Gustaw Konstanty Orlicz-Dreszer (October 2, 1889 − July 16, 1936) was a Polish general, and a political and social activist. Before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Orlicz-Dreszer was involved in pro-independence activities in

partitioned Poland Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of ...

. On 3 August 1914, at the outset of the war, he was mobilised as a reserve officer in a Russian hussar regiment. On 14 August, he deserted and crossed the front line. From 1914 to 1917 he served in the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions. He was arrested during 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, Piłsuds ...

. From 1918 he served in 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 ...

. During the Polish-Soviet War he commanded the 4th Cavalry Brigade and the 2nd Cavalry Division. From 1921−23 he was Cavalry Inspector. In 1923 he was promoted to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

. In November 1924, he was one of the officers who resigned from active service in the so-called strike of the generals; the joint resignation of the officers was, however, rejected. In 1924−26 he commanded the 2nd and then the 3rd Cavalry Division. During the May 1926 ''Coup d'État he supported

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

. In 1930 Orlicz-Dreszer became a member of ''ZG Liga Morska i Kolonialna'' (

Maritime and Colonial League The Maritime and Colonial League (Polish: ''Liga Morska i Kolonialna'') was a mass Polish social organization, created in 1930 out of the Maritime and River League (Liga Morska i Rzeczna). In the late 1930s it was directed by general Mariusz Zarus ...

). He created and promoted a development program for the Polish merchant marine. From 1930−36 he served as Inspector of the Polish Army and in 1936 as Inspector of Air Defense. Orlicz-Dreszer died in a plane accident, crashing in a

RWD-9 The RWD 9 was a Polish sports plane of 1934, constructed by the RWD team. Development The aircraft was a further development of the RWD 6 - the winner of the ''IIIrd Challenge de Tourisme International'' Challenge 1932 international tourist airc ...

plane into the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

near

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

while flying excessively low.

Awards

* 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 S ...

. * Grand Cross of the

Order of 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 achievemen ...

(previously awarded the Commander's Cross) * Cross of Independence with Swords * Cross of Valour (''Krzyż Walecznych''), four times * Gold Cross of Merit * Commander of the

Legion of Honour 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 Napoleo ...

(France)

Sources

References

Bibliography

* Sławomir Koper, Życie prywatne elit Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej, Warszawa 2011 * Dziennik Personalny Ministra Spraw Wojskowych nr 54 z 23.12.1926 * Przemysław Olstowski Generał Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer, Wyd. Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2000 * Zbigniew Mierzwiński: Generałowie II Rzeczypospolitej. Warszawa 1990: Wydawnictwo Polonia, pages 201-208 * Cezary Leżeński / Lesław Kukawski: O kawalerii polskiej XX wieku. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1991, page 22 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreszer-Orlicz, Gustaw 1889 births 1936 deaths People from Wołomin County People from Warsaw Governorate Polish Lutherans Polish people of German descent Polish generals Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members Polish Military Organisation members Russian military personnel of World War I Polish legionnaires (World War I) Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War People of the Polish May Coup (pro-Piłsudski side) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century Lutherans Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1936