Jozef Pilsudski (Polish: Józef Piłsudski, pronounced: ['juzef piw'sutski], December 5, 1867 – May 12, 1935) was a Polish revolutionary and statesman, field marshall, first chief of state (1918-1922) and dictator (1926-1935) of renascent Poland, and founder of her armed forces. Jozef Pilsduski This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A political party is a political organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power within a government. ... Flag of the Chief of State (1919-1927) Sanacja was a coalition political movement of the Second Polish Republic in the inter war years. ... A First Lady is the female spouse of an elected male head of state such as a President, Prime Minister, Premier or Governor. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... The purpose of this page is to lay out our policies for handling sounds, and give people some useful information for handling sound files. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The term Revolutionary is some what vague and may be thought to be relative to the context it is used in. ... The term statesman is a respectful term used to refer to diplomats, politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... A head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted to the head of state in the countrys... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Second Polish Republic 1921-1939 The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388. ... The armed forces of a state are its military organization. ...

Biography

Piłsudski's early life

Born in the village of Zułów (Zalavas, in today's Lithuania) into an impoverished Polish szlachta (noble) family, he attended school in Wilno. In 1885 he studied medicine at Kharkiv, in Ukraine, but was suspended in 1886 as politically suspect. In March 1887 he was arrested by Tsarist authorities on a false charge of plotting to assassinate Tsar Alexander III and was exiled for five years to eastern Siberia. His elder brother, Bronisław Piłsudski, who had been friends with friends of Vladimir Lenin's brother, was similarly sentenced to hard labor (katorga) in eastern Siberia, for fifteen years. Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes also Vilna in English, Belarusian Вільня, Polish Wilno, Russian Вильнюс, German Wilna, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania with population in excess of 540 thousand (in 2003). ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Medicine is a branch of health science concerned with maintaining health and restoring it by treating disease. ... Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків; rus: Ха́рьков, Kharkov) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) Events January 18 _ Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,  listen; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Painting of Tsar Alexander III (1886), by Ivan Kramskoi (1837-1887), original, 41 x 36 in. ... See Exile (disambiguation) for other meanings. ... Siberia Siberia (Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... Bronisław Piotr Piłsudski Bronisław Piotr Piłsudski ( November 2, 1866– May 17, 1918), brother of Jozef Pilsudski, was a Polish cultural anthropologist who conducted outstanding research on the Ainu ethnic group, which at the time inhabited Sakhalin Island, but now live mostly on the Japanese island of Hokkaido with only a... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) (April 22 (April 10 (O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism, later expanded into... Katorga (ка́торга, from Greek: katergon (galley)) was a system of penal servitude in Imperial Russia. ...

Piłsudski, schoolboy.

Józef, after his release in 1892, joined the Polish Socialist Party. He began publishing an underground socialist newspaper, Robotnik (The Worker). In February 1900 he was imprisoned in the Warsaw Citadel but, after feigning mental illness, in May 1901 managed to escape from a mental hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) was one of the most important Polish political parties 1890-1948. ... Underground as an adjective commonly refers to something that is either below the ground or outside of public consciousness. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... Dr. Eggman. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Cytadela ( Polish for Citadel) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

On the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) Piłsudski traveled to Japan, where he unsuccessfully attempted to obtain that country's assistance for an insurrection in Poland. He offered to supply Japan with intelligence in support of her war with Russia and proposed a plan (never implemented) to create a legion from Poles, conscripted into the Russian army, who had been captured by Japan. He also suggested a "Promethean" project (named for the Greek titan Prometheus, who had been tortured by Zeus while chained to a rock in the Caucasus) directed at breaking up the Russian empire into its ethnic constituents — a goal that he later continued to pursue and that would be partly achieved only in 1991 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Imperial Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Intelligence has two different common meanings : Intelligence (trait) Animal intelligence Artificial intelligence Intelligence (information gathering) Business intelligence Military espionage This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Legion can refer to: A Roman legion A Polish Legion A Foreign Legion Legion, a X-Men character. ... This article is about the mythological figure. ... This article is about the mythological figure. ... Statue of Zeus The Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. ... The Caucasus is a region in Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

First World War

Piłsudski in military uniform.

Piłsudski anticipated a coming European war and the need to organize the nucleus of a future Polish army that could help win Poland's independence from the three empires that had partitioned her out of political existence in the late 18th century. With the aid of funds that he had personally "expropriated" from a Russian mail train in a raid at Bezdany near Vilnius in April 1908, that same year he formed a secret military organization. Two years later, with help from the Austrian military authorities, he converted the organization into a legal "Riflemen's Association" which trained Polish military officers. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... In military organizations, a commissioned officer is a member of the service who derives authority directly from a sovereign power, and as such holds a commission from that power. ...

At a meeting in Paris in 1914, Piłsudski presciently declared that in the imminent war, for Poland to regain her independence, Russia must be beaten by the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and German Empire), and the Central Powers must in their turn be beaten by France, Britain and the United States. The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Central Powers is a term used to refer to the Dual Alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria during World War I. They are so called because they all lay between Russia in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... The term German Empire (Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ...

Piłsudski and his staff in Kielce, 1914

Upon the outbreak of World War I, and into 1917, Brigadier General Piłsudski's Polish Legion fought with distinction against Russia at the side of the Central Powers. On November 5, 1916, the latter proclaimed the "independence" of Poland, hoping that as a result Polish troops would be sent to the eastern front against Russia, relieving German forces to bolster the western front. Piłsudski, however, then serving as minister of war in the newly created Polish Regency government, opposed the demand that the Polish units swear loyalty to Germany and Austria. Consequently in July 1917 he was arrested and imprisoned at Magdeburg, Germany. Download high resolution version (1137x884, 135 KB) Józef Piłsudski and his staff in Kielce, in front of the Bishops Palace Picture from Ilustrowany Kurjer Wojenny newspaper, December 5, 1914 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible... Download high resolution version (1137x884, 135 KB) Józef Piłsudski and his staff in Kielce, in front of the Bishops Palace Picture from Ilustrowany Kurjer Wojenny newspaper, December 5, 1914 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible... Kielce (pronounce: [ˈkjεlʦε]) is a city in central Poland with 210,311 inhabitants (2004). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... Polish Legions (Polish Legiony Polskie) was the name of Polish armed forces created in August of 1914 in Galicia. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... A defence minister ( Commonwealth English) or defense minister ( American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... Regency Council: Ostrowski, Kakowski, Lubomirski The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego) was a semi-independent and temporary highest authority (head of state) during World War I, formed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in the occupied Polish territories in September 1917. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... View of Magdeburg with the cathedral, from the tower of the Johanniskirche Magdeburg, the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies on the Elbe river. ...

On November 8, 1918, Piłsudski and his comrade, Colonel Kazimierz Sosnkowski, were released and soon — like Vladimir Lenin before them — placed on a private train, bound for their national capital. On November 11 Piłsudski was appointed Commander in Chief, and on November 14 Chief of State (Naczelnik Panstwa), of a renascent Polish state. November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Colonel Colonel is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... Commander-in-Chief (in NATO-lingo often C-in-C or CINC pronounced sink) is the commander of all the military forces within a particular region or of all the military forces of a state. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... A head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted to the head of state in the countrys... Naczelnik is the Polish word for Leader. ...

Polish-Soviet War

Piłsudski in Poznań.

Piłsudski aspired to create a federation (to be called Międzymorze--"Tween-Seas," stretching once again from the Baltic to the Black Sea) of Poland with Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, in emulation of the pre-partition Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that had served its constituent populations well for four centuries. The Commonwealth had given mutual protection to its constituent peoples against the Teutonic Order, the Mongols, the Russians, the Turks, the Swedes and other predatory neighbors until the partitions of the late 18th century. Piłsudski's plan was, however, to be dashed by the outcome of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Poznan is also a breed of horse, There is also American Poznan, OH. The title given to this article lacks diacritics because of certain technical limitations. ... A federation (from the Latin fœdus, covenant) is a state comprised of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as states) united by a central (federal) government. ... Międzymorze (Myen-dzih-MOH-zheh): name for Józef Piłsudskis proposed federation of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and the Danish islands. ... Satellite view of the Black Sea, taken by NASA MODIS Cities of the Black Sea The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Teutonic Knights, charging into battle. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Polish-Bolshevik War Conflict Polish-Bolshevik War Date 1919– 1921 Place Central and Eastern Europe Result Polish victory The Polish-Soviet War was the war (February 1919 – March 1921) that determined the borders between the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic and Second Polish Republic. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In April 1920, Marshal Piłsudski (as his rank had been since that March) signed an alliance with Ukraine's Symon Petliura, to conduct joint war against Soviet Russia. The Polish and Ukrainian armies, under Piłsudski's command, launched a successful offensive against the Russian forces in Ukraine. By May 7, having done remarkably little fighting, they had captured Kiev (Ukranian, Kyiv). Jozef Pilsudski This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Marshal (also spelled Marshall) is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. ... An alliance can be: an agreement between two parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests. ... Symon Petlyura (Симон Петлюра; also spelled Simon, Semen, Semyen Petliura or Petlura, May 10, 1879 – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician. ... Soviet Russia is sometimes used as a somewhat sloppy synonym to the Soviet Union — although the term Soviet Russia sometimes refers to Bolshevist Russia from the October Revolution in 1917 to 1922 (Although Russian communists officially formed RSFSR in 1918). ... Offensive may relate to In sports or combat, the team which is attacking, pitching or moving forwards In language or morals, terms and concepts which are unacceptable to some people, such as swearing and profanity. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... Kiev (Київ, Kyiv, in Ukrainian; Киев, Kiev, in Russian) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper river. ...

The Soviets launched their own offensive from Belarus and counter-attacked in Ukraine, advancing into Poland in a drive toward Germany in order to consolidate the communist revolution underway there. It was Piłsudski's risky, unconventional strategy at the Battle of Warsaw (August 1920) that would halt the Soviet advance. A counter attack is a tactic used by defending forces when under attack by an enemy force. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A revolution is a relatively sudden and absolutely drastic change. ... Battle of Warsaw Conflict Polish-Bolshevik War Date 13 to August 25, 1920 Place near Warsaw, Poland Result Decisive Polish victory The Battle of Warsaw (sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, Polish Cud nad Wisłą) was the decisive battle of the Polish-Bolshevik War (also known as... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...

Piłsudski's plan was for Polish forces to withdraw across the Vistula River and defend the bridgeheads at Warsaw and the Wieprz River, while some 25% of available divisions concentrated to the south for a strategic counteroffensive. Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... Wieprz is a river in central-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river, with a length of 303 kilometres (9th longest) and the basin area of 10,415 sq. ... A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around 10,000 soldiers. ...

Piłsudski as Marshal of Poland.

Next Piłsudski's plan required that two armies under General Józef Haller, facing Soviet frontal attack on Warsaw from the east, hold their entrenched positions at all costs. At the same time, an army under General Władysław Sikorski would strike north from behind Warsaw, thus cutting off the Soviet forces attempting to envelope Warsaw from that direction. The most important role, however, was assigned to a relatively small (approximately 20,000-man), newly assembled "Reserve Army" (known also as the "Strike Group" — Grupa Uderzeniowa), commanded personally by Piłsudski, comprising the most determined, battle-hardened Polish units. Their task was to spearhead a lightning northern offensive, from the Vistula-Wieprz River triangle south of Warsaw, through a weak spot identified by Polish intelligence between the Soviet Western and Southwestern Fronts. That offensive would separate the Soviet Western Front from its reserves and disorganize its movements. Eventually, the gap between Sikorski's army and the "Strike Group" would close near the East Prussian border, resulting in the destruction of the encircled Soviet forces. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Józef Haller Józef Haller de Hallenburg ( August 13, 1873 - June 4, 1960) was a Polish general and politician. ... A ditch with water can be used for drainage and irrigation. ... . Władysław Sikorski during World War II. Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (May 20, 1881 – July 4, 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. ... Wieprz is a river in central-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river, with a length of 303 kilometres (9th longest) and the basin area of 10,415 sq. ...

Piłsudski at work.

Piłsudski's plan was strongly criticized at the time, and only the desperate situation of the Polish forces persuaded other army commanders to go along with it. Although based on fairly reliable information provided by Polish intelligence and intercepted Soviet radio communications, the plan was termed "amateurish" by many high-ranking army officers and military experts, who were quick to point out Piłsudski's lack of a formal military education. Furthermore, when a copy of the plan accidentally fell into Soviet hands, it was thought to be a ruse and ignored. Only days later, the Soviets would pay dearly for their mistake. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

The Marshal's Polish detractors, however, chose to ironically call his subsequent victory "the Miracle at the Wisła [i.e., Vistula River]," and sought to ascribe the winning strategy to General Maxime Weygand of the French military mission to Poland. Later, a junior member of that mission, Charles de Gaulle, would adopt some lessons from Piłsudski's career, for his own strikingly similar one. Vistula river basin Vistula ( Polish Wisła, German Weichsel) is the longest river in Poland. ... General Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (January 21, 1867 - January 28, 1965) was a French military commander in both World War I and World War II. Origin of Weygand Weygand was born in Brussels, Belgium. ... The French Military Mission to Poland was an effort by France to aid the nascent Second Polish Republic after it achieved its independence in November, 1918, at the end of the First World War. ... Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (November 22, 1890 – November 9, 1970), in France commonly referred to as général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. ...

The Treaty of Riga (1921), closing the Polish-Soviet War, gave the bulk of Belarus and Ukraine to Russia and so marked an end to Piłsudski's federalist dream. The Peace of Riga (also known as the Treaty of Riga, Polish: Traktat Ryski) signed on 18th March 1921 between Poland and Soviet Russia ended the Polish-Bolshevik War. ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Rise to Power: the Benevolent Dictator

After the Polish constitution adopted in March 1921 (March Constitution) severely limited the powers of the presidency in the new democratic Second Polish Republic, Piłsudski refused to run for the office. In December 1922 he turned over his powers to his friend, the newly elected president, Gabriel Narutowicz. Two days later, Narutowicz was shot to death by a mentally deranged, right-wing, antisemitic painter and art critic who had originally wanted to kill Piłsudski. When a right-wing government subsequently came to power, in May 1923 Piłsudski disgustedly resigned as chief of the general staff and went into retirement outside Warsaw. March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution of Poland on March 17, 1921, after ousting the occupation of the German/ Prussian forces in the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising, and avoiding conquest by the Soviets in the 1920 Polish-Soviet War . ... The word Presidency is often used to describe the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... Second Polish Republic 1921-1939 The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388. ... December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Term of Office from December 9, 1922, until December 16, 1922 Profession Engineer, university professor Political Party nonpartisan First Lady Date of Birth March 17, 1865 Place of Birth Telsze ( in todays Lithuania) Date of Death December 16, 1922 Place of Death Warsaw, Poland Gabriel Narutowicz, b. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards or prejudice against Jews (not, in common usage, Semites in general — see the Scope section below). ... For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... An art critic is normally a person who have a speciality in giving reviews mainly of the types of fine art you will find on display. Typically the art critic will go to an art exhibition where works of art are displayed in the traditional way in localities especially made... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Chief can refer to The chief engineer of a naval vessel or anyone with the rank Chief Warrant Officer in the Canadian Forces In heraldry, a chief is a band of colour or metal making up the top (usually the top third or slightly less) of a shield. ... A General Staff is a group of professional military officers who act in a staff or administrative role. ...

Marshal Józef Piłsudski on his favorite horse Kasztanka (the mare, "Chestnut"), painted by Wojciech Kossak.

Three years later, in May 1926, he returned to power in a military coup d'etat (the May Coup), aided by socialist railwaymen who sidetracked government troop transports. He initiated Sanacja government (1926-1939) — conducted at times by authoritarian means — directed at restoring moral "health" to public life. Although till his death in 1935 he played a preponderant role in Poland's government, his formal offices — apart from two stints as prime minister in 1926-28 and 1930 — were for the most part limited to those of minister of defense and inspector-general of the armed forces. The adoption of a new Polish constitution in April 1935, tailored by Piłsudski's supporters to his specifications — providing for a strong presidency — came too late for Piłsudski to seek that office; but the April Constitution would serve Poland to the outbreak of World War II and would carry its Government in Exile through to the end of the war and beyond. Download high resolution version (666x800, 289 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (666x800, 289 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Wojciech Kossak, self-portrait. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... May Coup ( Polish: Przewrót majowy or zamach majowy) was a coup detat successfully carried out during the Second Polish Republic by Józef Piłsudski, May 12 – May 14, 1926. ... Flag of the Chief of State (1919-1927) Sanacja was a coalition political movement of the Second Polish Republic in the inter war years. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A prime minister may be either: the chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives... A defence minister ( Commonwealth English) or defense minister ( American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... In the United States, an Inspector General is a type of investigator charged with examining the actions of a government agency or military organization as a general auditor of their operations to ensure they are operating in compliance with general established policies of the government, to audit the effectiveness of... The armed forces of a state are its military organization. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The April Constitution of Poland ( Polish Ustawa konstytucyjna 23 IV 1935) was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on April 23, 1935. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Government of the Polish Republic in exile maintained a continuous existence in exile from the time of the German occupation of Poland in September 1939 until the end of the Communist rule in Poland in 1990. ...

Piłsudski on the cover of TIME magazine, June 7, 1926.

Piłsudski, as de Gaulle was later to do in France, sought to maintain his country's independence on the international scene. When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, Piłsudski sounded out Poland's ally, France, regarding the possibility of joint military action against Germany, which had been openly rearming in violation of the Versailles Treaty. When France declined, Piłsudski was compelled to sign a nonaggression pact with Germany in January 1934. (He had already done so with the Soviet Union in 1932.) He was acutely aware of the shakiness of the nonaggression pacts, remarking sarcastically: "The question remains, which of the stools will we fall off first." Ably assisted by his protege, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jozef Beck, he sought support for Poland in alliances with western powers--France and Britain--and with friendly, if less powerful, neighbors: Romania and Hungary. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... 8:17 am, August 6, 1945, Japanese time. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Imperial chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Woodrow Wilson with the American Peace Commissioners The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 is the peace treaty created as a result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 which put an official end to World War I between the Allies and Central Powers. ... A non-aggression pact is an international treaty between two or more states, agreeing to avoid war or armed conflict between them even if they find themselves fighting third countries, or even if one is fighting allies of the other. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... A non-aggression pact is an international treaty between two or more states, agreeing to avoid war or armed conflict between them even if they find themselves fighting third countries, or even if one is fighting allies of the other. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister that helps to form foreign policy for sovereign nations. ... Józef Beck Józef Beck ( October 4, 1894 - June 5, 1944) was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski. ... See power Powers (comics) People named Powers: Austin Powers, movie character Gary Powers, pilot Richard Powers, writer Tim Powers, writer This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Hitler repeatedly suggested a German-Polish alliance against the Soviets, but Piłsudski ignored the proposal. He sought time for Poland to prepare to fight when the necessity arose.

Piłsudski was interested less in the trappings than in the reality of power, to be exercised for the security and welfare of his imperiled country. He made a point of drawing no financial profit from public office. As to the socialism that had helped him to power, he famously remarked that he "had taken the red streetcar as far as the stop called Independence and gotten off." For information on mainstream political parties using the term Socialist, see Social democracy and Democratic socialism, For the governments of the USSR, the PRC, and others, see: Communist state, Other variants of Socialism include Marxism, Communism, and Libertarian Socialism. ...

Pilsudski had given Poland something akin to what Henryk Sienkiewicz's pan Zagłoba had mused about: a Polish Oliver Cromwell. As such, the Marshal had inevitably drawn both intense loyalty and intense vilification. Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (pronounce: [γεnrik ɕenkieviʧ]) (May 5, 1846 - November 15, 1916) was a Polish novelist, one of the outstanding writers of the second half of the 19th century. ... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ...

By 1935 Piłsudski had, unbeknown to the public, been for several years in declining health. So much the greater was the shock at the passing of the man about whom Joseph Conrad had said: "He was the only great man to emerge on the scene during the [First World] war." 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924) was a Polish-born British novelist. ...

Tribute

• One of the Polish Air Force squadrons during the Second World War, the No. 305 "Land of Greater Poland" Squadron, was named after Józef Pilsudski.

Polish Air Force (Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Sily Powietrzne RP) - the Air Force of Poland. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Quotes

"To be defeated and not submit, that is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, that is defeat."

See also

• Roman Dmowski

Roman Dmowski Roman Dmowski (b. ...

External links

• Józef Piłsudski (http://www.pilsudski.info) his life and times
• Biography of Józef Piłsudski (http://members.lycos.co.uk/jozefpilsudski/free.html)
• Dariusz Baliszewski, Ostatnia wojna marszałka, Tygodnik "Wprost", Nr 1148 (28 listopada 2004) (http://www.wprost.pl/ar/?O=70406), Polish, retrieved on 24 March 2005
• Josef Pilsudski's bio (http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/pilsudski.html)

References

• Jeremy Keenan, The Pole: the Heroic Life of Jozef Pilsudski, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, 2004, ISBN 0715632108.
• Waclaw Jedrzejewicz, Pilsudski: a Life for Poland, Hippocrene Books, 1982, ISBN 0882546333.
• Joseph Rothschild, Pilsudski's Coup D'Etat, Columbia University Press, 1967, ISBN 0231029845.
• Andrej Garlicki, Jozef Pilsudski, 1867-1935, Scolar Press, 1995, ISBN 1859280188.

Following are the successive heads of state of Poland. ... Term of Office from December 9, 1922, until December 16, 1922 Profession Engineer, university professor Political Party nonpartisan First Lady Date of Birth March 17, 1865 Place of Birth Telsze ( in todays Lithuania) Date of Death December 16, 1922 Place of Death Warsaw, Poland Gabriel Narutowicz, b. ... Kazimierz Bartel ( 1882- 1941), was a Polish mathematician and politician; Prime Minister of Poland,1926-1930. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Poland. ... Kazimierz Bartel ( 1882- 1941), was a Polish mathematician and politician; Prime Minister of Poland,1926-1930. ... Walery Sławek ( 1879- 1939) was a Polish politician who three times served as Prime Minister of Poland in the early 1930s. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Poland. ... Walery Sławek ( 1879- 1939) was a Polish politician who three times served as Prime Minister of Poland in the early 1930s. ...