Formation The corps was formed at the initiative of the
Chief Polish Military Committee (
Naczelny Polski Komitet Wojskowy), a Polish faction in the revolutionary and split Russian Empire military. Its goal was to defend Poles inhabiting
parts of Poland under Russian partitions and support the formation of
independent Poland. In the immediate aftermath of the
February Revolution, the
Russian Provisional Government's obvious weakness, its half-hearted declaration of the right of nations to
self-determination and Germany's promises of
autonomy in occupied Poland stirred up long suppressed nationalist feelings among ethnic Poles living within the
Russian Empire since the
partitions of Poland. Roughly 700,000 of them were serving in the Russian military by 1917 and they began forming a Polish army to fight for a "united and free Poland" with the assent of the Provisional Government and general
Lavr Kornilov of the
Russian Army. In August, the newly formed
Chief Polish Military Committee (
Naczelny Polski Komitet Wojskowy), a Polish faction in the revolutionary and split Russian Empire, led by
Władysław Raczkiewicz, appointed Dowbor-Muśnicki Commissar of the
Petrograd Military District and on August 23 (
Old Style) he was appointed commander of the newly formed Polish 1st Corps in Russia, being formed in Russia as part of the
Entente forces, serving under the Russian Provisional Government in exchange for its support for some form of Polish autonomy or independence. The reorganization process was complicated by the
October Revolution of 1917, which brought
Bolsheviks to power, but Dowbor-Muśnicki was able to take advantage of the new government's weakness and general anarchy and, by mid-January 1918, had organised his forces into: • 1st Polish Rifle Division (from the former Polish Rifle Division), • 2nd Polish Rifle Division, • 3rd Polish Rifle Division, • Lancer Division, • in addition to Officers' (later Knights') Legion. At that time the I Corps numbered almost 30,000 men, although the number would fall to 23,500 over the coming months.
Combat At first, after the fall of the Provisional Government, Dowbor-Muśnicki declared that his corps was neutral towards the Russian factions, and intended to join the Entente forces to fight against
Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Soon, however, it became apparent that this was an unreasonable plan, as the Entente forces in the area were weak, and out of two dominant forces — the German
Ober Ost forces, and Russian Bolsheviks - the Bolsheviks were much more hostile towards the Polish forces.
Fights against Bolsheviks On , Dowbor-Muśnicki refused an order by the
Soviet government to disband the Corps, which quickly led to clashes with the newly formed
Red Army and
Red Latvian riflemen under
Jukums Vācietis. After sporadic fighting in late January, on January 31 Dowbor-Muśnicki's Corps had to retreat from
Minsk to
Babruysk. On February 2, the Corps started sieging the fortress in Babruysk, still held by a Red Army garrison of 7,000. During this siege, the Knight's Legion distinguished itself and the fortress fell on 11 March. However, the German army forced the Polish forces to give over the fortress.
Brest-Litovsk Treaty After the temporary breakdown of the
Brest-Litovsk peace negotiations on February 10, the Corps also received a status of auxiliary unit from the Germans and joined the German offensive against the Bolsheviks on February 18, and
Minsk was taken on 21 February. After a week, on 28 February, the Polish agreed to work with Germans and thus occupied 6 Belarusian districts in the triangle of
Mogilev-
Zhlobin-
Slutsk, with their headquarters at Babruysk. This strategic disposition cut Bolshevik communications between
Petrograd and
Ukraine. After the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, which gave all of Poland and Belarus to Germany, Dowbor-Muśnicki's corps remained in Belarus for 3 months, regrouping and performing police duties under
German occupation authorities. On May 21, 1918, Dowbor-Muśnicki after acknowledging the
Regency Council signed an agreement with the Germans, under which the Corps agreed to be disarmed and disbanded, after which, anyhow, the units retreated to Poland, forming the core of the Polish military, which proved decisive later that year during the formation of the
Polish Army. Soldiers who remained in Russia mostly joined the
Polish II Corps in Russia (primarily the
4th Rifle Division).
Lithuanians in the Corps There were numerous Lithuanian soldiers in the Corps. In summer 1917, there were many Lithuanians in the Corps, especially in these particular units: • 1st Regiment - 500 Lithuanians • 2nd Regiment - more than 400 Lithuanians The 3rd and 4th Regiments also had many Lithuanians in their ranks, with the
zapasnam Regiment having 1,000 Lithuanians in it. ==Officers' Legion==