Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Xawery Stanisław Czernicki (1882–1940) was a Polish engineer, military commander and one of the highest-ranking officers of the

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

. Considered one of the founders of Polish Navy's logistical services, he was murdered by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

Life

Xawery Czernicki was born on 16 October 1882Editor Anna Cienciala ''Katyn A Crime Without Punishment'' Yale, 2007 Page 388 in a

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 in the village of Giedejki (Giedeikiai) in the

Oshmyansky Uyezd Oshmyansky Uyezd (''Ошмянский уезд'') was one of the seven subdivisions of the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Ashmyany (''Oshmyany''). Dem ...

of the

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

(present-day Ashmyany District. After graduating from a local gymnasium in 1901, Czernicki joined the Imperial Naval Engineering School in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

. In 1905 he graduated from the shipbuilding faculty and joined the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

in the basic officer's rank of

michman ( rus, мичман, p=ˈmʲit͡ɕmən, ) is a rank used by the Russian Navy and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in armies and air forces. Within NATO forces, the rank is rated ...

. The following year he was admitted as the second lieutenant (later

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

) and served as an engineer in the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

naval base. In 1910 he became the head of a small naval shipyard in

Sretensk Sretensk ( rus, Сретенск, p=ˈsrʲetʲɪnsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Sretensky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Shilka River (Amur River, ...

(on the

Shilka River The Shilka (; Evenki: Силькари, Sil'kari; , ''Shilke''; , ''Shilka''; ) is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai, (Dauria) south-eastern Russia. It has a length of , and has a drainage basin of .Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

basin), where he authored several

river monitor River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's , which made her first appearance in ...

s. Until 1914 he also served as a deputy engineer and then lead engineer of the ''Gangut''-class battleships ''Sevastopol'' and ''Petropavlovsk''. Promoted in 1913 to the rank of captain, until the end of

World War I 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 ...

Czernicki served as the lead

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

designer in the naval shipyard in Reval (modern

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

). In 1917 he was promoted to navy lieutenant colonel and the following year he resigned his post. In 1919 he returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and volunteered for the

. He was admitted as the chief of Technical Services of the

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 ...

n Flotilla, the first unit of the newly reborn Polish naval forces, created even before Poland regained its

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

shore. During the Polish-Bolshevik War Czernicki served as the commanding officer of the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress () is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin (village), Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was original ...

inland naval base. In 1925 he became the head of a commission supervising the construction of

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

naval base and the following year he also started to head a commission supervising the construction of ORP ''Burza'', ORP ''Wicher'', ORP ''Wilk'', ORP ''Ryś'' and ORP ''Żbik'' in France. Promoted to the rank of ''Komandor'', he returned to Poland in 1932 and became the Chief of Services and the Deputy Commander of the Chief of Polish Navy in the Ministry of Military Affairs. In 1938 he was again promoted, this time to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

World War II

After the

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, Czernicki was evacuated from Gdynia to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and then eastwards to the area of

Pińsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of ...

and Brodów. There, in the village of Deraźny, he was ambushed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

with a group of Polish Navy officers, after the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

joined

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in the

. Transported to Równe (modern Rivne, Ukraine), the officers were arrested by the

and sent to various prisons and camps in the USSR. Czernicki, after a brief stay in Talitsa, was transferred to the NKVD special camp of

Kozelsk Kozelsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra (river), Zhizdra River (a tributary of the Oka (river), Oka), southwest of Kaluga ...

.J.K.Zawodny ''Death in the Forest'' Notre Dame, 1962 Page 145 He was murdered in the spring of 1940, aged fifty-seven, in what became known as the

. After the fall on the Soviet Union in 1989, Xawery Czernicki became one of the patrons of the Polish Navy. He is the name-sake of the Polish Navy Depot (1993), the ORP ''Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki'' logistical ship (2001) and the X. Czernicki's Grand Prix prize, awarded every year during the Balt-Military-Expo in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

Honours and awards

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, ...

(4th Class - Officer's Cross) * Cross of Merit (1st Class - Gold Cross) * Commemorative Medal for War of 1919-1921 Ribbon

Commemorative Medal for War 1918-1921 * Order Orla Bialego Ribbon

10 Years of Independence Commemorative Medal * Legion Honneur Officier ribbon

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

(France, 4th Class - Officier) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna (Russia) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(Russia) * SWE Royal Order of the Sword - Commander BAR

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(Sweden, 3rd Class - Commander)

References

Sources

External links

*
Portrait in oil on canvas
Polish Navy *
detailed biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czernicki, Xawery 1882 births 1940 deaths People from Ashmyany district People from Oshmyansky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Polish Navy admirals Imperial Russian Navy personnel Polish people of World War I Russian military personnel of World War I Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Commanders of the Order of the Sword Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov) Katyn massacre victims