Polish Empire post IWW

Dorozhand

Banned
What if Britain and France had decided to cede some German and Ottoman colonies/territory to Poland after the Great War?


What effect might this have had on Polish nationalism?

Might Poland have searched for new colonies after its appetite for wealth, power, and pride was whetted?

Could this have spurred the rise of a more powerful Polish navy?

Might Poland, eager to show its might, have continued its advance into the Soviet Union during the Russo-Polish war? Perhaps propping up the Ukrainians and establishing a commonwealth of Poland-Ukraine.

Assuming they do this, then maybe they would even be gutsy enough to occupy and annex the FCD, that would be interesting.

And, if the Soviet Union collapses into a renewed civil war after the utter defeat in the Russo-Polish conflict, then maybe Poland could grab up even more of Russia, perhaps even installing a Romanov as the czar, and declaring a protectorate or something.

A stronger Poland with more resources and population, colonies, and the support of a Czarist Russia would have proven interesting against the Germans.

Maybe a more aggressive stance against German expansionism, Poland being under the high of victory, while the rest of Europe is disillusioned.
 
Why would they ever want to do that?

Pretty much. Poland would, unlike Britain or France or Portugal, have absolutely no way of enforcing its policies in Africa. If Poland thought they could make a bit of money to fund their army against the Russians (the goal of Polish foreign policy post WWI was the restoration of the old PLC), they'd sell them to anyone who offered to buy.

It would hardly increase the national ego--Poland under Pilsudski had what, for lack of a better term, can be called "Delusions of Grandeur," embodied in the "Miedzymorze" and "Prometheism" concepts. The first was the establishment of a league of Slavic, Baltic, and Magyar states covering the old PLC, Hungary, possibly Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The second was the complete dismemberment of Russia. Neither of these got very far, because the other main East-Central European power (aside from Germany and Russia) was Czechoslovakia, which had long-standing conflict with the Hungarians (who were historically Polish allies and with whom Poland had relatively good relations even after WWI) and distrusted Germany more than Russia.

Poland did aggressively go into Ukraine in support of the Ukrainian nationalists (Polish allies), but was beaten back by the Soviets who drove them back to Warsaw. Pilsudski, whose plan was for an independent (by which he meant Polish-influenced) Ukraine, fell out of favor shortly before the end of the war, and Ukraine and Belarus were cut up between Poland and the USSR.

And why on earth would Poland ever support the Romanovs? Poland supported the Reds against the remaining Whites because the Reds were more open to the idea of Polish independence, whereas the Whites wanted Poland returned to the Tsar's rule. If Pilsudski ever got his wet-dream of being able to put into the Kremlin his own hand-picked government, he'd choose anarchists, in the hope that they could make Russia disintegrate into a bunch of Polish-supported ethnic minorities waging war against Moscow.
 

Dorozhand

Banned
Why would they ever want to do that?

If they were thinking in the long term. Poland being an incredibly important strategic buffer against both the Soviet Union and Germany, should either become expansionist.

If they were thinking about the future of Europe, then a strong, powerful, western-aligned Poland would be very important.

Not to mention the goal of "killing bolshevism in its cradle". Poland (with the economic boost of a colonial empire, and more western support) could well have done this, or at least set the Soviets back into the stone age with another civil war.

If Lloyd George and Clemenceau really wanted to weaken Germany and destroy the Soviet Union, then a powerful Poland would play right into their hands. Annexing the German colonies to Britain and France only increased their already immense upkeep costs and streatched both countries to the breaking point. Why not lay them at the doorstep of Poland as a gift for "saving Europe"?
 
If they were thinking in the long term. Poland being an incredibly important strategic buffer against both the Soviet Union and Germany, should either become expansionist.

I think I can safely stop you here. This implies far more foresight than anyone could ever imagine. Immediately after the war, Germany was on its way to being crushed and Russia was in the midst of a civil war. Poland wasn't even part of the Entente treaties given it was Russian at the start of the war anyway.

The Entente is going to worry about its own losses, not Polish gains.
 
Many peole in Poland were actually interested in colonial expansion, seeing overseas possesion as real mark of major power, which they considered Poland to be. There were suggestions of getting or buying some areas in Africa from France (either former german coolonies or Madagascar). If those plans were ever realized, I don't see them improving Poland's position in any way against Germany, rather than becoming sink for money that Poland already lacked. However, polish possesions in Africa being out of german reach could make interesting situation after WW2, as pre-war polish government would still have some territorial base. Maybe if a small polish colony in Africa had become destination for polish refugees after the war, it could remain a viable state, kind of "polish Taiwan"?
 
Many peole in Poland were actually interested in colonial expansion, seeing overseas possesion as real mark of major power, which they considered Poland to be. There were suggestions of getting or buying some areas in Africa from France (either former german coolonies or Madagascar). If those plans were ever realized, I don't see them improving Poland's position in any way against Germany, rather than becoming sink for money that Poland already lacked. However, polish possesions in Africa being out of german reach could make interesting situation after WW2, as pre-war polish government would still have some territorial base. Maybe if a small polish colony in Africa had become destination for polish refugees after the war, it could remain a viable state, kind of "polish Taiwan"?

London Government in Exile retreats to Polish Africa after WWII?

Possible. The Soviets wouldn't gain much of a strategic advantage from any African base other than something in North Africa. An outpost in West Africa would only scare Brazil deep into the American camp. Polish East Africa yields almost no strategic benefit to the Warsaw Pact, as India and the Mid East can be better hit from the USSR itself, and there's not much that's really threatening to the Warsaw Pact down in Africa. So the Soviets have no reason to support the Polish People's Republic in an attempt to claim the colony for itself, and thus the British and Americans and French are freed from the burden of having to prop such an entity up (there's nothing really threatening it besides internal resistance).

So, Polish East Africa would be the red-headed stepchild of the Pilsudski regime (he really doesn't care for it since it doesn't help in Europe), but is kept around for propaganda purposes. Not much investment goes into it, and it's quite sparsely populated by Poles (big African population, though). Then WWII breaks out, the Government in Exile goes through Romania to France, then nominally to East Africa but most of the government is in London. After the War, the government in exile and thousands of Poles relocate to Polish East Africa, where they maintain the name "Republic of Poland." They are a close ally of NATO in the Indian Ocean, but there's really not much for them to do there.

Racially, something similar to Apartheid is what I find likely.

There is another former German colony that can be nominally handed over to Poland. A Polish New Guinea would be even less useful than an African colony, and further away, and thus harder to settle, but it can play a much more important role in the future. Poland and Japan were close in the 1920s, as both wanted bad things to happen to Russia. If German New Guinea is given to the Poles, they might sell it to the Japanese at some point. Australia and the British Empire might step in to halt the Japanese occupation of it, or offer more money to the Poles for the area.
 
Top