Polish Coup (1919)

Polish coup
Date 4–5 January 1919 Location Warsaw, Poland Result Failure of coup
Belligerents
National Democracy	Legal government
Commanders and leaders
Marian Januszajtis-Żegota Eustachy Sapieha	Józef Piłsudski Jędrzej Moraczewski

The Polish Coup of early January 1919 was an unsuccessful coup d'etat in Poland. On January 4–5, 1919, right-wing National Democrats attempted to overthrow the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski and Józef Piłsudski. The coup's leaders included Marian Januszajtis-Żegota and Prince Eustachy Sapieha.

The coup forces succeeded in arresting Moraczewski's government but not Piłsudski. Some military units refused to follow confusing or surprising orders, and eventually the coup ended in some arrests and in a return to the status quo ante. There were no fatalities or significant injuries. In mid-January, right-wing activists were admitted to membership in a coalition government.

In the aftermath of the First World War, Poland regained independence. One of the task it faced was creation of a new government. Józef Piłsudski, leader of Polish Legions, became the chief of state (Naczelnik państwa) on the authority of the Regency Council, but instead of the coalition government expected by many, he supported a left-wing government of Jędrzej Moraczewski. Moraczewski's reforms, such as the 8-hour work day and the creation of a worker's militia, led to unrest among the right-wing politicians, and the issue was compounded by highly controversial decisions of some left-wing local activists, in some cases bordering on support for communism (for example, some factories were temporarily nationalized).

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