page_title: History of Poland during World War I
section_title: Split of Three Empires
hierarchical_section_title: History of Poland during World War I / Split of Three Empires
caption_attribution_description: English: Józef Piłsudski and his staff in Kielce, in front of the Gubernator' Palace. 12 August 1914. Polski: Józef Piłsudski ze swoim sztabem przed pałacem gubernialnym w Kielcach. 12 sierpnia 1914 roku. Widoczni: Władysław Stryjeński, Sulistrowski, Wacław Stachiewicz, Kazimierz Sosnkowski, Michał Sokolnicki, Walery Sławek, Michał Sawicki , Władysław Prażmowski-Belina, Józef Piłsudski, Aleksander Litwinowicz, Horoszkiewicz, Michał Fuksiewicz, Gustaw Daniłowski , Ignacy Boerner, Mieczysław Trojanowski-Ryś, Deutsch: Józef Piłsudski mit seinen Soldaten vor dem Palast des Gouverneurs in Kielce, 1914
context_page_description: While Poland did not exist as an independent state during World War I, its geographical position between the fighting powers meant that much fighting and terrific human and material losses occurred on the Polish lands between 1914 and 1918.
  When World War I started, Polish territory was split during the partitions between Austria-Hungary, the German Empire and the Russian Empire, and became the scene of many operations of the Eastern Front of World War I.
  In the aftermath of the war, following the collapse of the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, Poland became an independent republic.
context_section_description: The war split the ranks of the three partitioning empires, pitting Russia as defender of Serbia and ally of Britain and France against the leading members of the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary.
caption: Col. Józef Piłsudski with his staff in front of the Governor's Palace in Kielce, 1914
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