Powstanie i początkowa działalność Polskiej Wojskowej Misji Zakupów w Paryżu w okresie marzec-kwiecień 1919 roku : charakterystyka pierwszych tygodni pracy na terenie Francji

Abstract

The article touches upon a weighty theme of acquiring military materiel for the Polish Armed Forces during the initial phase of the Polish‑Soviet War, including military uniforms, weaponry, and ammunition. In the article, reasons for and circumstances accompanying the establishment of the Polish Military Purchases Mission in Paris are presented along with characteristics of the initial period of the institution’s activity in France in March and April of 1919. Over this period, first administrative structures of the mission were developed and a very intense search for genuine possibilities of obtaining military materiel took place with the aim of enlargement of Polish military forces. The author provides valid information regarding personal composition of the Mission, the manner in which first large purchases were carried out in France, USA, and Italy, as well as the organization of the materiel’s shipment from France to Poland.