Józef Piłsudski, the Chief of State of Poland, surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the truth only several years afterwards.

[4] In the summer of 1920, the Polish–Soviet War was ending with the Soviet Russian Red Army defeated at the Battle of Warsaw and in full retreat.

The negotiations on the future of the disputed area, held under the auspice of a Conference of Ambassadors in Brussels and Paris, reached a stalemate, and Piłsudski feared that the Entente might accept the fait accompli that had been created by the Soviets' transfer of territorial control to Lithuania.

However, his plans for a coup d'état in 1919 had been foiled by the premature and unplanned Sejny Uprising, which had led to the destruction of the Polish Military Organisation (P.O.W.)

[10][11] In October 1920, Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski, a native of the historic lands of Lithuania, was given command of the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division (comprising mostly individuals from the Kresy).

They prepared a plan by which Żeligowski and forces under his command were to pretend to desert from the Polish Army and then take control of the Vilnius and its region.

[15] On October 1, in the meeting of the Polish Council of National Defense, General Józef Haller said:"It is necessary not only to occupy Vilnius, but also to maybe threaten Kaunas and change the Government of Lithuania.

"[15]On October 6, 1920, Żeligowski informed his officers of the plans for mutiny; at that point, no one under his command knew that he was acting with Piłsudski's backing, and some refused to follow him.

That day, he declared that he would "liberate Wilno from Lithuanian occupation" and "form a parliament which will decide the fate of the disputed territories.

[19] Meanwhile, a uniformed Polish armed force of 20 airplanes and the 13th Wilno Uhlan Regiment under the command of Col. Butkiewicz joined the mutiny.

[20] Żeligowski ignored League of Nations's Military Control Commission proposals to withdraw to October 20–21 lines and begin negotiations.

[21] Łossowski described the battle as a local skirmish of minor importance[20][22] despite the Lithuanians dispersing the whole Polish Grodno Regiment [pl].

[25] In 1923, soon after the League of Nations had recognized the existing situation and accepted the Polish-Lithuanian border on March 15, Piłsudski on August 24, 1923 would publicly admit that Żeligowski's Mutiny had in fact been a pre-planned operation carried out with his knowledge and support.

Soon parliamentary elections were held and the Sejm of Central Lithuania voted on February 20, 1922, for incorporation into Poland as the capital of a Wilno Voivodeship.

The coup resulted in a serious rift between Pilsudski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who had played a major role in creating international support for the independence of Poland.

With the signing of the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty, Vilnius was given to Lithuania, which it ruled from October 27, 1939 until June 15, 1940, when the whole country was occupied by the Soviet Union.