The region was rich in coal and rail connections and was eagerly sought by both Poland and Czechoslovakia. At the end of World War I local Poles and Czechs each established their own self-governing organs. Both groups claimed that the whole of Cieszyn Silesia rightfully belonged to their new nation. To ease the friction which developed, the local self-governments concluded an interim agreement on 5 November 1918 concerning the division of the area based on ethnic composition. However, by 1919 metropolitan governments in Prague and Warsaw superseded the local administrations, with the Czechs arguing that the division was unfair. In particular, the crucial railway going to east Slovakia (Košice-Bohumín Railway) went through the region and access to the railway was vital: newly formed Czechoslovakia was at war with the Hungarian Soviet Republic over control over Slovakia. This set the stage for conflict.