Józef Olszyna-Wilczynski
Encyclopedia
Józef Konstanty Olszyna-Wilczyński ˈjuzɛf ɔlˈʂɨnavilˌt͡ʃɨɲski (1890–1939) was a Polish
general
and one of the high-ranking commanders of the Polish Army. A veteran of World War I
, Polish-Ukrainian War
and the Polish-Bolshevik War, he was murdered by the Soviets during the Polish Defensive War
of 1939.
(Cracow). In 1910 he graduated from the St. Anne's gymnasium in Kraków
in Austro-Hungarian
Galicia and started his studies at the architectural department of the Lwów University of Science and Technology
. During his studies, between 1912 and 1913 he also received military training in Kraków and Lwów, after which he joined the Drużyny Strzeleckie, where he also worked as a tutor of infantry tactics. About that time he adopted the Olszyna nom de guerre, which later became part of his surname
.
he was mobilized to the Austro-Hungarian Army
in the role of a platoon commanding officer, but on August 6, 1914 he was allowed to join the Polish Legions
.
He served with distinction in the rank of Second Lieutenant and then First Lieutenant in most of the battles of the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions. Initially a company commander in the 1st Regiment, in 1915 he was promoted to the rank of Captain and became a battalion commander within the 5th Regiment. After the Oath Crisis
of 1917, as an Austro-Hungarian citizen, Olszyna-Wilczyński was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army and dispatched to the Italian Front, along with many of his colleagues. He commanded infantry platoons within 50th, 62nd and 59th platoons, after which he was transferred to the Ukraine
as a commander of the 3rd battalion of the 16th Regiment. There, he organized a cell of the Polish Military Organization.
After Poland regained her independence, on November 4, 1918, Olszyna-Wilczyński and his battalion (composed of Poles mostly) joined the Polish Army. An experienced officer, he was attached to the ad-hoc formation of Col. Czesław Rybiński fighting in Volhynia
during the Polish-Ukrainian War
. On November 27 his company was defeated in a skirmish near Mikulińce near Tarnopol and Olszyna-Wilczyński himself was heavily wounded and taken prisoner of war
by the Ukrainians. It was not until their defeat in June 1919 that he was released and allowed to return to the Polish Army. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he became the commanding officer of the 3rd Polish Legions Infantry Brigade, and then (since September 28, 1919) the 1st Polish Legions Infantry Brigade. With the latter unit he took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War.
During the Polish-Ukrainian offensive on Kiev
in 1920 he briefly returned to the 3rd Brigade and briefly served as the military commander of Kievan military garrison. During the Polish withdrawal he commanded a number of units, including the 6th Infantry Division, an Operational Group
within Wacław Iwaszkiewicz's 6th Army, 14th Infantry Brigade, and then the 13th Infantry Brigade. After the battle of Warsaw
he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. After the war he was withdrawn to the rear and, together with his unit, was responsible for shielding the border with Germany
in the area of Zagłębie during the Third Silesian Uprising. A skilled organizer rather than front-line commander, between 1922 and 1923 Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński headed the engineering units of the Kraków-based 5th Military Area Command (DOK V). Then, until October 1924 he served as the head of all the engineering units of the Polish Army in the Polish Ministry of Military Affairs.
After the creation of the Border Defence Corps (KOP), on October 10, 1924 he became the commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade of that force, based in Baranowicze. The following year he was transferred to the same post in the 1st Brigade of the KOP based in Zdołbunów. Sent to the Higher War School
in Warsaw, on March 19, 1927 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General
and became the commanding officer of the 10th Infantry Division. Promoter of order, cleanness and mustering, he was generally disliked by his subordinates. At the same time he proved to be a skilled organizer and an outstanding rear-line commander. Because of that between 1935 and 1937 he served as director of Państwowy Urząd Wychowania Fizycznego i Przysposobienia Wojskowego (The National Office of Physical Education and Military Training) and then in January 1938, he was made the commander of the Grodno-based 3rd Military Area Command (DOK III). Soon before the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War
the DOK III was converted into the Grodno Operational Group.
River, Suwałki, and Wizna
. However, due to German breakthrough in Lesser Poland
the Operational Group was disbanded and its units withdrawn to Lwów, where they later took part in the battle for that city
. Olszyna-Wilczyński himself escorted his units to Pińsk
, where he met with Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły. After the Soviet Union joined the German invasion on September 17, the Polish government issued orders to its military that they should avoid fighting with the Soviets. Nonetheless both pro-Communist rebels (Skidel rebellion) and various Soviet units did not shy away from attacking Polish units - and Olszyna-Wilczyński's staff car during his return to Grodno.
The Soviet aggression caught much of the eastern Poland virtually undefended, as most of the Polish forces from the area had already been transferred to the German front. After breaking through overstretched defenses of the Border Defence Corps, the Soviet 15th Armored Corps started a fast advance towards the city of Grodno. Commander of the pre-war Grodno Military Area Command, Gen. Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński together with the mayor of Grodno Roman Sawicki started organizing city defenses, basing mostly on march battalions, volunteers, Boy Scouts
and police forces.
Ill equipped, undermanned and lacking any anti-tank artillery, the Polish defenders relied mostly on improvised anti-tank means, such as bottles of gasoline or turpentine
and anti-tank obstacles. On September 20 the Soviet tanks reached the city's outskirts. After two days of heavy fights, often in close quarters, much of the city centre was destroyed by Soviet artillery. Seeing no chance for further defense, on September 22 the remainder of the Polish forces withdrew towards the Lithuania
n border. General Olszyna-Wilczyński's car, in which he traveled with his family and adjutant
captain Mieczysław Strzemeski were stopped by a tank-artillery group under command of Maj. Chuvakin on September 22 near Sopoćkinie
. The general and his adjutant were shot after a brief interrogation while his wife and driver were allowed to continue the journey.
started an enquiry and investigation on the murder of Gen. Wilczyński and Capt. Strzemeski (signature akt S 6/02/Zk). In the course of the inquiry in Polish and former Soviet archives, the exact unit responsible for their capture, interrogation and murder was identified. Consequently, on September 26, 2003 the Russian Military Prosecutor's Office was asked to investigate the matter on the basis of the IV Hague Convention on Laws and Customs of War on Land of October 18, 1907. The war crime
s against the convention are not liable for expiration or non-claim. However, the Russian office returned the Polish application stating that the soldiers and officers of the Red Army
committed a common crime rather than a war crime, and as such their crimes were subject to expiration. Because of that, on May 18, 2004 the investigation was closed due to inability to find those responsible.
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
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and one of the high-ranking commanders of the Polish Army. A veteran 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...
, Polish-Ukrainian War
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
and the Polish-Bolshevik War, he was murdered by the Soviets 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.
Early life
Józef Wilczyński was born November 27, 1890 in KrakówKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(Cracow). In 1910 he graduated from the St. Anne's gymnasium in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
in Austro-Hungarian
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 and started his studies at the architectural department of the Lwów University of Science and Technology
Lviv Polytechnic
Lviv Polytechnic National University is the largest scientific university in Lviv. Since its foundation in 1844, it was one of the most important centres of science and technological development in Central Europe. In the interbellum period, the Polytechnic was one of the most important technical...
. During his studies, between 1912 and 1913 he also received military training in Kraków and Lwów, after which he joined the Drużyny Strzeleckie, where he also worked as a tutor of infantry tactics. About that time he adopted the Olszyna nom de guerre, which later became part of his surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
.
First World War
After the outbreak of the Great WarWorld 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 was mobilized to 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...
in the role of a platoon commanding officer, but on August 6, 1914 he was allowed to join 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...
.
He served with distinction in the rank of Second Lieutenant and then First Lieutenant in most of the battles of the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions. Initially a company commander in the 1st Regiment, in 1915 he was promoted to the rank of Captain and became a battalion commander within the 5th Regiment. After 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, as an Austro-Hungarian citizen, Olszyna-Wilczyński was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army and dispatched to the Italian Front, along with many of his colleagues. He commanded infantry platoons within 50th, 62nd and 59th platoons, after which he was transferred to the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
as a commander of the 3rd battalion of the 16th Regiment. There, he organized a cell of the Polish Military Organization.
After Poland regained her independence, on November 4, 1918, Olszyna-Wilczyński and his battalion (composed of Poles mostly) joined the Polish Army. An experienced officer, he was attached to the ad-hoc formation of Col. Czesław Rybiński fighting in Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
during the Polish-Ukrainian War
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
. On November 27 his company was defeated in a skirmish near Mikulińce near Tarnopol and Olszyna-Wilczyński himself was heavily wounded and 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 Ukrainians. It was not until their defeat in June 1919 that he was released and allowed to return to the Polish Army. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he became the commanding officer of the 3rd Polish Legions Infantry Brigade, and then (since September 28, 1919) the 1st Polish Legions Infantry Brigade. With the latter unit he took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War.
During the Polish-Ukrainian offensive on Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 1920 he briefly returned to the 3rd Brigade and briefly served as the military commander of Kievan military garrison. During the Polish withdrawal he commanded a number of units, including the 6th Infantry Division, an 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....
within Wacław Iwaszkiewicz's 6th Army, 14th Infantry Brigade, and then the 13th Infantry Brigade. After 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...
he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. After the war he was withdrawn to the rear and, together with his unit, was responsible for shielding the border with 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...
in the area of Zagłębie during the Third Silesian Uprising. A skilled organizer rather than front-line commander, between 1922 and 1923 Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński headed the engineering units of the Kraków-based 5th Military Area Command (DOK V). Then, until October 1924 he served as the head of all the engineering units of the Polish Army in the Polish Ministry of Military Affairs.
After the creation of the Border Defence Corps (KOP), on October 10, 1924 he became the commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade of that force, based in Baranowicze. The following year he was transferred to the same post in the 1st Brigade of the KOP based in Zdołbunów. Sent to the Higher War School
Academy of National Defence
The National Defence University is the civil-military highest defence academic institution in Poland, located at Rembertów . It was re-established in 1947 as the General Staff Academy and continues traditions of the Szkoła Rycerska founded in 15 March 1765 and other subsequent military schools...
in Warsaw, on March 19, 1927 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...
and became the commanding officer of the 10th Infantry Division. Promoter of order, cleanness and mustering, he was generally disliked by his subordinates. At the same time he proved to be a skilled organizer and an outstanding rear-line commander. Because of that between 1935 and 1937 he served as director of Państwowy Urząd Wychowania Fizycznego i Przysposobienia Wojskowego (The National Office of Physical Education and Military Training) and then in January 1938, he was made the commander of the Grodno-based 3rd Military Area Command (DOK III). Soon before 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...
the DOK III was converted into the Grodno Operational Group.
Second World War
After the outbreak of the war, Olszyna-Wilczyński's unit was to prepare the defense of the area between BiebrzaBiebrza
Biebrza is a river in north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river , with a length of 155 kilometres and the basin area of 7,057 km2...
River, Suwałki, and Wizna
Wizna
Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. The Biebrza River flows through town. Wizna is also known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland. At present, farming and food production are the primary...
. However, due to German breakthrough in Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland, with its capital in the city of Kraków. It forms the southeastern corner of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland...
the Operational Group was disbanded and its units withdrawn to Lwów, where they later took part in the battle for that city
Battle of Lwów (1939)
The Battle of Lwów was a battle for the control over the Polish city of Lwów between the Polish Army and the invading Wehrmacht and the Red Army...
. Olszyna-Wilczyński himself escorted his units to Pińsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
, where he met with Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły. After the Soviet Union joined the German invasion on September 17, the Polish government issued orders to its military that they should avoid fighting with the Soviets. Nonetheless both pro-Communist rebels (Skidel rebellion) and various Soviet units did not shy away from attacking Polish units - and Olszyna-Wilczyński's staff car during his return to Grodno.
The Soviet aggression caught much of the eastern Poland virtually undefended, as most of the Polish forces from the area had already been transferred to the German front. After breaking through overstretched defenses of the Border Defence Corps, the Soviet 15th Armored Corps started a fast advance towards the city of Grodno. Commander of the pre-war Grodno Military Area Command, Gen. Józef Olszyna-Wilczyński together with the mayor of Grodno Roman Sawicki started organizing city defenses, basing mostly on march battalions, volunteers, Boy Scouts
Zwiazek Harcerstwa Polskiego
Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego is the coeducational Polish Scouting organization recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It was founded in 1918 and currently is the largest Scouting organization in Poland...
and police forces.
Ill equipped, undermanned and lacking any anti-tank artillery, the Polish defenders relied mostly on improvised anti-tank means, such as bottles of gasoline or turpentine
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
and anti-tank obstacles. On September 20 the Soviet tanks reached the city's outskirts. After two days of heavy fights, often in close quarters, much of the city centre was destroyed by Soviet artillery. Seeing no chance for further defense, on September 22 the remainder of the Polish forces withdrew towards the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n border. General Olszyna-Wilczyński's car, in which he traveled with his family and adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
captain Mieczysław Strzemeski were stopped by a tank-artillery group under command of Maj. Chuvakin on September 22 near Sopoćkinie
Sopockinie
Sapotskin is a small town in Belarus, north-east of Hrodna. It has circa 2,000 inhabitants, almost exclusively identifying themselves as ethnic Poles....
. The general and his adjutant were shot after a brief interrogation while his wife and driver were allowed to continue the journey.
Investigation of the murder
On February 11, 2002 the Polish Institute of National RemembranceInstitute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
started an enquiry and investigation on the murder of Gen. Wilczyński and Capt. Strzemeski (signature akt S 6/02/Zk). In the course of the inquiry in Polish and former Soviet archives, the exact unit responsible for their capture, interrogation and murder was identified. Consequently, on September 26, 2003 the Russian Military Prosecutor's Office was asked to investigate the matter on the basis of the IV Hague Convention on Laws and Customs of War on Land of October 18, 1907. The war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s against the convention are not liable for expiration or non-claim. However, the Russian office returned the Polish application stating that the soldiers and officers of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
committed a common crime rather than a war crime, and as such their crimes were subject to expiration. Because of that, on May 18, 2004 the investigation was closed due to inability to find those responsible.
Awards
- 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...
, Silver Cross - 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...
- 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 :...
- Cross of Valour – 4 times
- Cross of Merit, Golden Cross
- Officers' badge "Parasol"
- Military Merit Cross, 3rd class (Austria-Hungary)
- Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Knight rank (France) - Order of LāčplēsisOrder of LacplesisThe Order of Lāčplēsis, the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of the Commander of Latvian Army, during the Latvian War of Independence, Jānis Balodis. The Lāčplēsis Order is awarded in the first, second and third class. Initially, a holder of...
, 3rd class (Latvia) - and others