Stanisław Brykalski, pseudonym Kogutek,''Ceremonia pogrzebowa bohaterów spod Wizny'',

MON Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

, 2013-05-25

was a Polish Lieutenant and a deputy defense commander of

Wizna Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, situated on the Narew River. Wizna is known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland at the start of World ...

along with

Władysław Raginis Władysław Raginis (June 27, 1908 – September 10, 1939) was a Polish military commander during the Invasion of Poland in 1939 of a small force holding the Polish fortified defense positions against a vastly larger German force during the Battl ...

. After his death, which happened during the

Battle of Wizna The Battle of Wizna was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of the invasion of Poland, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. According to P ...

, he was posthumously promoted to captain.

Biography

World War II

Stanisław Brykalski was born on April 6, 1912 in

Słomniki Słomniki is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Słomniki lies north of Kraków, among the hills of Lesser Poland Upland. On December 31, 2010, its population was 4,365, and the town is a center of commerce and ...

as the son of Jan and Marianna Brykalski.''10.09.2011 r. – Wizna-Góra Strękowa, pogrzeb po 72. latach'', Stowarzyszenie Weteranów Polskich Formacji Granicznych

/ref> After graduating from schools in

Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , a ...

and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, he entered the Kraków school of cadets. In 1938 he underwent military training and was appointed to the rank of lieutenant. In the same year he was drafted into the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

and incorporated into the

71st Infantry Regiment The 71st New York Infantry Regiment is an organization of the New York State Guard. Formerly, the 71st Infantry was a regiment of the New York State Militia and then the Army National Guard from 1850 to 1993. The regiment was not renumbered du ...

. He served as the commander of an artillery platoon. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

found him in the fortified section of the Wizna area, near

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

. As the commander of the artillery, consisting of 4 light 76.2 mm cannons, he was also the deputy commander of the section along with Capt.

. During the initial fights with the soldiers of the

XIX Army Corps The XIX Army Corps (German language, German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an Panzer corps, armored corps of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergrupp ...

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

, he and his superior swore not to give up their defensive positions. He died on September 9, 1939. This happened during the observation of the battlefield in the observation dome of the command bunker on

Góra Strękowa Góra Strękowa is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zawady, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Zawady and west of the regional capital Białystok. Hist ...

. He was wounded in the head by a shell fragment. Only later, on September 13 and with the consent of a German officer, the body of Lieutenant Brykalski, and the body of his commander Capt. Raginis were buried in the immediate vicinity of the command bunker.

Burial and funeral

At the end of September, after the territory was taken over by the Soviets under the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, the occupation forces ordered the bodies to be excavated and buried 500 meters further. They were buried in the road lane at the foot of the hill. In the 1950s, the remains of the officers were once again dug up and moved to another place which has been unknown for years.''Wolał rozerwać się granatem niż poddać'', Fronda.pl, 2011-08-30

After the war, a plaque was placed in Wizna with the following inscription: "Passer-by, tell your Homeland that we fought to the end, fulfilling our duty." In August 2011, members of the Wizna 1939 Association found an anonymous grave by the Wizna-Jeżewo road and carried out exhumation work."POWRÓCILI DO SWOJEJ REDUTY ..." artykuł ze stron Stowarzyszenia Wizna 1939, 2011-10-10

/ref> The heroes' funeral was held on September 10, 2011. First, a solemn funeral mass for Captain Władysław Raginis and Lieutenant Stanisław Brykalski was held in the parish church in Wizna. The mass was led by Bishop Ordinarius of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Łomża The Diocese of Łomża () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Łomża in the ecclesiastical province of Białystok in Poland. History On March 25, 1798, it was established as Diocese of Sejny/Augustów, from ...

. After that, a solemn funeral of the defenders of the "Wizna" section took place in the war grave located inside the broken command bunker. On August 21, 2012, the Minister of National Defense,

Tomasz Siemoniak Tomasz Siemoniak ( born 2 July 1967) is a Polish politician of the Civic Platform (PO) who is serving as Ministry of the Interior and Administration in the government of Donald Tusk since 2024. he also served as Minister of National Defence ...

, signed a decision on the posthumous promotion of Stanisław Brykalski to the rank of captain. His grave is located in the parish cemetery in

Awards

On August 28, 2009, the President of the Republic of Poland,

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

, posthumously awarded Brykalski the Commander's Cross with the Star of the

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 ...

. The award was given for outstanding services for the independence of the Republic of Poland.

Legacy

A street in Słomniki is named after Lieutenant Stanisław Brykalski. The Riflemen's Association, Wołomin Branch (1939 Rifle Unit), adorned the name of Capt. Stanisław Brykalski and celebrated the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Wizna, Góra Strękowa, on September 12, 2015. Under the patronage of the "Wizna 1939" Association, a mural was created devoted to the commander of the artillery of the "Wizna" section.

References

External links

Odcinek „Wizna” i jego bohaterowie

BITWA POD WIZNĄ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brykalski, Stanisław 1912 births 1939 deaths People from Kraków County Polish military personnel killed in World War II Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta