The regiment was first formed in 1914 in Kraków, as part of the Polish Legions fighting alongside the Austro-Hungarian Army. Initially a part of the Eastern Legion, with time it was joined with the 2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions. It avoided destruction on the fronts of the Great War and was merged into the newly reborn Polish Army in 1918. It took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the Peace of Riga had been signed, the unit was partly demobilized and stationed in Sandomierz, where it formed a part of the Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Division. With that unit the regiment, headed by Col. Ludwik Czyżewski, formed the backbone of the Piotrków Operational Group at the start of the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Initially separated from its division, the regiment fought in the battle of Bo