Union for Armed Struggle

Związek Walki Czynnej ("Union for Armed Struggle", "Union for Active Struggle", "Association for Active Combat" or other - English language translations vary. Polish abbreviation: ZWC) was a Polish secret military organization, founded in 1908 by Józef Piłsudski, Marian Kukiel, Kazimierz Sosnkowski and Władysław Sikorski, all members of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party's Revolutionary Faction.

After the extremely successful Bezdany raid in 1908, Piłsudski decided to transform the Combat Organization into a newer, larger formation. The main purpose of ZWC was to prepare Polish officer cadres for the future Polish army for the likely hostilities with Russia, one of the three partitioners of Poland seen by Piłsudski's faction as Poland's worst enemy. The goal of Piłsudski and his followers was independence and liberation of Polish territories, and for that reason he became a temporary ally the weakest of the partitioning powers, Austro-Hungary. Piłsudski was convinced that first the Central Powers will defeat Russia but that they, in turn, will be defeated by England and France.

ZWC was led by Piłsudski, and below him was the Main Council ("Rada Główna") and Association Department ("Wydział Związku") composed of four members: Kazimierz Sosnkowski, Władysław Jaxa-Rożen, Stefan Dąbkowski and Zygmunt Bohuszewicz. Many of ZWC members were students. ZWC had members in all three partitions, as well as in some larger academic Polonia centers outside Poland.

From its very start the ZWC received a crucial support in the highest circles of the Austrian Empire which was preparing itself for the war with Russia. As the Great War was seen coming the Austrian officials supported Polish organization in favour of "Austro-Polish solution" and which were opposite to "endecja" movement, whose parties (like Stronnictwo Narodowo-Demokratyczne) and people (like Roman Dmowski) who, before reaching for Polish independence, wanted Poles and all their inhabited territories to be placed under one single state, which at the time could be achieved only by the Russian Empire. Austrians also hoped that the organization would allow Poles to assist them militarily in the Austrian war with Russia. [http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/84316_1.html Związek Walki Czynnej] , PWN Encyclopedia
*uk icon Oleksa Pidlutskyi, "Postati XX stolittia", (Figures of the 20th century), Kiev, 2004, ISBN 9668290011. Chapter "Józef Piłsudski: The Chief who Created Himself a State" available online in Zerkalo Nedeli "(the Mirror Weekly)", Kiev, February 3 - 9, 2001, [http://www.zerkalo-nedeli.com/nn/show/329/29435/ in Russian] and [http://www.zn.kiev.ua/ie/show/329/29435/ in Ukrainian] .