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Jan Zumbach
Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig Zumbach (14 April 1915, Ursynów, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 3 January 1986, France) was a Polish- Swiss fighter pilot who became an ace and squadron commander during the Second World War. During the Cold War, he became a mercenary in Africa and played a key role in forming the air forces of the breakaway states of Katanga and Biafra. Early years The son of Eugeniusz Zumbach and Halina née Gorzechowska from a family of landowners hailing from the region of Płock. Zumbach was registered as a Swiss citizen (his paternal grandfather of Swiss origin settled in Poland at the end of the 19th century). He joined the Polish Army in 1935 and served as an infantryman until 1936 when he transferred to the Polish Air Force. After graduating from flying training in 1938 he was posted to '' 111 Eskadra Myśliwska''. Second World War Zumbach did not fly during the German invasion of Poland due to a broken leg from a flying accident during the summer of 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursynów
Ursynów () is the southernmost district of Warsaw. With a surface area of , it is the third largest district in Warsaw, comprising 8.6% of the city. The district has a population of over 150,000, and is one of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in Warsaw. Nearly 25% of its inhabitants are below 18 years of age. The eastern section of Ursynów is heavily built up with blocks of flats, while its western and southern sections are often referred to as ''Green Ursynów'' due to its lower population density and broad open spaces and green areas. The neighbourhood is considered the ''bedroom of Warsaw'', and is home to nearly a quarter of the city's post-1989 construction. Ursynów's southern extremity comprises Kabaty Forest, covering more than . Other popular attractions include the Vistula river escarpment, Natolin palace and Służewiec horseracing track (built in 1939), used not only for its original purpose, but for open-air exhibitions, pop concerts, etc. Ursynów is served b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krzyż Walecznych
The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the field of battle." It may be awarded to the same person up to four times.The only soldier ever to receive more than 4 Crosses of Valour was Stefan Grot-Rowecki, commander of the Polish Home Army during World War II, who had reached his quota of 4 crosses during World War I and the Polish-Soviet War, yet was awarded 4 more crosses on 1 May 1943. See: The medal is given only in wartime or shortly after.Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia: Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'', pp. 22–24, 41–42, 58. History Polish-Soviet War The medal was introduced in 1920 at the height of the Polish-Soviet War, shortly before the climactic Battle of Warsaw. Initially it had no Order Council and was awarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Poland (1939)
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty. The invasion is also known in Poland as the September campaign ( pl, kampania wrześniowa) or 1939 defensive war ( pl, wojna obronna 1939 roku, links=no) and known in Germany as the Poland campaign (german: Überfall auf Polen, Polenfeldzug). German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. Slovak military forces adv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish 111th Fighter Escadrille
The 111th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force ( pl, 111. eskadra myśliwska) was one of the fighter units of the Polish Army. Created in 1921, immediately after the end of the Polish-Soviet War, the unit inherited the traditions of the famous war-time Polish 7th Air Escadrille (known as the Kościuszko Squadron), in which both Polish and American volunteers served. History The unit was created on May 19, 1921 out of two previously-existing units, the Polish 7th Air Escadrille and the Polish 18th Air Escadrille of the 1st Air Regiment. Initially it was manned mostly by the American veterans of the earlier unit, including Cedric Fauntleroy. However, soon afterwards most of the American pilots returned home and the unit was manned with Polish officers. Nonetheless, it retained the roundel and the traditions of the Polish-American unit. In 1934 the unit was the first to receive the then-modern PZL P.11c fighters. In 1936 the escadrille was stationed in Sarny and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 military personnel and about 475 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland. The Polish Air Force can trace its origins to the second half of 1917 and was officially established in the months following the end of World War I in 1918. During the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, 70% of its aircraft were destroyed. Most pilots, after the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, escaped via Romania and Hungary to continue fighting throughout World War II in allied air forces, first in France, then in Britain, and later also the Soviet Union. History Origins Military aviation in Poland started even before the officially recognised date of regaining independence (11 November 1918). The very first independent units of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Land Forces
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stretches back a millennium – since the 10th century (see List of Polish wars and History of the Polish Army). Poland's modern army was formed after Poland regained independence following World War I in 1918. History 1918–1938 When Poland regained independence in 1918, it recreated its military which participated in the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921, and in the two smaller conflicts ( Polish–Ukrainian War (1918–1919) and the Polish–Lithuanian War (1920)). Initially, right after the First World War, Poland had five military districts (1918–1921): * Poznań Military District (Poznański Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Poznań * Kraków Military District (Krakowski Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Kraków * Łódź Military District (Łód ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Nationality Law
Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be obtained by birth or naturalisation. The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles: * Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, canton, and municipality) * Acquisition of citizenship through descent (''jus sanguinis'') * Prevention of statelessness Swiss nationals are citizens of their municipality of origin, their canton of origin, and the Confederation, in that order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipality (article 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution). They are entered in the family register of their place of origin. The manner by which Swiss citizens acquire their place of origin differs depending on whether they acquired Swiss citizenship by filiation (jus sanguinis), ordinary naturalisation, or facilitated naturalisation. Marriage has in and of itself no effect on the places of origin of the spouses. Acquisition of Swiss citi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Płock
Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the preamble to the City Statute, is ''Stołeczne Książęce Miasto Płock'' (the Princely or Ducal Capital City of Płock). It is used in ceremonial documents as well as for preserving an old tradition. Płock is a capital of the ''powiat'' (county) in the west of the Masovian Voivodeship. From 1079 to 1138 it was the capital of Poland. The ''Wzgórze Tumskie'' ("Cathedral Hill") with the Płock Castle and the Catholic Cathedral, which contains the sarcophagi of a number of Polish monarchs, is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. It was the main city and administrative center of Mazovia in the Middle Ages before the rise of Warsaw as a major city of Poland, and later it remained a royal city of Poland.Adolf Pawiński, ''Mazowsze'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Landed Gentry
Polish landed gentry ( pl, ziemiaństwo, ziemianie, from ''ziemia'', "land") was a social group or class of hereditary landowners who held manorial estates. Historically, ''ziemianie'' consisted of hereditary nobles (''szlachta'') and landed commoners ( ''kmiecie''; Latin: ''cmethones''). The Statutes of Piotrków (1496) restricted the right to hold manorial lordships to hereditary nobility. The non-nobles thus had to either sell their estates to the lords or seek a formal ennoblement for themselves (not an easy task), or had their property taken away. A rare exception was the burgesses of certain specially privileged "ennobled" royal cities who were titled "nobilis" and were allowed to buy and inherit manorial estates and exercise their privileges (such as jurisdiction over their subjects) and monopolies (over distilleries, hunting grounds, etc.). Therefore, in the ''szlachta''-dominated Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth there was almost no landed gentry in the English meaning of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated former Eastern Region of Nigeria. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 massacres of Igbo people and other Eastern ethnic groups living in northern Nigeria. The military of Nigeria proceeded to invade Biafra shortly after its secession, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia. Other nations, which did not officially recognise Biafra, but provided diplomatic or military support to Biafra, included France, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Israel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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