Silesian Uprisings - Third Silesian Uprising (1921)

Third Silesian Uprising (1921)

The Third Silesian Uprising (Polish: Trzecie powstanie śląskie) was the last and largest and longest of the three uprisings, as it included the Battle of Annaberg.

It began in the aftermath of the plebiscite which yielded mixed results. The British and French governments could not reach a consensus on the interpretation of the plebiscite. The primary problem was the disposition of the "Industrial Triangle" east of the Oder river, whose triangle ends were marked by the cities of Beuthen (Bytom), Gleiwitz (Gliwice) and Kattowitz (Katowice). The French wanted to weaken Germany, and thus supported the Polish claim; the British and the Italians disagreed, particularly as the Germans claimed they could not pay war reparations if they were to lose the Silesian industries.

In late April 1921, rumors spread that the British pro-German position would prevail. This caused the local Polish sympathizers to act again. The insurrection began on a date planned for early in May. Unlike the Second Uprising, the Third was carefully planned and organized under the leadership of Wojciech Korfanty.

The Third Silesian Uprising began on May 2–3, 1921, with Polish destruction of German rail bridges (see "Wawelberg Group") in order to thwart immediate German measures to suppress the uprising. A particular concern was to prevent a recurrence of the many acts of violence that had been perpetrated against the populace by German paramilitary groups, the Freikorps, which had ostensibly been created to support the German border-protection police (the Grenzschutz). The Freikorps comprised mostly volunteers and demobilised German soldiers.

The Inter-Allied Commission, in which General Henri Le Rond was the most influential personage, waited rather long before taking any steps to end the violence. The French troops of occupation generally favored the insurrection. In some cases British and Italian contingents actively cooperated with Germans. On the other hand UK Prime Minister Lloyd George's speech in the British Parliament, strongly disapproving of the insurrection, aroused the hopes of some Germans. But the Entente appeared to have no troops ready and available for dispatch. The only action the 'Inter-Allied Military Control Commission' and the French government made was demanding immediate prohibition of the recruiting of German volunteers from outside Upper Silesia, and this was promptly made public.

After an initial success of the insurgents, taking over a large portion of the area of Upper Silesia, the German Grenzschutz several times resisted the attacks of Wojciech Korfanty's Polish troops, some cases in cooperation with British and Italian troops. An attempt on the part of the British troops to take steps against the Polish forces was prevented by General Jules Gratier, the French commander-in-chief of the Allied troops. Eventually, the insurgents kept most of territory they had won, including the local industrial district. They proved that they could mobilize large amounts local support, while the German forces based outside Silesia were barred from taking an active part in the conflict.

Twelve days after the outbreak of the insurrection Korfanty offered to take his troops behind a line of demarcation (the "Korfanty Line"), conditional upon the released territory not being re-occupied by German forces, but by Allied troops. It was not, however, until July 1 that the British troops arrived in Upper Silesia and began to advance in company with those of the other Allies towards the former frontier. Simultaneously with this advance the 'Inter-Allied Commission' pronounced a general amnesty for the illegal actions committed during the insurrection, with the exception of acts of revenge and cruelty. The German Grenzschutz was withdrawn and disbanded.