Ignacy Prądzyński (; 20 July 1792– 4 August 1850) was a Polish

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of 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 ...

and an engineer. A veteran of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, he was one of the most successful Polish commanders of 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 Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

against Russia. He is also notable for constructing the

Augustów Canal The Augustów Canal (, , ) is a cross-border canal built by the Congress Kingdom of Poland in 19th century in the Augustów Voivodeship (present-day Podlaskie Voivodeship of northeastern Poland and Grodno Region, Grodno Oblast of western Belarus ...

Life and military career

Ignacy Prądzyński was born on July 20, 1792, in the village of Sanniki in

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

. In November 1807 he joined the army of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

and quickly advanced through its ranks. During the Napoleonic Wars he took part in the campaigns of 1809 (

Polish–Austrian War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...

) and the campaign against Russia between 1812 and 1814. For his bravery in the latter campaign he was awarded with the Golden 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, ...

and the French

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 ...

for his role in the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

and the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. After the Russian takeover of Poland he remained in Warsaw, though he did not join the army. In 1815 he founded a secret anti-Russian ''Association of True Poles'' and later collaborated with the Patriotic Society. Arrested by the Russian police in 1826, he spent 3 years in prisons. Upon his release, he started working as an engineer. Among the most notable of his projects was the

, linking

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

with the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

through the basin of the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

. After the outbreak of the November Uprising he again joined the Polish Army. Initially an advisor to Gen.

Michał Gedeon Radziwiłł Prince Michał Gedeon Hieronim Radziwiłł (24 September 1778 – 24 May 1850) was a Polish noble, senator, and owner of Nieborów. Family A member of the Radziwiłł family from Nieśwież, he was related to Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł. L ...

, he also served as a General Quartermaster, Chief of Engineering Corps and de facto chief of staff of the army. After the

Battle of Iganie The Battle of Iganie was fought on 10 April 1831 between Russian and Polish forces. It was one of the last major battles of the November Uprising and the last major offensive for the Poles. Background Following the Battle of Olszynka Grocho ...

, in which he achieved a brilliant victory, he was nominated by the government for the post of the commander in chief of the uprising, Prądzyński was forced to resign by Jan Krukowiecki and

Henryk Dembiński Count Henryk Dembiński (; 16 January 1791 – 13 July 1864) was a Polish engineer, traveler and general. Dembiński was born in Strzałków, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 1809 he entered the Polish army of the Duchy of Warsaw and took part ...

. Instead, on August 19, 1831, he was promoted to the rank of

General of Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

. In September he prepared the plans for the defense of Warsaw. However, the commanders of the Uprising lacked will to continue the fight and his plans were not accepted. Appointed to the Polish commission negotiating the capitulation, Prądzyński suffered from a nervous breakdown and surrendered to the Russians. Forcibly resettled to Viatka, in 1833 he was allowed to return to Poland, where he continued his work as a theoretician of military strategy and tactics. Author of roughly 60 works on theory of warfare, he was one of the most notable Polish military writers of the 19th century. Suffering from serious illnesses, in 1850 he moved to the island of

Helgoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

, where he drowned on August 4, 1850, probably committing suicide.

Honours and awards

* Gold Cross of the

* Knight of the

* Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with diamonds

External links

Detailed biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradzynski, Ignacy 1792 births 1850 deaths People from Poznań County Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Polish military writers Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Generals of the November Uprising Polish exiles in the Russian Empire Monastery prisoners