Riflemen ' s Association Związek Strzelecki " Strzelec " ( Riflemen ' s Association " Rifleman " ) was a Polish paramilitary cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in Lwów as a legal front of Związek Walki Czynnej , and revived in Poland in 1991 . An important part of the Association ' s mission was training young Poles in military skills . Before World War I , the Riflemen ' s Association provided military training to over 8 , 000 people , and its trainees subsequently formed an important part of the Polish Legions in World War I . Prominent members and leaders of the Riflemen ' s Association included Józef Piłsudski , Henryk Dobrzański , Kazimierz Sosnkowski , Edward Rydz - Śmigły , Władysław Sikorski , Marian Kukiel , Walery Sławek , Julian Stachiewicz , Aleksander Prystor and Włodzimierz Tetmajer . The Riflemen ' s Association was revived in Poland in 1991 , after the fall of communism . 1910 - 1918 . In 1910 , upon initiative of the Union of Active Struggle , two legal paramilitary organizations were created in Austrian Galicia . These were the Riflemen ’ s Association ( in Lwow ) , and the Rifleman Society ( Towarzystwo Strzelec ) in Krakow . In 1912 , both organizations were merged , under the Headquarters of the Riflemen ’ s Association , located in Lwow , and commanded by Jozef Pilsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski . The association was divided into the following branches : Polish Riflemen ’ s Associations active in the German Empire ( see Partitions of Poland ) were illegal , and operated without permission of the government of the Kingdom of Prussia . Meanwhile , the government in Vienna supported the associations , knowing that they were training for the future Great War with the Russian Empire . As a result , several paramilitary courses were organized in Austrian Galicia . Among most active members of the Riflemen ' s Association were students of Krakow ’ s Jagiellonian University , and by the summer of 1914 , the association had 6 , 449 trained members , most of whom came from western Galicia . At the same time , Polish Rifle Squads had some 4 , 000 trained members . 1918 - 1940 . In the Second Polish Republic , the Riflemen ' s Association concentrated its efforts in the countryside , and among poor urban youth . It organized gymnastics classes , reading courses and paramilitary courses , and was under supervision of the Ministry of Military Affairs ( Ministerstwo Spraw Wojskowych ) . The association had 3 , 000 local branches , with 15 regions . It had its own libraries , reading rooms , choirs , orchestras , people ’ s houses , and sports fields . In mid - 1939 , the association had some 500 , 000 members . In late September 1939 in German - occupied Krakow , the conspirational Organization of White Eagle ( Organizacja Orla Bialego ) was created . It was based on the Riflemen ' s Association , and in June 1940 , it merged with the Union of Armed Struggle . The Organization of White Eagle published its own conspirational magazine , Nakazy Dnia ( The Orders of the Day ) . Contemporary . Currently , several organizations exist which trace back its roots to the traditions of the Riflemen ' s Association . To unite them , a Federation of Riflemen ’ s Teams and Associations was created , under command of Maciej Wechmann . On July 15 , 2009 , the two main associations , Zwiazek Strzelecki and Zwiazek Strzelecki “ Strzelec ” signed a declaration of cooperation . The headquarters of the new body is in Warsaw .