Waclaw Stachiewicz
Encyclopedia
Brigadier General Wacław Stachiewicz (19 November 1894 - 12 November 1973) was an officer of the Polish Army, geologist and a Polish writer. Brother to General Julian Stachiewicz
and husband to Gen. Roman Abraham
's sister, Stachiewicz was the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army during the Polish Defensive War
and one of the authors of the plans for that war.
Wacław Stachiewicz was born November 19, 1894 in Lwów (Lemberg) in Austro-Hungarian
Galicia. After graduating from one of local gymnasiums, he entered the geological faculty at the University of Lwów. In 1912 he joined the underground Związek Strzelecki
, where he received military training and graduated from NCO and officer courses. After the outbreak of the Great War
, in August 1914 he joined the Polish Legions
, where he became a platoon commander in the 1st Regiment. On October 9 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant
and sent with a secret mission to the other side of the Russo-Austrian front to help in creation of Polish underground organizations in the territory still under Russian occupation. In 1915 he was moved to the newly formed 5th Regiment, where he commanded the 4th company. Wounded in the battle of Konary
, he was moved to various staff duties, among others he served as an aide to the chief of staff of the regiment. In March 1917 he graduated from an officer course of the General Staff
and was to be promoted.
However, in the effect of the Oath Crisis
of 1917 he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army
, demoted to sergeant and sent to the Italian Front. In March of the following year he defected from the army, returned to Poland and joined the secret Polish Military Organization. He headed that organization's central branch based in Warsaw
. After Poland regained her independence, Stachiewicz's organization became one of the cores of the reborn Polish Army. Initially serving as the head of the I Detachment of the General Staff and the deputy chief of staff of the Warsaw military district, Stachiewicz soon became a staff officer of Gen. Stanisław Haller de Hallenburg's Army. He also served in a number of roles in the Polish Ministry of War Affairs. During the battle of Warsaw
of 1920 he served as a deputy chief of staff and chief of operations of Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski
's Volunteer Army. After the end of hostilities and the Peace of Riga
, Stachiewicz returned to the ministry.
In 1921 he was sent to Paris
, where he graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Guerre in late 1923. Upon his return he became a professor of tactics at the Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna in Warsaw. In April 1926 he started a year of practice at the post of head of 1st detachment of the Polish General Staff and in June of the following year he became the 1st Officer of the Staff of the General Inspectorate of Armed Forces. In January 1928 he completed his practice as the commanding officer of the Częstochowa
-based 27th Infantry Regiment. Finally, after a year of training there he became the chief of infantry in the elite 1st Legions Infantry Division in Wilno. In December 1933 he returned to Częstochowa, this time as a commanding officer of the entire 7th Infantry Division
and in 1935 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General
. After the death of Marshal of Poland
Józef Piłsudski, his place was taken by General Edward Rydz-Śmigły who nominated Stachiewicz for the post of the Chief of Staff of the Polish Army.
One of the most promising staff officers in the Polish military, Stachiewicz was the author of various military plans, among them the Plan Zachód, the Polish plan of operations in case of a war with Nazi Germany
and the Plan Wschód
, a similar plan in case of a war against the Soviet Union
. He was also the officer to prepare the Polish mobilization. In late 1939 he supervised the mobilization which was successfully accomplished despite the fact that it had to be called off due to British and French pressure. After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War
he automatically became the Chief of Staff of the headquarters of the Polish commander-in-chief. However, due to lack of communication he lost any influence on the conflict and withdrew together with Rydz-Śmigły to south-eastern Poland. After the Soviets joined the war on the side of the Nazis, on September 18 he crossed the border with Romania
in order to continue the struggle abroad in France
. However, due to internal struggle for power among the Polish emigrees, the French pressured the Romanian authorities and both Stachiewicz and his superior were interned.
In January 1940 Wacław Stachiewicz managed to escape from captivity and, through Bucharest
and Yugoslavia
, reached the French-held port of Algiers
. However, due to Gen. Władysław Sikorski's insistence he was again interned, this time by the French, and it was not until 1943 that he finally reached London
. There he spent the remaining part of the war, without any assignment. After World War II
he was deprived of his Polish citizenship by the Soviet-backed communist authorities of Poland and had to remain in exile. In 1948 he moved to Montreal
in Canada
. Blamed by many for the Polish defeat in the war, Stachiewicz devoted himself to writing and was an author of several books on the Polish preparations for the war of 1939. He died November 12, 1973. The Polish Library of the McGill University
is named after him.
Julian Stachiewicz
Brigadier General Julian Stachiewicz was a Polish Army officer and a historian and writer.-Life:Julian Stachiewicz was the brother of General Wacław Stachiewicz....
and husband to Gen. Roman Abraham
Roman Abraham
Roman Abraham was a Polish cavalry general, commander of Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade during German and Soviet Invasion of Poland in September 1939, in Battle of Bzura commander of Polish cavalry ....
's sister, Stachiewicz was the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army 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...
and one of the authors of the plans for that war.
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...
Galicia. After graduating from one of local gymnasiums, he entered the geological faculty at the University of Lwów. In 1912 he joined the underground Związek Strzelecki
Zwiazek Strzelecki
Związek Strzelecki "Strzelec" was a Polish paramilitary cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in Lwów as a legal front of Związek Walki Czynnej, and revived in Poland in 1991....
, where he received military training and graduated from NCO and officer courses. After the outbreak of the Great 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...
, in August 1914 he joined the Polish Legions
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
, where he became a platoon commander in the 1st Regiment. On October 9 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
and sent with a secret mission to the other side of the Russo-Austrian front to help in creation of Polish underground organizations in the territory still under Russian occupation. In 1915 he was moved to the newly formed 5th Regiment, where he commanded the 4th company. Wounded in the battle of Konary
Battle of Konary
Konary is a small village in the region of Sandomierz Uplands, near the town of Klimontów, Poland.-History:During the Great War, in May and June 1915 it was a site of a major battle between the Russian Army and the forces of Józef Piłsudski's Polish Legions...
, he was moved to various staff duties, among others he served as an aide to the chief of staff of the regiment. In March 1917 he graduated from an officer course of the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
and was to be promoted.
However, in the effect of the Oath Crisis
Oath crisis
The Oath crisis was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions.Initially supporting the Central Powers against Imperial Russia, Piłsudski wanted to defeat one of the partitioning powers with the hands of the two remaining...
of 1917 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...
, demoted to sergeant and sent to the Italian Front. In March of the following year he defected from the army, returned to Poland and joined the secret Polish Military Organization. He headed that organization's central branch based 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...
. After Poland regained her independence, Stachiewicz's organization became one of the cores of the reborn Polish Army. Initially serving as the head of the I Detachment of the General Staff and the deputy chief of staff of the Warsaw military district, Stachiewicz soon became a staff officer of Gen. Stanisław Haller de Hallenburg's Army. He also served in a number of roles in the Polish Ministry of War Affairs. During the battle of Warsaw
Battle of Warsaw (1920)
The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...
of 1920 he served as a deputy chief of staff and chief of operations of Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski
Kazimierz Sosnkowski
Kazimierz Sosnkowski was a Polish independence fighter, politician and Polish Army general.-Life:Sosnkowski served successively as founder and first commander of Związek Walki Czynnej , chief of staff of the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions, Polish minister of military affairs, vice-president of...
's Volunteer Army. After the end of hostilities and the Peace of Riga
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War....
, Stachiewicz returned to the ministry.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Guerre in late 1923. Upon his return he became a professor of tactics at the Wyższa Szkoła Wojenna in Warsaw. In April 1926 he started a year of practice at the post of head of 1st detachment of the Polish General Staff and in June of the following year he became the 1st Officer of the Staff of the General Inspectorate of Armed Forces. In January 1928 he completed his practice as the commanding officer of the Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
-based 27th Infantry Regiment. Finally, after a year of training there he became the chief of infantry in the elite 1st Legions Infantry Division in Wilno. In December 1933 he returned to Częstochowa, this time as a commanding officer of the entire 7th Infantry Division
Polish 7th Infantry Division
The 7th Infantry Division was the name of several units of the Polish Army.The original division was formed in 1918 and took part in shielding the Polish borders during the Polish-Ukrainian War. During the Polish-Bolshevik War it was commanded by Col. Szubert and reinforced to three brigades...
and in 1935 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General
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...
. After the death of Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, this rank is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army in other NATO armies.-History:...
Józef Piłsudski, his place was taken by General Edward Rydz-Śmigły who nominated Stachiewicz for the post of the Chief of Staff of the Polish Army.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Plan Wschód
Plan Wschód
Plan East was a Polish defensive military plan, created in the 1920s and 1930s in case of war with the Soviet Union. Unlike Plan Zachód , it was being prepared during the whole Interwar period, as the government of the Second Polish Republic treated the Soviet Union as the greatest potential...
, a similar plan in case of a war against the Soviet Union
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....
. He was also the officer to prepare the Polish mobilization. In late 1939 he supervised the mobilization which was successfully accomplished despite the fact that it had to be called off due to British and French pressure. 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...
he automatically became the Chief of Staff of the headquarters of the Polish commander-in-chief. However, due to lack of communication he lost any influence on the conflict and withdrew together with Rydz-Śmigły to south-eastern Poland. After the Soviets joined the war on the side of the Nazis, on September 18 he crossed the border with Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in order to continue the struggle abroad in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. However, due to internal struggle for power among the Polish emigrees, the French pressured the Romanian authorities and both Stachiewicz and his superior were interned.
In January 1940 Wacław Stachiewicz managed to escape from captivity and, through Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, reached the French-held port of Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. However, due to Gen. Władysław Sikorski's insistence he was again interned, this time by the French, and it was not until 1943 that he finally reached 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...
. There he spent the remaining part of the war, without any assignment. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was deprived of his Polish citizenship by the Soviet-backed communist authorities of Poland and had to remain in exile. In 1948 he moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Blamed by many for the Polish defeat in the war, Stachiewicz devoted himself to writing and was an author of several books on the Polish preparations for the war of 1939. He died November 12, 1973. The Polish Library of the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
is named after him.
Honours and awards
- Silver Cross of the Virtuti MilitariVirtuti MilitariThe Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
- Commanders of the Polonia RestitutaPolonia RestitutaThe Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...
, previously awarded the Officer's Cross - Cross of IndependenceCross of IndependenceCross 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 :...
with Swords - Cross of Valour - four times
- Gold Cross of Merit
- Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honour
- Order of the Cross of the EagleOrder of the Cross of the EagleThe Order of the Cross of the Eagle was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936.The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowed to give recognition for military services and services...
, Class I (Estonia, 1937)