Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann (1894–1986) was a Polish general, military commander and one of the pioneers of armoured warfare in Poland.

Early life

Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann was born on 1 August 1894 in

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(later Lwów,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and today

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 ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

.) In 1912 he started studies at the Road and Bridge Engineering faculty of the

Lwów University of Technology Lviv Polytechnic National University ( ua, Націона́льний університе́т «Льві́вська політе́хніка») is the largest scientific university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since its foundation in 1816, it has bee ...

. His studies, however, were halted by the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

. In 1914 Orlik-Rückemann volunteered for the Polish Legions, where he served with distinction at various command posts in the 6th Infantry Regiment. After the ''

oath crisis The Oath crisis ( pl, Kryzys przysięgowy) was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central Powers against Imperial Russia, Piłsudski ...

'' of 1917 he was drafted to the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he served with the 19th Rifle Regiment. In 1918 he also graduated from the Infantry Reserve Officer's School.

Polish Army

On 4 November 1918, he joined the Polish Army. During the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919 he was taken prisoner by the Ukrainians, but was later released after Piłsudski signed an alliance with

Semen Petlura Symon Vasylyovych Petliura ( uk, Си́мон Васи́льович Петлю́ра; – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He became the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Army and the President of the Ukrainian People' ...

. Orlik-Rückemann was then sent to armoured forces school and was given the command of a small tank unit equipped entirely with French

FT-17 The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...

tanks. During the Polish-Bolshevik War he became one of the most successful tank commanders of the Polish forces and during the Battle of Warsaw on 16 August 1920 he was promoted to colonel and given the command of the 1st Tank Regiment. After the war Orlik-Rückemann remained in the Polish Army and until 1 May 1927 was the commanding officer of the 1st Tank Regiment. He also graduated from the faculty of tank combat commanders of the Ecole Superieure de Guerre in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After liquidation of his unit, Orlik-Rückemann was transferred to the Ministry of War Affairs and then in January 1928 became the deputy commanding officer of the 23rd Infantry Division. On 27 February 1932 Orlik-Rückemann became the commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Division and the following year was promoted to

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 ...

. In December 1938 he became the deputy commander of the elite

Border Defence Corps The Border Protection Corps ( pl, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza, KOP) was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other b ...

and on 8 August 1939 became its commander.

Polish defensive war in 1939

Shortly before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Orlik-Rückemann's forces were deprived of most of the reserves that were transferred to western Poland to strengthen the Polish units stationed there. After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War of 1939 and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

's invasion of Poland on 17 September, Orlik-Rückemann's forces could offer only a token resistance against the overwhelming odds. To prevent the complete destruction of his forces, Orlik-Rückemann decided to withdraw them from the 300 kilometre long border in the area of

Polesie Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

and break through to

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 ...

and the forces of Polesie Independent Operational Group under general

Franciszek Kleeberg Franciszek Kleeberg (1 February 1888, in Tarnopol – 5 April 1941, near Dresden) was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion ...

. Until 22 September he gathered approximately 8,000 men and started his march towards Warsaw. Constant skirmishes with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

and the

Fifth column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

brought down the morale of his men. To counter the threat of a breakdown, Orlik-Rückemann decided to start a major battle with the Red Army. During the

Battle of Szack Battle of Szack (Shatsk) was one of the battles between the Polish Army and the Red Army fought in 1939 in the beginning of the Second World War. Eve of the battle During the invasion of Poland the Polish Border Defence Corps (''KOP'') was seve ...

, on 28 September, his men managed to rout the Soviet 52nd Rifle Division. On 30 September the unit crossed the Bug river and reached the village of Wytyczno, some 20 kilometres south-east of

Włodawa Włodawa (; yi, וולאָדאַווע, Vlodave; ua, Володава, Volodava) is a town in eastern Poland on the Bug River, close to the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It is the seat of Włodawa County, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship ...

. The

Battle of Wytyczno A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

started the following day, when his unit was attacked by the Soviet 45th Rifle Division, reinforced with tanks and artillery. After 15 hours of heavy fighting, the supplies of the Polish forces were almost depleted and Orlik-Rückemann decided to divide his unit into small groups and order them to break through to the area occupied by the Independent Operational Group Polesie on their own. Most of the Polish forces reached their destination unopposed and with negligible losses. After the end of hostilities in Poland, Orlik-Rückemann managed to evade being captured and crossed the

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n border. From there he managed to get to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and by the end of October he was in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. There he served in the Polish Army in exile on various staff posts.

After World War II

Between 1945 and 1947 he was working for the Polish Resettlement Corps. He was deprived of Polish citizenship by the communist authorities of Poland and remained in exile. Initially he lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in 1972 he moved to his family to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada. Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann died on October 18, 1986, in Ottawa.

Decorations

* 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 ...

* Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') four times * Gold Cross of Merit (''Krzyż Zasługi'') *

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'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlik-Ruckemann, Wilhelm 1894 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Lviv People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish generals Lviv Polytechnic alumni Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Polish people of German descent Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polish military personnel of World War II Polish exiles People who lost citizenship