Stefan Szlaszewski 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 notable commander of mountain troops of the Polish Army in the period preceding the 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...

. Serving in the rank of Colonel, among other posts, he was the commanding officer of the Polish 2nd Podhale Rifles Regiment in Sanok

Sanok

Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...

, a prestigious unit of the Podhale Rifles

Podhale rifles

Podhale Rifles is the traditional name of the mountain infantry units of the Polish Army. Formed in 1918 out of volunteers of the region of Podhale, in 1919 the smaller detachments of Podhale Rifles were pressed into two mountain infantry divisions, the 21st Mountain Infantry and 22nd Mountain...

 attached to the 22nd Division

Polish 22nd Mountain Infantry Division

The 22nd Mountain Infantry Division was a pre-war unit of the Polish Army. It was one of two mountain infantry divisions of Poland to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. Currently its traditions are continued by the 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade. Until 1939 the unit was commanded by Col...

. For his part in the battles of Kraków and Kielce during the Polish Defensive War he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari

Virtuti Militari

The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...

, the highest Polish military award. For his part in the Polish-Bolshevik War and the remainder of 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 also received a number of other decorations, both Polish and foreign. Among them was the Cross of Independence and the French Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.