White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1920-07-25
RISE OF POLAND
As war MACHINE
Experts Amazed at After-the-
War Developments.
Two Years Ago She Did Not Exist in
Military Sense-NoW Maintains
Fighting Front Greater Than France
Had-checks Menace Of Russian
BeIshevists, Who Sent Their Forces
to Humble Her.

The Polish army, which has been
making such a remarkable campaign
against the Russian red forces over a
wide front, has been evolved from
nothing at all at the time of the ar
mistlce, November il, 1913, into n
well organized fighting force. The eyo-
luton OF the Polish fighting machine
of approximately 100000 men Is re-
garded by American military obsery-
ers as one of the amazing develop
ments of the a~fter-the-war period.
From a military point of view 70
land two years ago did not exist.
There was no centralized authority,
no army and no way Of raising a mill
itary force. Today. according to Maj
Gen. Sigismund Brynk, military at
tache Of the Polish legation at Wash
ington, the new army maitalns sue
cessfully O fighting front greater than
the Franco German front during the
World war.
General Brynk told this brief story
OF the evolution of the Polish army:
Poland Faced Two Foes.
AT the time OF the collapse of the
Central Empires, Poland. without q
government, devastated by the invad-
Ing armies In the intense fighting of
the preceding four years. faced two
foes. On the one side were the Ger
mans. determined to keep their grip
on as much Of the country as they
could. On the other were the boil
shevists who, aided by the Germans.
gradually were pushing their way
westward. Besides. from the south
east the Ukrainians were pushing
their way upward and the czecho-
Slovaks were reaching ont for the
mineral districts OF Galicia.
At the time OF the signing OF the
armistics the Germans held Warsaw.
Riga and the shores OF the Baltic.
No sooner had they begun their re-
tirement than the bolsheviki loosely
organized forces. devoting themselves
largely to plllage. advanced. taking
Vino. On all sides Poland was
hemmed In by antagonists. 1t was a
country. as the saying went at the
time. without frontiers but with
fronts.
'The task OF establishing a military
force to defend the country and main
tain order was taken up spontaneous
iy by the harassed people. voluntar-
lily the fighting men OF the country.
most OF whom had been drafted In
the Russian, German or Austrian ar
mics, came TO the newly hoisted Po-
iish colors. The secret military or
g~anization built up by General Pilsud-
ski served as a nucleus. The Mill
tary stores and equipment abandoned
by the retreating armies were seized
and a cohesive force created.
Call for Volunteers.
"When, In November. 1918. Pill
sudskI returned to Warsaw from
Germany, where he had been con
fined, he was called on to act Is
chief of state, and Immediately af-
terward he issued n proclamation TO
the people asking for volunteers for
the Polish army. The passionate
patriotism was so great, and Pill
sudski's name so w%orshiped by the
young generation, that in April. 1919.
the Polish army numbered approx
mately 100000 soldiers. Soldiers of
Polish birth who at that time were
In the Austrian, German and Rus
sian armies also Joined this yolun-
teer organization. 1t was imperative
that this army be organized with the
greatest speed because OF the danger
that confronted Poland.
up to February of 1920, when a
parliament came into existence. this
army was one composed entirely of
volunteers. Parliament passed a law
of compulsory service. and called to
the colors men between twenty and
twenty-five years, which marked the
beginning of a regular Polish army.
Polish leglons, the German. Austrian
and Russian armies contributed a
great number of experienced officers,
and the formation OF a military school
for officers was begun. The estab-
lishment Of an aviation school was In
process, and IN this undertaking
great assistance a received from
American ayiators, who formed the
Kosciuszko squadron and also par
ticipated In the last battles of the
Ukranlan front against the bolshe'
yiks.
Women and Boys in Fight.
'In many parts OF Poland. how
ever. the people were compelled to
dght their own battles. Not only
men but women and boys took up
arms under the leadership Of patri-
otto Poles and repealed the invaders.
One notable case Of this was the de-
Tense Of Lvov. where the women and
high school boys fought ~valiantly.
up to March. 1919. the fighting was
carried on exclusively by volunteers.
In that month the government having
been hastily established In the mean
time, the draft law was proclaimed.
Ii became effective the following
month. All this time fighting was go
H.. fs IT. all La