Konstanty Plisowski 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...

 general and military commander. He is known as the commander in the Battles of Jazłowiec and Brześć

Battle of Brzesc Litewski

Battle of Brześć Litewski was a World War II battle involving German and Polish forces that took place between 14 and 17 September 1939, near the town of Brześć Litewski...

. He was murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Massacre

Katyn massacre

The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...

.

Biography

Konstanty Plisowski was born June 8, 1890 in his family village of Nowosiółki in Podolia

Podolia

The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...

, to a family of szlachta

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

 ancestry of Odrowąż Coat of Arms. In 1908 he joined the army of Russia, where he served with distinction until 1917. During World War I he was transferred to the 1st Polish Corps and since 1917 served as a commander of the cavalry regiment attached to the Polish 4th Rifle Division under general Lucjan Żeligowski

Lucjan Zeligowski

Lucjan Żeligowski , was a Polish general, and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and as head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania.-Biography:...

. After Poland regained her independence in 1918 he joined the Polish Army. The following year, during the Polish-Ukrainian War he was assigned to the 14th Uhlans Regiment as its commanding officer. He became famous as a cavalry commander after the Jazłowiec cavalry charge (July 11, 1919) that became part of the popular culture as one of the synonyms of bravery.

During the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920 Plisowski was served as a commander of 6th cavalry brigade and later of 8th cavalry brigade. He was also briefly the commanding officer of Rómmel's

Juliusz Rómmel

Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. During the Polish-Bolshevik War, he gained great fame for achieving a decisive victory in the Battle of Komarów, the largest cavalry engagement of the 20th century...

 1st Cavalry Division. He took part in the famous Battle of Komarów

Battle of Komarów

The Battle of Komarów was one of the most important battles of the Polish-Bolshevik War. It took place on August 31, 1920, near the village of Komarowo near Zamość...

. After the war he remained in the army and served at various command posts. At the same time he was also a professor of tactics at 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...

. On January 4, 1929, he was promoted to generał brygady

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

, but in 1930 was demobilised and retired due to his poor health.

During 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 Plisowski found himself in Brześć, where he volunteered for the army. He was made the commander of the Brześć Fortress and managed to organise resistance against the advancing German XIX Panzer Corps of general Heinz Guderian

Heinz Guderian

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...

. After the unconcluded Battle of Brześć, in which his four infantry battalions managed to halt the advance of four German divisions for four days, Plisowski retreated with his men and joined the forces of general Franciszek Kleeberg

Franciszek Kleeberg

Franciszek Kleeberg was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion of Poland he commanded Independent Operational Group Polesie...

. He was assigned to the Cavalry Operational Group of general Władysław Anders as his deputy. On 24 September he was made the commanding officer of the Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade

Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade

Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937, out of the Baranowicze Cavalry Brigade. Its headquarters were stationed in the town of Baranowicze...

, with which he fought both against the Nazi 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...

 and Soviet Russia

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

On September 28, 1939, he 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 Soviets and sent to the Starobielsk concentration camp. Following the orders of Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

, he was murdered in Kharkov in the spring of 1940, in what is known as the Katyn Massacre. Place of his burial remains unknown.

Since 20 March 1996, the Polish 6th Armoured Cavalry Brigade is named after him.

Promotions

• Major –
• Colonel – 23 August 1919
• Brigadier General – 4 January 1929
• Major General – 9 November 2007 (posthumously)