Opportunity Costs – Trying To Take Teschen (Polish-Czechoslovak War #2)

It is difficult to overstate just how consumed by conflict Eastern Europe was following the end of World War I. Wars, cross-border conflicts, and armed uprisings broke out across the region. Land, ideology, natural resources, ethnic frictions, and railroads were the cause of numerous conflicts. Trying to figure out exactly when World War I ended, and peace began in the region is not clear. There were numerous important moments, rather than a single definitive one.

This was unlike the western front where the signing of an armistice at Compiegne in France ended the war on November 11, 1918. Combat on the Eastern Front supposedly ended eight months earlier when the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was agreed between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) and Soviet Russia. German and Austro-Hungarian troops then occupied territory that had been part of the Russian Empire. Their occupation came to an end with the armistice at Compiegne. This led to a power vacuum that opened a pandora’s box of conflicts throughout Eastern Europe.

Unfinished Fights - Free For All

The complex nature of numerous uprisings, civil wars, and territorial struggles in postwar Eastern Europe is extremely difficult to understand. A single nation could be involved in fighting on multiple fronts. Take for instance Poland, which in 1919 was fighting the Polish-Lithuanian War, Polish-Soviet War, Polish-Ukrainian War, and skirmishes with remnants of the German Army. Every one of those opposing forces was a sworn enemy of the Poles. Yet it is another conflict in 1919 that stands out for its quixotic nature.

The Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks should have been brothers in arms. They did not have any recent history of conflict with one another. All three had been subsumed under empires that thwarted their independence. The Poles by the Germans, Russians and Austrians, the Czechs by the Austrians, and the Slovaks by the Hungarians. Despite their shared sense of nationalist aspirations, they would come into conflict with one another as Poland and Czechoslovakia battled for Teschen Silesia (Cieszyn Silesia), a small region in northwestern Slovakia that each side coveted for very different reasons.

Teschen Silesia was a point of contention in the scramble for territory after World War I ended. The region had been formerly administered by Austria-Hungary with Teschen (Polish: Cieszyn/Czech: Tesin) as its largest city. The city was host to the empire’s military headquarters which played an outsized role in Austria-Hungary’s defeat. Conrad von Hotzendorf, Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Military, managed the war from Teschen. The upshot was that Hotzendorf’s military blunders destroyed much of Austria-Hungary’s army. This eventually brought about the empire’s dissolution. That collapse meant Teschen was up for grabs. Both Poland and Czechoslovakia - reborn as independent nations - coveted Teschen and the territory around it. Poland thought it should have the area because of demographics. Conversely, Czechoslovakia believed it was critical to the nation’s survival.?

Strength In Numbers - Demographics & Economics

While Teschen Silesia had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire prior to World War I, it had deeper roots as the Duchy of Teschen, which had been Lands of the Bohemian Crown. This gave the Czechs a foothold based upon history, but during the postwar period, demography was just as important as history. During the 19th century, greater numbers of Poles moved into the area. By 1919, the situation on the ground favored Poland. Ethnic Poles made up a majority of the inhabitants in three of Teschen Silesia’s four districts. Demographics were a powerful force in the reconstituted Polish state. Poland needed as many Poles as possible. In other areas of the nation such as its southeastern region, Poles were outnumbered by Ukrainians. There were also large numbers of ethnic Germans, Lithuanians, and Belarusians scattered across different areas of Poland. Placing Teschen in Poland would provide a small, but much needed boost of ethnic Poles.?

The Czechs feared the demographic issue due to the precedent it would set. If a majority Polish area in historical Czech lands were to join Poland, what would keep the majority ethnic German areas in the Sudetenland from joining Germany. Czechoslovakia was much smaller than either Poland or Germany. It could not afford for the minorities within its borders to demand self-determination. The country’s survival would be at stake. Czechoslovakia needed more territory not less.

For both Czechoslovakia and Poland, Teschen Silesia was also a question of economics. ?Including the region in either would leave one nation richer, and the other poorer. Silesia was home to some of the largest deposits of coal in Europe. Coal was a vital energy resource. It played much the same role that oil does today. Coal fueled industrialization, which in turn spurred economic development. If Czechoslovakia and Poland were going to survive, they needed strong economies. Neither nation’s economic prospects were optimal. The Karvina coal fields in Teschen Silesia could help mitigate that problem. This was the region’s economic crown jewel and one that neither side would give up without a fight.

Another issue was the Kosice-Bohumin railway, an important connection between the Czech lands and Slovakia. Bohumin?was a crucial international transport and communication hub. The largest cargo railway station in east-central Europe was located there. If Teschen went to Poland, Bohumin would be on its fringes. Whereas for Czechoslovakia, it would offer an efficient connection to the Slovak hinterland. In sum, Czechoslovakia believed its viability as an independent nation was threatened without Teschen. That was less true for Poland, but Teschen was still a territory they coveted. A negotiated settlement between the two countries should have been possible.

Men At Arms - The March To War

The two sides came to a provisional agreement on the territory on November 5, 1918, but this was done by local authorities and favored Poland. Czechoslovakia's government did not recognize this agreement. The Poles followed up by organizing an election that would send representatives from Teschen to the Sejm, Poland’s parliament. relations between the two sides were at the breaking point. The Czechs reacted by sending in troops. This caught the Poles off guard. They were busy fighting larger wars. One against the Ukrainians and another against the Soviets. The Poles could not afford to spare troops to defend the region. The Czechs took advantage of the situation. The stage was set for the Czechs to impose their will by military force. All that stood in the way were weaker Polish forces. What happened next would poison relations between Czechoslovakia and Poland for a generation.