Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control - Sources: Example

Sources: Example

Upper Silesia: May 1921 – July 1922

Upper Silesia was a German province on the border with Poland and Austrian. One of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles gave over a large proportion of Upper Silesia to the newly born Polish State. Germany protested furiously and the allies decided to hold a plebiscite to determine the future nationality of the area. After the Peace Treaty was signed, Inter Allied Police under the French General Le Rond were sent to Upper Silesia under the control of the Inter-Allied Control Commission which would take over the Government and arrange for the plebiscite which was held on 20 March 1921.

In early 1921 insurgents from both Germany and Poland were fighting in order to gain control of the area. On 23 May 1921 the war office ordered 4 battalions from the British Army on the Rhine to Silesia to put down the insurrection that had arisen between the rival ethnic groups and the authority of the Commission.

The arrival of British troops brought serious fighting to an end, however disturbances would often flare up and on 12 June 1921 a sergeant from the Durham Light Infantry was killed and there was a clash between French troops and the German Police.

To help maintain order, the Inter Allied Commission established a "Parish Constabulary" in each district as soon as the area had been cleared of insurgents. Each District also had six Delegations of Control assigned to them, each under the command of a British Officer selected by the Commission for his knowledge of the German language. Each officer had about 200 "Inter Allied Police of Upper Silesia" placed at his disposal, half-German, half from Upper Silesia who had been sworn to neutrality. A large number of the Poles were actually ex-insurgents and this created difficulties of its own. The role of the Control Delegations were to:

• To make certain that all military organisations of the insurrection period were effectively dissolved;

• To bring about the dissolution of all small armed parties still existing;

• To make sure that all non-Upper Silesians belonging to insurrectionary formations had actually left the country;

• To enforce the departure of all non-Silesians not in possession of a correct passport; and

• To report on the organisation and working of the Parish Constabulary.

Until the Parish Constabularies were established the Inter-Allied Police patrolled the country.

Gardner F (undated) More Reminiscences of an Old Bohemian. Hutchinson.