Czechs decided to resolve the issue by force. Czech units led by Colonel Josef Šnejdárek and Polish units commanded by General Franciszek Latinik clashed after the swift Czech advance near Skoczów where a battle took place on 28–30 January. It was inconclusive, and before the reinforced Czech forces could resume the attack on the town, they were pressed by Entente to stop operations and a cease-fire was signed on 3 February. In this tense climate it was decided that a plebiscite would be held in the area asking its people which country the territory should join. Plebiscite commissioners arrived there at the end of January 1920 and after analysing the situation declared a state of emergency in the territory on 19 May 1920. The situation in the territory remained very tense. Mutual intimidation, acts of terror, beatings and even killings affected the area. A plebiscite could not be held in this atmosphere. On 10 July both sides renounced the idea of plebiscite and entrusted the Conference of Ambassadors with the decision. Eventually 58.1% of the area of Cieszyn Silesia, along with 67.9% of the population, was taken over by Czechoslovakia on 28 July 1920 by decision of the Spa Conference. This decision divided a historically unified region, leaving a sizeable Polish minority in Czechoslovakia and in practice created Zaolzie, the eastern part of the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia. Zaolzie literally means "the land beyond the Olza River" (looking from Poland). The division of 1920 had an immediate impact on the life of the region. Many families were divided by the new border. Several municipalities were divided between the two states—Cieszyn (PL) / Český Těšín (CS), Leszna Górna (PL) / Horní Líštná (CS), and Marklowice Górne (PL) / Dolní Marklovice (CS), to name a few. On 1 October 1938 Zaolzie was annexed by Poland following the Munich Conference. On 1 September 1939 Zaolzie was annexed by Nazi Germany after it invaded Poland. During World War II Cieszyn Silesia was a part of Nazi Germany. Immediately after the war, its borders were returned to their 1920 state. Poland signed a treaty with Czechoslovakia in Warsaw on 13 June 1958 confirming the border as it had existed on 1 January 1938. The Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia continued to be part of Czechoslovakia until the latter's dissolution in 1993 and since then has been part of the Czech Republic. Geography The region