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Franciszek Sikorski
Franciszek Józef Sikorski (4 October 1889 Lwów – spring 1940 Kharkov) was a Polish engineer, Brigadier general of the Polish Army and a murdered victim of the Katyn Massacre. Life Sikorski was born in Lemberg, Austrian Galicia, and graduated from the local technical college. Before World War I, he was an active member of several Polish paramilitary organizations, including Union of Active Struggle and Riflemen's Association. In 1912, he completed a military course for officers, and joined Polish Legions in World War I, as battalion commandant in the 3rd and later 4th Infantry Regiment. In January 1915, Sikorski was promoted to captain. After the Oath crisis of 1917, he was arrested, and forced to join the Austro-Hungarian Army. In January 1918, he became the commandant of Lwów District of Polish Military Organisation. In November 1918, Sikorski joined the newly created Polish Army, serving as commandant of the 13th Rifle Regiment of the 4th Division of Polish Rifles (General ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Warsaw (1920)
The Battle of Warsaw (; , ), also known as the Miracle on the Vistula (), was a series of battles that resulted in a decisive Polish victory and complete disintegration of the Red Army in August 1920 during the Polish–Soviet War. After the Polish Kiev offensive, Soviet forces launched a successful counterattack in summer 1920, forcing the Polish army to retreat westward. The Polish forces seemed on the verge of disintegration and observers predicted a decisive Soviet victory. The Battle of Warsaw was fought from August 1920, as Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached the Polish capital of Warsaw and the nearby Modlin Fortress. On August 16, Polish forces commanded by Józef Piłsudski counterattacked from the south, disrupting the enemy's offensive, forcing the Russian forces into a disorganized withdrawal eastward and behind the Neman River. Estimated Russian losses were 10,000 killed, 500 missing, 30,000 wounded and 66,000 taken prisoner, compared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) secret police organization, and thus had a monopoly on intelligence and state security functions. The NKVD is known for carrying out political repression and the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin, as well as counterintelligence and other operations on the Eastern Front of World War II. The head of the NKVD was Genrikh Yagoda from 1934 to 1936, Nikolai Yezhov from 1936 to 1938, Lavrentiy Beria from 1938 to 1946, and Sergei Kruglov in 1946. First established in 1917 as the NKVD of the Russian SFSR, the ministry was tasked with regular police work and overseeing the country's prisons and labor camps. It was disbanded in 1930, and its functions dispersed among other agencies before being reinstated as a commissariat of the Soviet Union ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starobilsk
Starobilsk (; ) is a city in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Starobilsk Raion. The modern settlement was founded in 1686, and it was granted city status in 1938. The city has a population of As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has been under Russia, Russian occupation since 2 March 2022. History Prehistory Presumably, Starobilsk traces its heritage to the Sloboda (settlement), settlement of Bielska Sloboda which originally might have been named after Okolnichy Bogdan Belsky of Litvin Belsky family (Gediminid), Bielsky family who at that time was a subject of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Bielsky arrived at the banks of Donets, Siversky Donets to build a fortress at the southern borders ''Tsare-Borisov'' (after Muscovite Tsardom of Russia, Tsar Boris Godunov) which was erected not far away in 1598–1600. In 1602 Godunov became suspicious of Belsky and order him to be arrested, stripped of any estates, and exiled to Siberia. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. These may include isolating them from enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and Repatriation, repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishment, prosecution of war crimes, labour exploitation, recruiting or even conscripting them as combatants, extracting collecting military and political intelligence, and political or religious indoctrination. Ancient times For much of history, prisoners of war would often be slaughtered or enslaved. Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls (''Galli''). Homer's ''Iliad'' describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. The territory has a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and a temperate climate. Poland is composed of Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 million people, and the List of European countries by area, fifth largest EU country by area, covering . The capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city is Warsaw; other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, and Gdańsk. Prehistory and protohistory of Poland, Prehistoric human activity on Polish soil dates to the Lower Paleolithic, with continuous settlement since the end of the Last Gla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Lwów (1939)
The Battle of Lwów (sometimes called the ''Siege of Lwów'') was a World War II battle for the control over the Poland, Polish city of Lviv, Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) between the Polish Army and the invading Wehrmacht and the Red Army. The city was seen as the key to the so-called Romanian Bridgehead and was defended at all costs. First clashes Initially, the city was not to be defended, as it was considered to be too deep behind the Polish lines and too important to Polish culture for warfare. However, the speed of the Nazi invasion and the almost-complete disintegration of the Polish reserve Prusy Army after the Battle of Łódź (1939), Battle of Łódź resulted in the city being in danger of a German assault. On September 7, 1939, General Władysław Langner started to organise the defence of the city., see also general reference No. 2 Initially, the Polish forces were to defend the Bełżec, Lublin Voivodeship, Bełżec – Rawa Ruska – Maheriv, Magierów line against th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brzesc
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the administrative center of Brest Region and Brest District, though it is administratively separated from the district. it has a population of 346,061. Brest is one of the oldest cities in Belarus and a historical site for many cultures, as it hosted important historical events, such as the Union of Brest and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Furthermore, the Brest Fortress was recognized by the Soviet Union as a Hero Fortress in honour of the defense of Brest Fortress in June 1941. In the High Middle Ages, the city often passed between Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus', and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the Late Middle Ages, the city was part of Lithuania, which later became a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569. In 1795, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Brygady
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. March 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/77489?rskey=dCKrg4&result=1 (accessed May 11, 2021) The adjective ''general'' had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. French Revolutionary system Arab system Other variations Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks: * Adjutant general * Commandant-general * Inspector general * General-in-chief * General of the Air Force (USAF only) * General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant * (" general ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Infantry Division (Poland)
The 9th Infantry Division () was a unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. For most of 1919, the 9th Division's regiments were dispersed across the regions of Podlachia, Polesie and Volhynia, with one battalion sent to Dąbrowa Basin. Formation The division was originally formed in 1919. Stationed in Siedlce. The 9th Division's history begins in the early summer of 1919. It was formed on June 12 of that year, in Polesia, out of units of Operational Group Polesie, commanded by General Antoni Listowski. At that time, it was divided into two Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigade: * 17th Infantry Brigade ( 15th and 22nd Infantry Regiments), * 18th Infantry Brigade (34th and 35th Infantry Regiments), * 9th Artillery Brigade (9th Field Artillery Regiment, 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment). Polish and German conflict On February 5, 1919, the division attacked the German-occupied Brest Fortress. After four days, the Germans decided to negotiate, and hand over th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he became an increasingly dominant figure in Polish politics and exerted significant influence on shaping the country's foreign policy. Piłsudski is viewed as a father of the Second Polish Republic, which was re-established in 1918, 123 years after the final partition of Poland in 1795, and was considered ''de facto'' leader (1926–1935) of the Second Republic as the Minister of Military Affairs (Poland), Minister of Military Affairs. Seeing himself as a descendant of the culture and traditions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Piłsudski believed in a multi-ethnic Poland—"a home of nations" including indigenous ethnic and religious minorities. Early in his political career, Piłsudski became a leader of the Polish Socialist Party. Bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May Coup (Poland)
The May Coup ( or ) was a coup d'état carried out in Poland by Marshal Józef Piłsudski from 12 to 14 May 1926. The attack of Piłsudski's supporters on government forces resulted in the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of President Stanisław Wojciechowski and Prime Minister Wincenty Witos and caused hundreds of fatalities. A new government was installed, headed by Kazimierz Bartel. Ignacy Mościcki became president. Piłsudski remained the dominant politician in Poland until his death in 1935. Background Józef Piłsudski, who controlled politics in the reestablished Polish state to a considerable degree, had lost his advantage in the aftermath of the failed Kiev offensive of spring 1920.Andrzej Chwalba, ''Przegrane zwycięstwo. Wojna polsko-bolszewicka 1918–1920'' he Lost Victory: Polish–Bolshevik War 1918–1920 Wydawnictwo Czarne, Wołowiec 2020, , p. 296. He retained high esteem in segments of the armed forces that originated from his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
