Polish general who seized Vilnius in a staged 'mutiny' and set up Central Lithuania
On 9 October 1920 Vilnius was occupied not by the Polish general Żeligowski, but by the Lithuanian Żeligowski.
A Polish general from the Russian imperial army, he seized Vilnius on 9 October 1920 in a 'mutiny' agreed with Piłsudski and set up Central Lithuania, an affair that blocked Polish-Lithuanian relations until 1938. He died in London in 1947.
Activities and affiliations
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1915–1926
Poland state institutionsCommander of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front, Minister of Military AffairsMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1888Commissioned infantry officer, Russian imperial army
- 1917–1918Organized Polish units in Russia; commander, 4th Polish Rifle Division
- 1919Returned; commander, Polish 10th Infantry Division
- 1920Lithuanian-Belarusian Front; seized Vilnius in the October 'mutiny'
- 1920–1921Head of the Republic of Central Lithuania
- 1925Minister of Military Affairs
- 1935–1939Member of the Sejm
- 1940–1947Polish National Council in exile, London
Related historical events
- 1918–1923The aftermath of the First World War: peace treaties and the revolutionary wavePolish generalTook Vilnius in the “mutiny” staged by Piłsudski in October 1920.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionPolish general who seized VilniusSeized Vilnius on 9 October 1920 in a 'mutiny' agreed with Piłsudski and set up Central Lithuania, incorporated into Poland in 1922.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsPolish general who seized VilniusSeized Vilnius on 9 October 1920 in a 'mutiny' agreed with Piłsudski and set up Central Lithuania, incorporated into Poland in 1922.
- 1917.03–1921.03The Belarusian People’s Republic and Soviet BelarusPolish generalSeized Vilnius in a staged "mutiny" in October 1920, prompting Lithuania's secret treaty with the Belarusian People's Republic.
- 1919–1921The Soviet-Polish WarPolish general who seized VilniusWhen the Suwałki Agreement of 7 October 1920 left Vilnius on the Lithuanian side, he seized the city on 9 October in a 'mutiny' agreed with Piłsudski and set up Central Lithuania.
Revolution and independence wars
An officer of the Russian imperial army who commanded Polish units in Russia in 1917, he joined the Polish army in 1919 and led divisions and an army in the Soviet-Polish War. When the Suwałki Agreement of 7 October 1920 left Vilnius on the Lithuanian side, he declared a 'mutiny' on 8 October, as arranged beforehand with Piłsudski, and led the 1st Lithuanian-Belorussian Division of about 14,000 men into Vilnius the next day. The 'Central Lithuania' he set up was incorporated into Poland in 1922, and the affair blocked diplomatic relations between Poland and Lithuania until 1938. He was minister of military affairs in 1925 and 1926, served on the National Council of the government in exile in the Second World War and died in London in 1947. He had asked to be buried in Vilnius; he was buried in Warsaw.