On 11 November Poland celebrates the National Independence Day. The date commemorates events from 1918 when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of partitions.Since 1795 Poland was divided between Austria, Prussia and Russia. The World War I which ended in 1918, was a defeat to all those major European powers. On 11 November 1918 Józef Piłsudski, who came back from German prison one day earlier, was appointed the Commander-in-Chief over the Polish Forces. Three days later Pilsudski was given complete civil control over Polish territories.11 November was celebrated as Polish Independence Day since 1920. In the communist period it was forbidden to celebrate this day but it was restored immediately after the collapse of communism in 1989.