In spite of the initial total dependence of this client state on its sponsors,[1] it ultimately served against their intentions in the aftermath of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 as the cornerstone proto-state of the nascent Second Polish Republic, the latter composed also of territories never intended by the Central Powers to be ceded to Poland, and therefore played a crucial role in the resurrection of Polish statehood.

The decision to propose the restoration of Poland after a century of partitions was taken up by the German policymakers in an attempt to legitimize further imperial presence in the occupied territories and create a buffer state to prevent future wars with Russia.

Gerhard von Mutius, the cousin of Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg and the foreign office's representative at Beseler's headquarters, disputed the use of annexation, insisting that "if the military interests allow for it, divisions and secessions should be avoided", as such a policy would secure an "anti-Russian inclination [toward] the new Poland".

German and Magyar (Hungarian) elements within the Habsburg monarchy opposed such a move for fear of creating a predominantly Slavic area.

Erich von Falkenhayn, the German Chief of the General Staff, had rejected the idea in January, followed by Bethmann Hollweg in February.

[1] During the German military campaign in the ethnically Polish territory, Poles were subjected to forced labour and confiscation of food and private property.

In October 1916, at joint deliberations at Pszczyna, the German and Austrian leadership agreed to accelerate the proclamation promising the creation of a Polish state in the future.

Although early plans called for an Austro-Polish solution, they were abandoned by the German Chancellor in February 1916 in the face of growing dependence of Austria-Hungary on Germany.

Both abovementioned bodies were dissolved after creation of the Regency Council (15 October 1917 – 14 November 1918), consisting of Archbishop Aleksander Kakowski, Prince Zdzisław Lubomirski, and Józef Ostrowski.

[1] The Regency Council was ceremonially installed on 15 October, the anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko's death, and on 26 November, appointed Jan Kucharzewski, a lawyer who had been working in the government since June, as Prime Minister.

In August 1918, Achille Ratti arrived in Warsaw as an apostolic visitor to adjust the Catholic Church to the altered political circumstances.

This appointment was mainly due to the influence of German Chancellor Georg von Hertling and Eugenio Pacelli, since 1917 Nuncio to Bavaria in Munich.

On 21 April, the Council of State had passed a proclamation in favor of the Polish army (German: Polnische Wehrmacht) and appointed Colonel Sikorski to oversee recruitment.

The new army's oath drafted by the governors-general and passed by the Council of State resulted in a political crisis, especially since it was directed to an unspecified "future king" and emphasized the alliance with Germany and Austria.

After the oath crisis of 1917, recruitment to the Polish army had received scant support and achieved negligible results, reaching merely 5,000 men.

Such plans were agreed to in principle by the German government in March 1918 and in April gained support in the Prussian House of Lords, but were strongly opposed by General Beseler in a report to Emperor Wilhelm.

Moreover, Germany's policy later shifted in favour of creating several smaller client states east of Poland, supported especially by the supreme command under Ludendorff, further heightening resistance to German presence on Polish territories.

[1] The German representative Max Hoffmann expressed a belief that "independent Poland was always considered by me to be a utopia, and I have no doubts regarding my support for Ukrainian claims.

"[28] This approach resulted in the signing on 9 February of the initially secret First Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between the Central Powers and the new state of Ukraine, which ceded to the latter the province of Chełm separated from Congress Poland by Russia in 1913.

[29] After Germany's 1918 Spring Offensive had failed to win the war on the Western front, General Ludendorff in September proposed seeking peace based on the plan outlined by U.S. President Wilson in January 1918 in his Fourteen Points, which in regard to Poland demanded the creation of an "independent Polish state ... guaranteed by international covenant" with "free and secure access to the sea".

[1] On 1 October, General Beseler had conferred with Hindenburg at Berlin and, informed of the gloomy military situation, had returned to Warsaw ill and dispirited.

Moderates in Warsaw, who now hoped for a return of General Piłsudski, who was still held in custody at Magdeburg, repudiated Lublin's declaration of the deposition of the Regency to be deposed and its plans for radical social reforms.

Already in October, the Regency Council had requested Piłsudski's release, and after negotiations through Harry Graf Kessler the General was allowed to return to Warsaw, where he arrived on 10 November.

The following day Germany signed the armistice and German troops in Warsaw were disarmed as they refused to fire on Polish insurgents.

The transition to republican government was formally completed through the decree of 22 November 1918 on the supreme representational authority of the Polish Republic, which stipulated assumption by Piłsudski of the interim office of chief of state.