Henryk BAGIŃSKI, alias Józef Chłopski — *The Foundations of the Organization of the Polish Army, 1908–1914* [1935]

Warsaw, 1935. Published by the History Section of the "Zarzewie" Association of Participants in the Independence Movement. 18x25.5 cm, 832 pages, numerous black-and-white photographs in the text, a black-and-white fold-out map at the end of the book, softcover. Good condition (minor stains and scuffs on the cover, a ownership inscription on the first page, slight soiling on individual pages).

A comprehensive work by Henryk Bagiński (1888–1973), a military historian, colonel, and commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Polish Rifle Squads, devoted to the activities of Polish independence and military organizations in the years 1908–1914. Printed in a run of 2,250 numbered pieces; this is piece no. 1278.

Contents: The origins of the Zarzewiec independence youth movement. At the crossroads of two eras: the era of compromise and the era of independence. The emergence of the Scout movement in Poland. The Independence Legion and the Polish Army organization. The development of the Scouting movement within secret training units. The training of military instructors for the Polish Army and the Polish Rifle Squads. The disclosure of the Scout movement in the Austrian partition and the organization of clandestine Scouting in the Russian partition by the Polish Army organization. Polish independence policy before the outbreak of the European war. Polish Rifle Squads, October 15, 1912–August 6, 1914. The Scouting movement in Poland before the outbreak of the war. District I (Lviv) of the Polish Army and Polish Rifle Squads organizations. District II (Kraków) of the Polish Army and Polish Rifle Teams organization. Other districts of the Polish Army and Polish Rifle Teams organization. Women’s units of the Polish Rifle Teams. Instructor training courses of the Polish Rifle Squads in Rabka and Nowy Sącz in 1914. The Polish Rifle Squads before the outbreak of World War I.