often praised by his professors and critics. Drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army in July 1914, Rydz was transferred in August to the Polish Legions and fought in World War I in the famous Polish 1st Brigade of Józef Piłsudski. He took part in numerous engagements against the Imperial Russian Army in the region of the Southern Vistula and rose quickly in rank. By 1916, he was already a full colonel. He did not forget his art, however, and exhibited his work at a gallery in Kraków around that time. In 1917, after their refusal to swear an oath to the Austrian and German authorities, the Legions were disbanded, their soldiers interned and their leader Józef Piłsudski imprisoned in Magdeburg fortress. By Piłsudski's appointment, Rydz (who was released from prison on grounds of ill health) became commander of the Polish Military Organization (POW) and adopted the nom de guerre Śmigły (Fast or Agile), which he later officially added to his surname. In October 1918, Rydz entered the socialist government of politician and diplomat Ignacy Daszyński in Lublin as Minister of War. Having been promoted to brigadier general, he underlined that upon his acceptance of the office he was to be seen as a deputy of Piłsudski. It was at this time he began using the name Rydz-Śmigły. On 11 November 1918, the government relinquished all power to Piłsudski, who became Provisional Head of State. After some hesitation, Piłsudski (displeased by Rydz-Śmigły's cooperation with the socialists, he himself "having left the streetcar of Socialism at the stop called Independence") nevertheless confirmed him as a brigadier general of the Polish army. Military triumphs During the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–21, Rydz commanded Polish armies in several offensives against the Bolsheviks. Among the victorious engagements, he captured the cities of Wilno (Vilnius) and Dünaburg. Following his victories on the field, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Latvian armed forces and soon liberated Latgale from the Red Army. Subsequently, he annihilated the Red Army's 12th Army and took Kiev. After the Bolshevik counterattack led the Red Army to the gates of Warsaw, Rydz commanded the Central Front of the Polish forces during the Battle of Warsaw of 1920, also known as the "Miracle on the Vistula". In this decisive battle, Rydz-Śmigły's Central Front held firm against the Soviet attack and later blocked the escape routes for the defeated Bolshevik 4th and 15th Armies, as well as