The Battle of Krzywoploty took place on November 17 – 18 , 1914, near the village of Krzywoploty, which at that time belonged to Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, and was located near the border with

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Galicia. Two battalions (440 soldiers) of 1st Regiment of

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions ( pl, Legiony Polskie) was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Triple Ente ...

(part of

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

) clashed with the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

, in an attempt to stop a Russian offensive. Polish battalions were commanded by Captain Mieczyslaw Rys-Trojanowski and Captain Ottokar Brzoza-Brzezina. On November 17, 4th and 6th Battalions, supported by field artillery, took positions on the hill of Holy Cross, located between Krzywoploty and

Bydlin Bydlin is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Klucze, within Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Olkusz and north-west of the regional capital Kraków. The village has ...

. Russians were located in forests by Domaniewice. The battle, which lasted for two days, was a success for the Legions, as they managed to halt a local Russian offensive. Polish losses were heavy, with 46 killed and 131 either wounded or captured. All victims, Polish, Austrian and Russian, were buried in a cemetery at Bydlin.

Jozef Pilsudski Jozef or Józef is a Dutch, Breton, Polish and Slovak version of masculine given name Joseph. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list see and .. * Józef Beck (1894–1944), Polish foreign minister in the 1930s * J ...

called the battle “our Thermopylae”, and following his initiative, a monument in the shape of a stone cross was unveiled at the Bydlin Cemetery in 1920. To commemorate the battle, soldiers of the Legions founded in 1937 a school in Bydlin. The Battle of Krzywoploty is commemorated on the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected af ...

, with the inscription "KRZYWOPLOTY 14 XI 1914".

Sources

* Mieczysław Wrzosek, Polski czyn zbrojny podczas pierwszej wojny światowej 1914-1918, Państwowe Wydawnictwo "Wiedza Powszechna", Warszawa 1990 {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Krzywoploty Krzywopłoty Krzywoploty Polish Legions in World War I Krzywopłoty Krzywopłoty Krzywopłoty Kielce Governorate History of Lesser Poland November 1914 events