Polish Legions

Polish Legions (Polish Legiony Polskie) was the name of several Polish military formations created in 19th and 20th centuries. They were created mostly abroad from Polish volunteers and their main task was to help in liberation of Poland, then under the Partitions. Among the most notable units to wear that name were:

• Polish Legions in Italy , created by Henryk Dąbrowski in 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars; the battle hymn of that unit became the Polish national anthem
• Polish Legion (Mickiewicz's Legion), formed in Rome in 1848 by one of the most notable Polish poets, Adam Mickiewicz
• Polish Legions in Hungary , created in 1848 by Józef Wysocki and Józef Bem in Hungary, during the Spring of Nations
• Polish Legions in World War I, a Polish military unit formed in 1914 in Galicia.

The traditions of the last of the abovementioned units were continued by three divisions of the Polish Army:

• Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division
• Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division
• Polish 3rd Legions Infantry Division

See also

• History of Poland
• Polish Army