Stanisław Klicki of Prus (1775–1847) was a Polish military commander, aristocrat and a

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 forces. For his service during 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 made a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of the French Empire by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. During 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. ...

he commanded all Polish forces on the left bank of the

Vistula River 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 ...

Life

Born to a lesser

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

family, Klicki started his military career in 1791, joining the ranks of the

National Cavalry The National Cavalry () was a branch of Polish–Lithuanian cavalry in the Polish-Lithuanian armed forces in the last quarter of the 18th century. Formed as a merger of previously-existing units of Winged hussars, pancerni and petyhorcy t ...

. He fought with distinction in the War of the Constitution. A skilled cavalryman, during the Kościuszko's Uprising of 1794 he became the ''governor of National Cavalry'' under

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

. For his valour shown in the battles of

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

and Łasia, he was promoted to the rank of Captain of Cavalry. Soon afterwards he was attached to Gen. Zieliński. After the fall of the uprising he was forced to leave the country and settled in Italy. There in 1797 he joined the

Polish Legions in Italy The Polish Legions (; also known as the Dąbrowski Legions) were several Polish military units that served with the French Army in the Napoleonic era, mainly from 1797 to 1803, although some units continued to serve until 1815. After the T ...

and fought under command of Gen.

Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (; also known as Johann Heinrich Dąbrowski (Dombrowski) in German and Jean Henri Dombrowski in French; 2 August 1755 – 6 June 1818) was a Polish general and statesman, widely respected after his death for his patri ...

. Klicki took part in the battles of

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Legnano is located in the ...

Castel Nuovo Castel Nuovo (; ; 'New Castle'), often called Maschio Angioino (; ; ' Angevin Keep'), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall ( Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and ...

, Castel Franco and the battle of Naples. During the siege of Mantua in 1799 he was taken prisoner by the Austrians, but was released soon afterwards and returned to his unit. Promoted to the rank of Major, he became a commanding officer of the 5th Battalion. Soon afterwards, in 1800, he left the infantry and was among the first officers to be accepted in the newly formed 1st Uhlans' Regiment of the Legion. During the

he fought with distinction in several campaigns. During the war against

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

he took part in the battles of Świdnica, Glogau and

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

. On 1 July 1807 he was again promoted, this time to the rank of

podpułkownik ''Podpolkovnik'' () is a military rank in Slavic peoples, Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. In different languages the exact name of this rank maintains a varie ...

(lieutenant colonel). In that rank he joined the Vistulan Legion and became the commander of the cavalry of that unit. With his men he took part in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

and fought in the battles of Mallen, Alagon, Epila and Tudela. In the summer of 1808 he fought in the First Siege of Saragossa. Following the Siege of Valencia he was awarded by Marshal

Louis Gabriel Suchet Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d' Albuféra (; 2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded as one of the greatest ...

with a private audience with

. The Emperor granted him a yearly reward of 2000 francs and a promotion to colonel. Considered a hero, in 1812 Klicki was made a

Baron of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established ' (imperial nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both befo ...

. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

Klicki returned to front-line service and fought at battles of Smolensk,

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

and

Maloyaroslavets Maloyaroslavets () is a town and the administrative center of Maloyaroslavetsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River ( Oka's basin), northeast of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Pop ...

. During the retreat he was among the most successful commanders of the fleeing armies and managed to save almost all of his 4000 men, including viceroy of Italy

Eugene Beauharnais Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

. He found his way to

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, which he attempted to defend against the pursuing Russians. However, his attempt failed and Klicki retreated with his units further westwards. He then fought in the Saxon Campaign (at Köppen, Motzern, Dresden, Magdeburg and Möchern). On 22 July 1813 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became the commanding officer of the 32nd Light Cavalry Brigade of the V Cavalry Corps under General Édouard Jean-Baptiste Milhaud. He led his brigade 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 ...

in October 1813. He moved to France and fought in the

Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (20–21 March 1814) saw an Imperial French army under Napoleon face a much larger Allied army led by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg during the War of the Sixth Coalition. On the second day of fighting, E ...

in 1814. However, the abdication of Napoleon stopped his military career in the French forces. He resigned his post and returned to

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, where he joined the army and became the commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade of Mounted Rifles. In 1817 he was nominated the commanding officer of the entire division, but for unknown reasons the document was handed to him only in 1826. He set up his staff in

Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into ...

. There he greeted the outbreak of the

. Together with his division he arrived to Warsaw and subordinated himself to the Provisional Government and General

Józef Chłopicki Józef Grzegorz Chłopicki (; 14 March 1771 – 30 September 1854) was a Polish general who was involved in fighting in Europe at the time of Napoleon and later. He was born in Kapustynie in Volhynia and was educated at the school of the Basilia ...

. Following the latter's resignation, Klicki briefly served as a deputy Commander-in-Chief, and since 18 December 1830 was a member of the War Council. As his support for the uprising was weak and his health was failing, in 1831 he resigned his post and was allowed to leave Poland for Bavaria, where he intended to settle. However, on crossing the Austrian border he was arrested and handed over to the Russians, who imprisoned him and resettled to

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

. Released in 1836, he spent the rest of his life in sanatoria. Stanisław Klicki died on 23 April 1847 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and was buried at the

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery covers a surface area of 83 hectares which is currently divided into several sections: the main Catholic ...

cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klicki, Stanislaw Klicki Stanislaw 1775 births 1847 deaths Generals of the November Uprising Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Kościuszko insurgents

Life

See also

References