Jan Piotr Rządkowski (1860–1934) was a Polish military officer and a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the Polish Army. He is best known as the commanding officer of the

1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

during the Polish-Bolshevik War and then the commander of the armed forces of the

Republic of Central Lithuania The Republic of Central Lithuania ( pl, Republika Litwy Środkowej, ), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania ( pl, Litwa Środkowa, , be, Сярэдняя Літва, translit=Siaredniaja Litva), was an unrecognize ...

Biography

Rządkowski was born on 14 July 1860 in

Belsk Duży Belsk Duży is a village in Grójec County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Belsk Duży. It lies approximately south-west of Grójec and south of Warsaw Wa ...

in the

Warsaw Governorate Warsaw Governorate ( pl, Gubernia warszawska; russian: Варшавская губерния) was an administrative unit (governorate) of Congress Poland. It was created in 1844 from the Masovia and Kalisz Governorates, and had the capital in Wa ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, to an old

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

family owning a number of villages and manors in the area of

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

. Originating from the regions of Podlaskie and Kurpie, following the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

the family was forced to move to central Poland, where Rządkowski was born. After he received basic education at the local gymnasium, at the age of 20 he joined the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. He quickly rose through its ranks and after the outbreak of the Great War he was among the highest-ranking Polish officers serving in that force. Because of that in 1915 the tsar nominated him to the post of the commanding officer of the

Puławy Legion Puławy Legion ( pl, Legion Puławski, russian: Легион Пулави) was a Polish military formation of World War I, as part of the Imperial Russian Army. It was created in late 1914 from volunteers gathered together due to several initiat ...

and then the Polish Rifle Brigade, the first entirely-Polish units formed in Russia since the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

half a century before. Rządkowski was a skilled commander, but also had to become a politician in order to convince

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

to extend the Polish formations fighting alongside the Russian Army. His efforts mostly failed, but on the insistence of France the Blue Army was formed and the Polish units in Russia were also created. In 1917 Rządkowski became the commanding officer of the Polish Rifle Division and then the deputy commander of the Polish 2nd Rifle Division ( pl) of the Polish I Corps. In November 1918, Rządkowski joined the recreated Polish Army. In 1919, he became the regional commander of the

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

Military Area, then involved in the final stages of the Polish-Ukrainian War and the opening stages of the Polish-Bolshevik War. Promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, he became the commanding officer of the

, a unit formed mostly of Poles living in the areas broadly referred to as Kresy. With that division, he successfully opposed the Russian tactical assaults along the Upper Berezina river. As the commander of that unit he took part in Gen.

Lucjan Żeligowski Lucjan Żeligowski (; 17 October 1865 – 9 July 1947) was a Polish-Lithuanian general, politician, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's M ...

's take-over of the city of

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

and was briefly the commander of the armed forces of the

. However, as he was born outside of the area of the republic and had no civil rights there, he was called off to Poland and in 1921 became the commanding officer of the

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Military Area. As one of the senior officers, he was also the head of the Officers' Tribunal. In 1923 he was retired, promoted to the rank of generał broni and settled in the manor of

Suchorzew Suchorzew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pleszew, within Pleszew County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Pleszew and south-east of the regional capital Poznań Poz ...

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

. He died there on 17 February 1934 and was buried in the Alley of Merit at the Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery.

Honours and awards

Among his awards were the Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

, Commander's Cross of the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

, four Crosses of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') and the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, Class III.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rzadkowski, Jan 1860 births 1934 deaths People from Grójec County People from Warsaw Governorate Polish generals Military personnel of the Russian Empire Puławy Legion personnel Republic of Central Lithuania Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Commanders of the Legion of Honour Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References