Despite the Act of November 5th of 1916 and the creation of Kingdom of Poland, it was apparent that the newly created state would be little more than a puppet buffer-state for Germany, a part of its Mitteleuropa plan.

At this point, Piłsudski decided to switch allegiances to gain the support of the Entente, particularly France and the United Kingdom, for the cause of Polish independence.

A good pretext appeared in July 1917, when the Central Powers demanded that the soldiers of the Polish Legions swear allegiance and obedience to the Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.

In the end, soldiers who were citizens of Austrian Empire (roughly 3,000) were then forcibly drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, demoted to the rank of private and sent to the Italian Front, while those born in other parts of occupied Poland were interned in prisoner of war camps in Szczypiorno and Beniaminów.

Approximately 7,500 soldiers (mostly from the 2nd Brigade of the Legions) remained in the rump Polish Auxiliary Corps, part of the Polnische Wehrmacht.