The First Cadre Company came into formation when the Riflemen's Association and the Polish Rifle Squads were mobilized between 29 July and 2 August 1914 by Józef Piłsudski.

At 6pm on 3 August the First Cadre was formally created in the Oleandry district of Kraków (just east of Jordan Park).

On 4 and 5 August the Cadre underwent re-organization while the soldiers received short yet extensive training.

The objective was to capture Warsaw in hope of setting off an uprising in Tsarist Poland against the Russian authorities.

[5] All three dates can be found simultaneously representing both the disbandment of the First Cadre and the formation of the Polish Legions, depending on the source.