Michał Jan Heydenreich (Heidenreich), also known under the pseudonym Kruk (19 September 1831,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 9 April 1886,

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

), was a

Polish general The following is a list of Polish generals, that is the people who held the rank of general, as well as those who acted as ''de facto'' generals by commanding a division or brigade. Note that until the Partitions of Poland of late 18th century t ...

who took part in 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 ...

. He was a

Podpolkovnik ''Podpolkovnik'' (russian: подполко́вник, lit=sub –, junior – , or lower regimentary) is a military rank in Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. ...

in 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 ...

. A native of Warsaw, Heydenreich was the son of Polonized German and French citizens. He graduated from the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In 1862, as a lieutenant colonel, he went to the staff of 2 Cavalry Division, stationed in the so-called

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 ...

. He was a member of the underground Polish Circle Officers founded by Zygmunt Sierakowski in St. Petersburg. He joined the War Department of the

Central National Committee Central National Committee (Polish: ''Komitet Centralny Narodowy (KCN)'') was the underground coordinating committee of the Polish independence movement in 1860s Congress Poland which was responsible for preparing a general uprising against Tsaris ...

. After the outbreak of the

in the summer of 1863, he was appointed head of the martial provinces of

Podlasie Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...

and

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 ...

. He subjugated smaller parties of insurgents. His unit, after losing the 24 July Battle of Kaniwola, won a victory in the Second Battle of Chruślina on 4 August, and on 8 August, led the

Battle of Żyrzyn The Battle of Żyrzyn took place on August 8, 1863 in or near the village of Żyrzyn, Puławy County, Poland, between a small detachment of Russian troops and a force of Polish troops under the command of Colonel Michal Heidenreich. The Russian f ...

, where he attacked a Russian convoy carrying 200,000 rubles guarded by 550 soldiers and 2 runs. He took numerous prisoners, and took all but 60,000 of the rubles. It was the biggest victory for the Poles in the uprising. The

National Government A national government is the government of a nation. National government or National Government may also refer to: * Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions * Federal governme ...

appointed Heidenreich Colonel General on 22 August 1863. He was defeated in the Battle of Fajsławice two days later. After the failures, he retreated to Galicia. He stood at the head of the grouping, which was cut from Galicia, from

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

. However, on 1 November, he attempted to disperse his troops at

Poryck Pavlivka ( uk, Павлівка, formerly Poryck, pl, Poryck) is a town now located in northwestern Ukraine, in Volodymyr Raion of Volyn Oblast, near Volodymyr, on the Luha river. For centuries, Poryck was property of several noble Polish familie ...

, but failed to carry out this operation. His staff and a small escort, a , went to Lublin. There, he gathered the scattered forces; however, on 25 December, they were finally defeated in the Battle of Kock. During the reorganization of the army by the insurgent

Romuald Traugutt Romuald Traugutt (16 January 1826 – 5 August 1864) was a Polish general and war hero best known for commanding the January Uprising of 1863. From October 1863 to August 1864 he was the leader of the insurrection. He headed the Polish national g ...

, Heydenreich was scheduled to command the first body, but the collapse of the uprising made him flee to France and then to Great Britain. He took part in the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871. In 1872, he was part of the launch of the Paris Masonic Lodge. He soon settled in Lviv, where he ran a craft workshop. There he died, and was buried in Lychakiv Cemetery.

External links

Biography of Michał Heydenreich (in Polish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heydenreich, Michal Generals of the January Uprising Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery 1831 births 1886 deaths Polish people of German descent Polish people of French descent Polish generals