Józef Mieczysław Mączka (2 June 1888– 9 September 1918) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

soldier, poet of the Polish Legions. He was born in the village of Zaleszany to Franciszek Mączka, who as a teenager fought in the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

in 1863.Cisek 2009. Józef Mączka attended primary school in

Oleszyce Oleszyce (, ''Oleshychi'') is a small town in Lubaczów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,089 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It is situated on the Przerwa River. History The history of Oleszyce dates back to the early 15th century. It ...

, later grammar schools (

gymnasiums A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

) in

Lwów 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 ...

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

, and since 1905 in

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

, where he graduated in 1907. He later started engineering studies at the Lwów Polytechnic. In 1913 he became a member of

Riflemen's Association The Polish Riflemen's Association, known as ''Związek Strzelecki'' (in the plural, ''Związki Strzeleckie''), was an organization formed in great numbers prior to World War I. One of the better known associations, ''Strzelec'' (Rifleman), was a ...

, and in August 1914 has been already a soldier of the Polish Legions in the 2nd Squadron of

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

s, led by Zbigniew Dunin-Wasowicz. Mączka served there until September 1914. He took part in Carpathian and Bukovinian campaigns. On 1 November 1916 has been promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. After the

Oath crisis The Oath crisis (; German language, German: ''Eidkrise'') was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central P ...

served in the

Polish Auxiliary Corps Polish Auxiliary Corps (, , ) was the name of the Polish military formation in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Formed from the Polish Legions, it was created on 20 September 1916 and existed until 19 February 1918. In the aftermath of the Oath crisi ...

. In 1917 he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. In February 1918 Mączka was captured and interned by Austrians. On 28 February disguised as a railway worker he escaped from the camp and on 20 March became a soldier of

Polish II Corps in Russia The 2nd Polish Corps in Russia (; ) was a Polish military formation formed in revolutionary Russia in 1917. History The Corps was formed at the initiative of the Chief Polish Military Committee (''Naczelny Polski Komitet Wojskowy''), a Polish fac ...

of General

Józef Haller Józef Haller (''de Hallenburg''; 13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a Polish lieutenant general and legionary in the Polish Legions during the First World War. He was a harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the p ...

. In the

battle of Kaniów 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 ...

he was captured by Germans. Mączka however escaped and started to work in the

Polish Military Organization The Polish Military Organisation, PMO (, POW) was a secret military organization that was formed during World War I (1914–1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914. It adopted the name ''POW'' in November 1914 and aimed to gathe ...

, in the section active in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. He helped to transfer soldiers of the Polish Legions to

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

to the division of General

Lucjan Żeligowski Lucjan Żeligowski (; 17 October 1865 – 9 July 1947) was a Polish general, politician, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and a ...

, eventually becoming soldier of this division himself in the group of Col. Zieliński. On 9 September 1918, Lt. Józef Mączka died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in Pashkovska

Stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

near

Yekaterinodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

. For his participation in the battles of the Legions and his work in Polish Military Organization, Lt. Mączka has been awarded

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, ...

, Cross of Valour,

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 ...

and

Cross of Merit with Swords The Cross of Merit with Swords () is a Polish military award established October 19, 1942, by the Polish Government in Exile. Criteria The Cross of Merit with Swords is awarded for deeds of bravery and valor during time of war not connected with ...

. In 1933 his corpse was brought to Warsaw and ceremonially buried at

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; ) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki". The Old Pową ...

. Józef Mączka was also a known poet, the most important poet of Polish Legions. On the

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

of 1914 he wrote a Christmas carol for the Legions. In 1917 he published poetry collection ''Starym szlakiem'' (On the Old Path), which was republished thrice during the interwar period. In November 1998 memorial obelisk to Mączka was unveiled in his birthplace Zaleszany.

Works

* ''Starym szlakiem'' (1917) * ''Wstań Polsko moja'' (1997) * ''Starym szlakiem i inne wiersze'' (2009)

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maczka, Jozef 1888 births 1918 deaths People from Stalowa Wola County Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Polish Roman Catholics Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polish Auxiliary Corps personnel Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Merit with Swords (Poland) Deaths from cholera 20th-century Polish poets