In the December days of 1918, while Poznań was still immersed in the festive atmosphere, the city became the scene of events that forever changed not only the fate of the region but also significantly influenced the fate of a reborn Poland. The victorious Greater Poland Uprising — the only successful insurrection of this scale in our history — brought not only hard-won freedom but also a military success symbolised by the capture of the Ławica airfield.
On 27 December 1918, the Greater Poland Uprising broke out in Poznań. Although it was Christmas time, in addition to the festive atmosphere, a growing tension hung in the air. From barracks located in Jeżyce, units of German soldiers from the 6th Grenadier Regiment marched into the city centre and began provocative actions. Tearing down and trampling Polish and Allied flags, storming public institutions and private homes, and finally firing on the Hotel Bazar, where Ignacy Jan Paderewski was staying, led to the outbreak of fighting.
As the press of those days reported, the Polish side initially tried to avoid bloodshed. However, when the shooting did not cease and the first civilians were wounded, the People’s Guard returned fire. Thus began the Greater Poland Uprising — an insurrection that over 52 days of fighting involved approximately 100,000 soldiers and claimed nearly 2,000 casualties, but ended in complete success.
The Greater Poland Uprising not only strengthened Poland’s independence but also gave moral strength to the entire nation, showing that the fight for freedom can be not only victorious but also inspiring for further struggles. The legacy of these events remains an important element of both the history of Poland and the Greater Poland region to this day.
One of the most spectacular episodes of the uprising was the capture of the German military airfield at Ławica. On 6 January 1919, the insurgents carried out a lightning assault lasting only about 20 minutes. The result went down in history: aviation equipment worth approximately 200 million German marks fell into Polish hands — the greatest war booty in the history of the Polish armed forces. Among the items captured were 141 aircraft, machine guns, bomb supplies and extensive technical equipment that became the foundation of Polish military aviation.
As early as January of that same year, German markings were removed from the aircraft and replaced with the white-and-red checkerboard. Four aviation squadrons were formed on the basis of the captured equipment, and some of the machines were sent to Warsaw. The booty from Ławica became one of the pillars of the nascent Polish military aviation and played an important role in subsequent conflicts, including the Polish-Bolshevik War.
The victory of the insurgents was sealed by the Armistice of Trier, which extended the provisions of the Armistice of Compiègne to the Greater Poland front. As a result, Greater Poland was incorporated into the reborn Republic of Poland and the country’s western borders were established.
