August the Cadre underwent re-organization while the soldiers received short yet extensive training. Tadeusz Kasprzycki was appointed commander. The Cadre consisted of four platoons, each consisting of four groups of 10 soldiers each. The exact number of soldiers varies according to the source, but estimates generally put it at somewhere between 145 and 168 soldiers, which included the notable

The Seven Lancers of Belina The Seven Lancers of Belina, also called Belina’s Seven and The Seven Uhlans (Polish: Ulanska siodemka) was a name given to a mounted reconnaissance group of the Riflemen's Association. On August 2, 1914, upon order of Józef Piłsudski, the seven ...

. On 6 August 1914 the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

declared war on the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. At a quarter to three on the morning of that day, the First Cadre set out for the Austro-Hungarian — Russian border. It crossed into Tsarist Poland at the border village of Michałowice. On 8 August commander Kasprzycki was transferred to the General Command and replaced by . The first eight volunteers were accepted into the Cadre's ranks on the same day. On 12 August the First Cadre participated in the capture of

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

in full battalion strength alongside the Second Company, led by , and the Third Company, led by Wacław Scaevola-Wieczorkiewicz. The First Cadre then attempted to break through the Russian lines and continue north. The objective was to capture Warsaw in hope of setting off an uprising in Tsarist Poland against the Russian authorities. However, the Russians checked the First Cadre just outside Kielce on 13 August, which resulted in the Cadre's retreat from Kielce to Kraków. Between 16 and 27 August, the First Cadre was reorganized and transformed into the Polish Legions. It is difficult to set an exact date for the transformation — the Supreme National Committee called for the formation of the Polish Legions on 16 August, Józef Piłsudski called for its formation on 22 August, and the Austrian government officially agreed to its formation on 27 August. All three dates can be found simultaneously representing both the disbandment of the First Cadre and the formation of the Polish Legions, depending on the source. However the First Cadre Company formed the core of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions by mid-December 1914.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1914 Polish Legions in World War I 1914 establishments in Poland Austro-Hungarian Army Austro-Hungarian military-related lists

History

See also

References

Bibliography