Sikorski was born in
Tuszów Narodowy,
Galicia, at the time part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the third child in his family; his father was Tomasz Sikorski, a school teacher; his mother was Emilia Habrowska. His grandfather,
Tomasz Kopaszyna Sikorski, had fought and been wounded at the
Battle of Olszynka Grochowska in the
November Uprising, during which he received the
Virtuti Militari medal. Sikorski attended the
gimnazjum in
Rzeszów (now
Konarski's High School in Rzeszów) from 1893 to 1897, then transferred for a year to a Rzeszów teachers' college. In 1899 he attended the
Lwów Franciszek Józef
Gymnasium, and in 1902 he passed his
final high school exam there. Starting that year, young Sikorski studied engineering at the
Lwów Polytechnic, specializing in road and bridge construction, and graduated in 1908 with a diploma in
hydraulic engineering. In 1906 Sikorski volunteered for a year's service in the Austro-Hungarian army and attended the
Austrian Military School, obtaining an
officer's diploma and becoming an army reserve
second lieutenant (
podporucznik rezerwy). In 1909 he married , whom he met while at the high school in Lwów. In 1912 they had a daughter,
Zofia. After graduation he lived in
Leżajsk and worked for the Galician administration's hydraulic engineering department, working on the regulation of the
San river, and later was involved in private enterprises related to construction, real estate and the petroleum trade. During his studies at the Polytechnic, Sikorski became involved in the
People's School Association (
Towarzystwo Szkoły Ludowej), an organization dedicated to spreading literacy among the rural populace. Around 1904–1905 he was briefly involved with the
endecja Association of the Polish Youth "Zet", and then drifted towards paramilitary
socialist organizations related to the
Polish Socialist Party, which was intent on securing Polish independence. He made contact with the socialist movement around 1905–1906 through the
Union for the Resurrection of the Polish Nation (
Związek Odrodzenia Narodu Polskiego). In 1908, in Lwów, Sikorski—together with
Józef Piłsudski,
Marian Kukiel,
Walery Sławek,
Kazimierz Sosnkowski, and
Henryk Minkiewicz—organized the secret
Union for Active Struggle (Związek Walki Czynnej), with the aim of bringing about an uprising against the
Russian Empire, one of Poland's three
partitioners. In 1910, likewise in Lwów, Sikorski helped to organize a
Riflemen's Association (the
Związek Strzelecki), became the president of its Lwów chapter, and became responsible for the military arm within the
Commission of Confederated Independence Parties (
Komisja Skonfederowanych Stronnictw Niepodległościowych, KSSN). Having a military education, he lectured other activists on
military tactics. Upon the outbreak of the
First World War in July 1914, Sikorski was mobilized, but through KSSN influence he was allowed to participate in the organizing of the Polish military units, rather than being delegated to other duties by the Austro-Hungarian military command. In the first few weeks of the war he became the chief of the Military Department in the
Supreme National Committee (
Naczelny Komitet Narodowy, NKN) and remained in this post until 1916. He was a commissioner in charge of the recruitment to the
Polish Legions in
Kraków, choosing this role over the opportunity to serve in the Legions as a frontline commander. On 30 September 1914 he was promoted to
podpułkownik (lieutenant colonel), and soon after that he became the commander of a Legions
officer school (
Szkoła Podchorążych). The Legions—the army created by
Józef Piłsudski to liberate Poland from
Russian and, ultimately, Austro-Hungarian and German rule—initially fought in alliance with Austria-Hungary against Russia. From August 1915 there was growing tension between Sikorski, who advocated cooperation with Austria-Hungary, and Piłsudski, who felt that Austria-Hungary and Germany had betrayed the trust of the Polish people. In 1916 Piłsudski actively campaigned to have the Military Department of NKN disbanded. In July that year, Sikorski was promoted to
pułkownik (colonel). Following the
Act of 5th November (1916), Sikorski became involved with the Legions' alternatives, the
Polish Auxiliary Corps and
Polnische Wehrmacht. In June 1917 Piłsudski refused Austro-Hungarian orders to swear loyalty to the
Habsburg Emperor (the "
oath crisis") and was interned at the fortress of
Magdeburg, while Sikorski abandoned Polnische Wehrmacht and returned to the Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1918, however, following the February
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the
battle of Rarańcza, Sikorski chose belatedly to side with Piłsudski, announcing solidarity with his actions, protesting against the planned separation of
Chełm Land from the planned Polish state, and thus soon joined Piłsudski in internment (he would be held in
Dulfalva (Dulovo)). Nonetheless, this was not enough to smooth the differences between him and Piłsudski, and these two major Polish leaders would drift farther apart in the continuing years. == Eastern wars ==