Colonel Adam Nieniewski (19 May 1886 – 25 April 1947) was a Polish military commander, an officer of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

and a veteran of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

Polish–Lithuanian War The Polish–Lithuanian War (in Polish historiography, Polish–Lithuanian Conflict) was an undeclared war between newly-independent Lithuania and Poland following World War I, which happened mainly, but not only, in the Vilnius and Suwałki reg ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Biography

Adam Nieniewski was born May 19, 1886, in Zawady,

Kalisz Governorate Kalisz Governorate ( pl, gubernia kaliska, russian: Калишская губерния) was an administrative unit (a governorate) of Congress Poland. History It was created in 1837 from the Kalisz Voivodeship, and had the same borders and cent ...

to a family of Stanisław Nieniewski, a veteran of the January Uprising of 1863 and Halina née Wybicka, granddaughter of

Józef Wybicki Józef Rufin Wybicki (; 29 September 1747 – 10 March 1822) was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, jurist, Polish poet, poet, political and military activist of Kashubians, Kashubian descent. He is best remembered as the author of "Mazurek Dabrowskieg ...

, the author of Polish national anthem. After finishing primary school in Košice in 1897 he joined the cadet corps school in Hranice. After graduating from that school in 1904 he joined the Officer Cavalry School in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

. In 1907 he was promoted to cavalry ensign and assigned to the 6th Uhlans Regiment, where he served as a platoon and then squadron commander. He also continued his military education, first at various courses in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

and

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

, and then (since 1911) at the Academy of the General Staff in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. On November 1, 1912, he was promoted to lieutenant. In July 1914, during the mobilisation preceding the outbreak of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was assigned to the Imperial General Staff. During the war he served at various staff posts in the Austro-Hungarian headquarters, and then in the HQ of the 1st Army, in the Ministry of War and in 130th Mountain Brigade, where he served as the chief of staff. For his merits in 1915 he was promoted to captain. On May 23, 1916, he was assigned to the headquarters of Piłsudski's Polish Legions, where he served as the deputy chief of staff and was soon promoted to major (on December 1, 1916). Following the

Oath Crisis The Oath crisis ( pl, Kryzys przysięgowy) 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 ...

he was arrested on March 6 and interned in a prison camp in Hungary. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Nieniewski was released and joined the

. As one of the most experienced officers in Polish service, he was the second deputy chief of General Staff. On June 17, 1919, he became the chief of staff of General Haller's Blue Army after it arrived to Poland from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In addition, since September 1, 1919, he served as the chief of staff of the

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T� ...

front and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n Front. Between March and May 1920 he served as the chief of staff of the 1st Polish Army and, since July 5, of the 1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Infantry Division. On August 16, 1920, during the Battle of Warsaw, he was assigned as the commanding officer of Polish 4th Cavalry Brigade, which later became the core of the so-called ''Nieniewski's

Operational Group {{Unreferenced, date=October 2008 Operational Group ( pl, Grupa Operacyjna, abbreviated GO) 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 variou ...

'' during the Battle of the Niemen River. After the end of hostilities of the

, Nieniewski graduated from a Generals' Course and on January 10, 1921, he was promoted to Colonel of Cavalry. Between May 18 and September 25, 1921, he commanded the VII Infantry Brigade. After it was disbanded, he continued to command its troops within the 7th Infantry Division. In 1925 he briefly held the post of the deputy rector of the Higher War School, later to be renamed to the Polish Academy of the General Staff. In 1926 he was also the head of the Staff Officers Courses in the Cavalry School in

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...

. On January 31, 1928, he resigned all his posts and was demobilised. Retired, he withdrew to his wife's village of Chorzenice, where he lived in a local manor. During

he moved to a nearby village of Kłomnice, but in 1945 both these villages were confiscated by the new Soviet-backed communist authorities of Poland. In 1945 he was yet again mobilised by General

Michał Rola-Żymierski Michał Rola-Żymierski (; 4 September 189015 October 1989) was a Polish high-ranking Polish United Workers' Party, Communist Party leader, communist military commander and NKVD secret agent. He was appointed as Marshal of Poland by Joseph Stalin ...

and briefly served as the chief of staff of the

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

Military Area Command, but in August of that year he was again demobilised. Adam Nieniewski died April 27, 1947, in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

. He was buried in Wróblewo near

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

. His family manor in Chorzenice was turned into an orphanage.

Decorations

* Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...

* Officer's Cross of the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

- 4th Class *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three cl ...

* Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych'') - 4 times * Chevalier of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Biography

Decorations

Bibliography

See also