Kazimierz Porebski
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Porębski ) was a career naval officer who rose to the position of admiral within the Imperial Russian Navy
, and was subsequently the first commander-in-chief of the inter-war Polish Navy
.
, in what was then Vilna Governorate
of the Russian Empire
to an ethnic Polish family. He entered the Sea Cadets Corps
in Petrograd in 1889 and graduated as a midshipman
in 1892.
school on commissioning into the Imperial Russian Navy, and from 1895 to 1899 served aboard the on which he voyaged to the Mediterranean and then to the Far East with a visit to Nagasaki
, Japan
in 1896. He was promoted to lieutenant on April 13, 1897, after his return to Russia, and continued his studies in mine warfare. He was then assigned to the from 1899-1901. On December 1, 1901, he became the executive officer
on the cruiser , whose construction he had been sent to oversee at the Schichau-Werke
shipyards in Danzig
, Germany
. Assigned with Novik to the Russian Pacific Fleet, he was promoted to Captain Lieutenant
on April 17, 1905. Novik played an active role in the Russo-Japanese War
, especially at the Battle of the Yellow Sea
and the Battle of Korsakov
.
After the end of the war, Porębski was promoted to lieutenant commander on December 6, 1906 and was assigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet. He briefly commanded the new cruiser in 1909. From 1909-1913, Porębski was captain of the minelayer
Yenisei. He was promoted to the rank of captain on November 26, 1912.
During the early stages of World War I
, from 1913–1916, Porębski was captain of the battleship
with the Russian Black Sea Fleet and active in combat operations off of Bulgaria
. Porębski was promoted to rear admiral on April 19, 1916 and reassigned to command the cruiser squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. He went into the reserves from November 1916, but was recalled in early 1917, and was placed in command of the fortifications guarding the Gulf of Finland
. He then served as head of the Maritime Department for the Northwestern Front.
, arriving in Warsaw
in November 1918. He founded the predecessor of the Maritime and Colonial League
, an organization dedicated to the establishment of a Polish Navy and an overseas colonial presence. From 1919, he joined the Department of Maritime Affairs in the Ministry of National Defense
, initiating the Polish Merchant Navy
and the Polish Naval Academy in 1920, as well as and the purchasing of the training sailing-ship "Lwów
", and the expansion of the military harbor in Gdynia
. He also participated in the symbolic Poland's Wedding to the Sea performedby Polish president General Józef Haller in early 1920. During the Polish–Soviet War (February 1919 – March 1921), Porębski commanded naval units on the Vistula River. In 1921, he was granted the rank of vice admiral, and served as chairman of Maritime Affairs in the Department of the Navy. However, in 1925, he became embroiled in a political scandal
involving the purchase of obsolete naval mine
s and was forced to resign his post. He retired from public service in 1927, and in 1928 criminal investigation against him by the Military Prosecutor's Office was discontinued.
Porębski died on January 21, 1933 in Warsaw after a long illness and was buried in the Powązki Military Cemetery
.
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
, and was subsequently the first commander-in-chief of the inter-war Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
.
Biography
Porębski was born in VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, in what was then Vilna Governorate
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
to an ethnic Polish family. He entered the Sea Cadets Corps
Sea Cadet Corps (Russia)
The Sea Cadet Corps , occasionally translated as the Marine Cadet Corps or the Naval Cadet Corps, is an educational establishment for training Naval officers for the Russian Navy in Saint Petersburg.It is the oldest existing high school in Russia.-History:...
in Petrograd in 1889 and graduated as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in 1892.
Russian Navy Career
Porębski attended mine warfareMine warfare
Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices:*Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to destroy vehicles...
school on commissioning into the Imperial Russian Navy, and from 1895 to 1899 served aboard the on which he voyaged to the Mediterranean and then to the Far East with a visit to Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1896. He was promoted to lieutenant on April 13, 1897, after his return to Russia, and continued his studies in mine warfare. He was then assigned to the from 1899-1901. On December 1, 1901, he became the executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
on the cruiser , whose construction he had been sent to oversee at the Schichau-Werke
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
shipyards in Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Assigned with Novik to the Russian Pacific Fleet, he was promoted to Captain Lieutenant
Captain Lieutenant
Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of different navies worldwide.It is generally equivalent to the Commonwealth or US rank of lieutenant, and has the NATO rank code of OF-2, though this can vary....
on April 17, 1905. Novik played an active role in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, especially at the Battle of the Yellow Sea
Battle of the Yellow Sea
The Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...
and the Battle of Korsakov
Battle of Korsakov
The Battle of Korsakov, a naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought on 20 August 1904. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian cruiser Novik at escaping Port Arthur to join with Russian forces at Vladivosk after the Russian Pacific Squadron was scattered after the Battle of the...
.
After the end of the war, Porębski was promoted to lieutenant commander on December 6, 1906 and was assigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet. He briefly commanded the new cruiser in 1909. From 1909-1913, Porębski was captain of the minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
Yenisei. He was promoted to the rank of captain on November 26, 1912.
During the early stages of World War I
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...
, from 1913–1916, Porębski was captain of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
with the Russian Black Sea Fleet and active in combat operations off of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Porębski was promoted to rear admiral on April 19, 1916 and reassigned to command the cruiser squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. He went into the reserves from November 1916, but was recalled in early 1917, and was placed in command of the fortifications guarding the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
. He then served as head of the Maritime Department for the Northwestern Front.
Polish Naval Career
With the Russian Revolution, Porębski was released from service with the Russian Navy, and quickly moved to the newly-independent PolandPoland
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...
, arriving 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...
in November 1918. He founded the predecessor of the Maritime and Colonial League
Maritime and Colonial League
The Maritime and Colonial League was a mass Polish social organization, created in 1930 out of the Maritime and River League . In the late 1930s it was directed by general Mariusz Zaruski and its purpose was to educate the Polish nation about maritime issues...
, an organization dedicated to the establishment of a Polish Navy and an overseas colonial presence. From 1919, he joined the Department of Maritime Affairs in the Ministry of National Defense
Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland
Ministry of National Defence is the office of government in Poland under the Minister of Defence. During the Second Polish Republic and World War II it was called the Ministry of Military Affairs...
, initiating the Polish Merchant Navy
Polish Merchant Navy
The Polish Merchant Navy was created in the interwar period when the Second Polish Republic regained independence.During World War II, many ships of the Polish Navy joined the Allied merchant navy and its convoys, as part of the Polish contribution to World War II.After the war, the Polish...
and the Polish Naval Academy in 1920, as well as and the purchasing of the training sailing-ship "Lwów
Lwów (ship)
Lwów was the first officially registered Polish sailing-ship. Launched in 1869 in Birkenhead, England, as frigate Chinsura, from 1883 she was named Lucco; then until 1920, Nest. Since 1920 she was under the Polish banner...
", and the expansion of the military harbor in Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
. He also participated in the symbolic Poland's Wedding to the Sea performedby Polish president General Józef Haller in early 1920. During the Polish–Soviet War (February 1919 – March 1921), Porębski commanded naval units on the Vistula River. In 1921, he was granted the rank of vice admiral, and served as chairman of Maritime Affairs in the Department of the Navy. However, in 1925, he became embroiled in a political scandal
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...
involving the purchase of obsolete naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s and was forced to resign his post. He retired from public service in 1927, and in 1928 criminal investigation against him by the Military Prosecutor's Office was discontinued.
Porębski died on January 21, 1933 in Warsaw after a long illness and was buried in the 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"...
.
Honors
- Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd class, Russia, 1902
- Order of the Red EagleOrder of the Red EagleThe Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
, 4th class, Prussia, 1902 - Order of St. Anne
Order of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
3rd class with swords and bow, Russia, 1904 - Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd class with swords, Russia, 1904
- Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 4th class, Russia, 1904 - Golden Sword of St. George, Russia, 1907
- Order of St. AnneOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
2nd class, Russia, 1907 - Order of St Vladimir, 4th class,Russia, 1907
- Nichan IftikharNichan IftikharNichan Iftikhar or Atiq Nishan-i-Iftikhar or Nişan-i İftihar , was an Ottoman and Tunisian honorary order founded in 1835 by Al-Mustafa ibn Mahmud...
, Commander's Cross, Ottoman Empire, 1907 - Order of the Crown of ItalyOrder of the Crown of ItalyThe Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
, Commander's Cross, Italy, 1908 - Legion of Honor, Commander, France, 1908
- Order of Saints Maurice and LazarusOrder of Saints Maurice and LazarusThe Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
, Commander, Italy, 1910 - Order of St Vladimir, 3rd class, Russia, 1914
- Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of RomaniaThe Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
, Romania, - Cross of Liberty (Estonia), 2nd class, Estonia
- Cross of Valour (Poland), 1920
- Order of Polonia Restituta, Officer’s Cross, Poland, 1920
