Mieczysław Norwid-Neugebauer (15 February 1884 in

Rzejowice Rzejowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kodrąb, within Radomsko County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately east of Radomsko and south of the regional capital Łódź Łódź is a city in c ...

, near

Radomsko Radomsko () is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the county seat of Radomsko County. Founded in the 11th century, Radomsko is a former royal city located ...

– 18 October 1954 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

) was a minister in the

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Polish government, and a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

. M. Norwid Neugebauer, Lieutenant-General, The Defence of Poland (September 1939) (London: M. I. Kolin LTD, 1942).

Life

He moved to Galicia in 1906, where he attended

Lviv Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...

. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Norwid-Neugebauer was a member of various Polish

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

organizations. From 1914 to 1917, he was an officer in the Polish Legions.Jerzy, p. 391 He commanded the 6th Infantry Regiment, and even temporarily the 3rd Brigade. After Poland regained independence in November 1918, he occupied various command positions within the Polish military: General: Head of Logistics, later on he was at the same time an

Executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

to the Polish Head of all the Armed Forces, and later, he was the Commanding Officer of the 4th General Command (the last two during the Polish-Soviet War). In 1919, he was promoted to a Brigade General, and in 1924, he was promoted to a Major General. Between 1921 and 1924, he was a commanding officer of the 28th Division of Infantry. Between 1924 and 1925, he was a commanding officer of the reserves in charge of conscription. In October, 1925, he was transferred to become a

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

as well as officially sent for the 3rd Level Course at

Center of Higher Military Education (University) Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

. In December of the same year, he was nominated to be the 1st Officer of the Commander of the Administration of the Army. He was the Commander of the Inspector General of the Polish Army in between 1926 and 1930 and stationed in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, 1932-1935 stationed in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, and in 1935-1939 stationed in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. During 1930 to 1932, he was Minister of

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

in the cabinets of

Walery Sławek Walery Jan Sławek (; 2 November 1879 – 3 April 1939) was a Polish politician, freemason, military officer and activist, who in the early 1930s served three times as Prime Minister of Poland. He was one of the closest aides of Polish lead ...

and

Aleksander Prystor Aleksander Błażej Prystor (; 2 January 1874 – 1941) was a Polish politician, activist, soldier and freemason, who served as 23rd Prime Minister of Poland from 1931 to 1933. He was a member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist ...

. On 3 September 1939, he was nominated as the head of the Polish Military Mission to London—in London, put in charge of pleading with the Great Britain to fulfill her obligation as an ally of Poland. Norwid—Neugebauer's pleas, addressed to the British Government to start an air offensive as promised in May 1939, were unsuccessful; the British Government and RAF did not fulfill their promise in spite of his pleas (possibly because of the French government's fear of retaliatory nazi German bombing).Bethell, p. 115 He resigned as head of the Polish Military Mission in January 1940. From November 1942 to 1947 he headed the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. He published a book, ''Kampania Wrześniowa'' (The September Campaign), in London in 1941. An English translation came out in 1942.

Honours and awards

* Silver Cross of the

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

* Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, previously awarded Commander's Cross *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three classes. History The Cr ...

* Cross of Valour - four times * Officer's "Parasol" badge * Officer's Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France)

References

Sources

* *

Life

Honours and awards

References

Sources

See also