Wacław Jan Przeździecki (; 15 July 1883 – 29 June 1964) was a Polish military commander and Brigadier General of the

Polish Army 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 stre ...

. During the

Invasion of Poland 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 aft ...

in 1939, he was the commanding officer of the reserve Wołkowysk Cavalry Brigade that fought in the battle of Grodno. Wacław Jan Przeździecki was born on 15 July 1883 in Leśmierz near

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...

deprived of all their property by the Russian authorities after the January Uprising. In 1903 he graduated from the Higher Trade School in

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 cant ...

, after which he joined the Technological Institute in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

, from which he graduated in 1906. Przeździecki then joined the Imperial Russian Army and served as an adjutant in the officers school and the 260th Infantry Regiment stationed in

Batum Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

. In 1913 he was promoted to the rank of Captain. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with distinction in the first line as the company and then battalion commander. After receiving a heavy wound in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, he was declared ineligible for service and dismissed. After the February Revolution he joined various Polish organisations in Russia, including the Central Polish Military Committee (NPKW), and fought in the ranks of the 1st Polish Corps during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. In 1918 he returned to Poland and joined the renascent

. As the commanding officer of the Polish 12th Infantry Division he fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War. After the

Peace of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet Wa ...

he remained in service at various staff posts. In 1926 he became the commanding officer of the Polish 21st Mountain Infantry Division and the following year he was promoted to the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. Retired in 1936, he settled in a small villa in

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

, several kilometres to the south of

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 ...

. During the

in 1939, he returned to active service and took part in formation of various reserve and improvised units for the German and then Soviet fronts. As the commanding officer of the Wołkowysk Cavalry Brigade he took part in the battle of Grodno, one of the most important Polish-Soviet battles of the war. After the battle he crossed the border with Lithuania, where he was interned with his soldiers. In 1940 however, after the Baltic States were annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

and sent to the

Kozielsk :''"Kozielsk" is also the Polish name for the Russian town of Kozelsk.'' Kozielsk is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kuczbork-Osada, within Żuromin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately e ...

camp. Soon afterwards he was transferred to Lubyanka prison, where he was offered to lead a Polish

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

created as an ally of the Soviet Union. When he refused and relied his reaction on the decision of the Polish Government in Exile, he was transferred to a special NKVD detention centre in

Gryazovets Gryazovets (russian: Гря́зовец) is a town and the administrative center of Gryazovetsky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Rzhavka River, south of Vologda, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History ...

. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement he was released from the prison and allowed to join the

Polish II Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

, with which he moved to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and finally to Palestine. There he was judged (at age 58) to be too elderly for active service. After the war he remained in Palestine, and in 1947 moved to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, where he was given a role at the Polish Hospital in

Penley Penley ( cy, Llannerch Banna) is a village in the County Borough of Wrexham, in Wales close to the border with Shropshire, England, and had a population of 606 as of the 2011 census. The village was, until 1974, in an exclave of the ancient ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Wacław Przeździecki died there on 29 June 1964, aged 80. Among the most notable of his military decorations 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 St ...

, 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 ...

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations 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 cl ...

(''Krzyż Niepodległości''), and the Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych''), three times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Przezdziecki, Waclaw Jan 1883 births 1964 deaths People from Zgierz County Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Russian military personnel of World War I Polish generals of the Second Polish Republic Polish military personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish people detained by the NKVD Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute alumni Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom