Mieczysław Mackiewicz (9 May 1880 – 6 August 1954) was a Polish general.

Biography

partitioned Poland Partition may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Partition'' (1987 film), directed by Ken McMullen * ''Partition'' (2007 film), directed by Vic Sarin * '' Partition: 1947'', or ''Viceroy's House'', a 2017 film Music * Par ...

, Mackiewicz joined the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and fought in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

(1904–1905), reaching the rank of a captain. In 1913 he secretly joined the Polish pro-independence organization

Związek Strzelecki 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 worked with

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he fought in the Russian Army against the Germans, and was captured in 1915. He formed a Polish school for NCOs in prisoner-of-war camps. In 1918 he joined 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 ...

. He took part in the Polish-Lithuanian negotiations in Suwałki and fought in the Polish-Soviet War, where he commanded infantry divisions and operational groups; He was wounded in 1920, and promoted to general in 1927. He retired in 1935, but joined the Polish Army again during

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939 as a volunteer. Eventually he joined the

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Allies of World War II, Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its Axis powers, allies during World War II. Poli ...

. After the war he settled 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he died in 1954. He was also a member of the first chapter of the Virtuti Militari Order. By Order No. 11 of May 6, 1922, he was awarded the Cross of Valor for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time. From January 1921 to May 1926, he commanded the 30th Infantry Division and then, until March 1935, he was the commander of the 26th Infantry Division (in in the meantime, on January 1, 1927, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general). On September 30, 1935, he retired. He settled on the estate of Żydomla near Grodno, which he received for his war services as part of a military settlement.

Honours and awards

* Order of Virtuti Militari *

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 ...

, Officer'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 ...

* Medal of Independence * Cross of Valour – four times * Gold Cross of Merit

References

1880 births 1954 deaths People from Alytus District Municipality People from Suwałki Governorate Polish generals Imperial Russian Army officers Polish Military Organisation members Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Germany Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Independence Recipients of the Medal of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) {{Poland-mil-bio-stub