Antoni Chrusciel
Encyclopedia
Gen. Antoni Chruściel (anˈtɔɲi ˈxruɕt͡ɕel nom de guerre Monter; 1895–1960) was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 military officer and a general of the Polish Army. He is best known as the de facto commander of all the armed forces of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...

 of 1944, as well as Home Army's
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...

 chief of staff.

Early life

Antoni Chruściel was born 16 July 1895 in the village of Gniewczyna Łańcucka halfway between Łańcut and Przeworsk
Przeworsk
Przeworsk Ukrainian: Переворськ, is a town in south-eastern Poland with 15,675 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Since 1999 it has been in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and is the capital of Przeworsk County....

, to Andrzej Chruściel, a local farmer and the vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...

 of that village. In 1909, while still a student at a local gymnasium in Jarosław, Chruściel joined the secret scouting troop; he was also active in the Zarzewie movement. In 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he moved to Lwów, where he joined the Eastern Legion. Soon afterwards, as a citizen of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...

. After graduating from an NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

 school in May 1915 he served at various posts, including his service as a commanding officer of a company of the 90th Infantry Regiment. After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the chaos at the eastern front, Chruściel's regiment was the only unit in the entire Austro-Hungarian Army to return to the barracks as an organized entity and with arms. Few weeks later Chruściel, together with most of his unit, joined the newly-formed Polish Army.

Before World War II

During the Polish-Bolshevik War Chruściel continued his NCO career in the 14th Infantry Regiment (formed mostly of the former 90th Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army), as the commanding officer of the 5th company. In January 1922 he became the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of that unit, after which in October 1922 he was transferred to the Lwów-based 42nd Infantry Regiment, where he served as the commanding officer of the 3rd and then 6th company. At the same time he studied law at the Lwów University. Transferred to the Cadet Corps, in 1931 he graduated from the Higher War School in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 and became a professor in the Infantry Training Centre in Rembertów
Rembertów
Rembertów is a district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed a separate commune of Warszawa-Rembertów...

. In October 1934 he became the head of the Tactics Department of the War School in Warsaw. In January 1937 he started his service with the 40th Infantry Regiment as the deputy commanding officer. After finishing his practice with that unit, in March 1938 Chruściel became the commanding officer of the famed 82nd Siberian Infantry Regiment stationed in Brest-Litovsk as part of Gen. Cehak's 30th Infantry Division
Polish 30th Infantry Division
The 30th Polesie Infantry Division , was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was stationed in Kobryn, as well as other towns of the Polesie Voivodeship - Brzesc nad Bugiem and Pinsk...

.

World War II

Chruściel's regiment was secretly mobilised between 23 and 27 March 1939, and moved to the village of Szczerców where it formed a defensive line at the Widawka
Widawka
Widawka is a river, located in central Poland , a tributary of the Warta. Its length is 95.8 kilometers and its basin's area is 2385 km2....

 River. After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

 of 1939 it entered combat on September 2. As part of the Piotrków Operational Group
Operational Group
Operational Group was the highest level of tactical division of the Polish Army before and during World War II and the Invasion of Poland. It was corps-sized, although various Operational Groups varied in size....

of the Łódź Army, Chruściel's unit retreated towards the Modlin Fortress
Modlin Fortress
Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw...

 and took part in its defence
Battle of Modlin
The Battle of Modlin took place during the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of the Second World War. Modlin Fortress was initially the headquarters of the Modlin Army until its retreat eastwards. From 13 September to 29 September in 1939 it served as a defensive citadel for Polish forces...

 until the capitulation of the Polish units in the area. Interned in the POW camp
Soldau concentration camp
The Soldau concentration camp was a concentration camp established by Nazi Germany during World War II in Działdowo , which after the occupation of Poland was part of East Prussia....

 in Działdowo, he was released in late October, already after the end of hostilities. Fearing that his release from the prison camp was a mistake, Chruściel moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, where he settled under a variety of false names. In June 1940 he joined the Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ) underground organization. Initially head of the 3rd division of its staff, responsible for training and tactics, since October of that year Chruściel held the post of deputy commander of the City of Warsaw ZWZ region.

Uprising

On 31 July, the Polish commanders General Bór-Komorowski and Colonel Antoni Chruściel ordered full mobilization of Home Army forces for 17:00 the following day. Chruściel (codename "Monter") commanded the Polish forces in Warsaw. Initially he divided his forces into eight areas. On 20 September, they were reorganized to align with the three areas of the city held by Polish forces. The entire force, renamed the Warsaw Home Army Corps (Polish: Warszawski Korpus Armii Krajowej) and commanded by General Antoni Chruściel—promoted from Colonel on 14 September—formed into three infantry divisions (Śródmieście, Żoliborz and Mokotów). Upon the defeat of the Uprising, Chruściel was captured and sent to a German POW camp where he remained until his liberation by the Americans in May 1945.

Post Uprising

After the Uprising, Antoni Chruściel was taken prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 by the Germans and interned in the camps of Stalag XIII-D
Stalag XIII-D
Stalag XIII-D Nürnberg Langwasser was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the Nazi parade grounds in Nürnberg, northern Bavaria.-Timeline:...

 in Langwasser near Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

 and then the famous Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...

 in Colditz
Colditz
Colditz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, near Leipzig, located on the banks of the river Mulde. The town has a population of 5,188 ....

 Castle. Liberated by the Americans in May 1945, Chruściel joined the Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps , 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and by the end of 1945 it had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers....

 and served in the Polish Army in the West until it was demobilized by the British in 1948. Although initially Chruściel planned to return to Soviet-held Poland, he was deprived of Polish citizenship by the Communist authorities of Poland and had to remain in exile. Upon demobilization he settled in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. In 1956 he moved to Washington, DC, where he continued his work as a translator and lawyer. There he died on 30 November 1960. On the insistence of the local Polish community
Polonia
The Polish diaspora refers to people of Polish origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish language as Polonia, which is the name for Poland in Latin and in many other Romance languages....

, he was buried in the Polish church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 8,380. The borough is the county seat of Bucks County.- History :...

.

In 1971, already after Chruściel's death, the communists lifted their decree of 1946; the decision, however, was never made public. After the end of communist rule and the decline of Soviet domination of Poland, the veterans of the Warsaw Uprising decided to bring back the ashes of their commander to Warsaw. On 30 July 2004, that is on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the uprising, Antoni Chruściel and his wife Waleria were given a state funeral at Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...

.

Ranks

  • Lieutenant Colonel, 1932
  • Colonel, 10 August 1942
  • Brigadier General, 14 September 1944

Honours and awards

Knight's Cross of Order of Virtuti Militari (5 June 1947), Gold Cross (28 September 1939), Silver Cross (1921, No. 2371)
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (posthumously August 2, 2009), earlier Officer's Cross
Cross of Independence
Cross of Independence
Cross of Independence was one of the highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had "fought heroically for the independence of Poland," and was released in three versions.- History :...

Cross of Valour - four times (1922 and 28 September 1944)
Gold Cross of Merit
Armia Krajowa Cross
Armia Krajowa Cross
Armia Krajowa Cross is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and 1945...

Medal of Ten Years of Regained Independence
Commemorative Medal for War 1918-1921
Gold medal of valour
Bronze medal of valor - twice
Yser Medal (Belgium)
Charles Cross (Belgium)
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