16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment of General Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer (

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

: 16 Pulk Ulanow Wielkopolskich im. gen. dyw. Gustawa Orlicz-Dreszera, 16 p.ul.) was a cavalry unit 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 stret ...

in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. In the interbellum period, it was garrisoned in the city of

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

. The traditions of the regiment date back to the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

. In 1809, a cavalry unit was formed in

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

, by Colonel Marcin Tarnowski. The unit was later named 16th Uhlan Regiment of the Duchy of Warsaw, and it was garrisoned in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. Currently, traditions of the regiment are continued by the 7th Pomeranian Brigade of Coastal Defence (7. Pomorska Brygada Obrony Wybrzeza). On December 29, 1918, in the town of Lwowek,

Provinz Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

, a cavalry unit was formed by Sergeant Wojciech Swierczek. The unit consisted of ethnic Poles from

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

, who had served in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. On January 5, the unit, commanded by Swierczek, became part of the Greater Poland Army, fighting against Germany in the

Greater Poland Uprising (1918–19) Greater Poland Uprising (also Wielkopolska Uprising or Great Poland Uprising) may refer to a number of armed rebellions in the region of Greater Poland: * Greater Poland Uprising (1794) * Greater Poland Uprising (1806) * Greater Poland Uprising ( ...

. In May 1919, the Second Regiment of Greater Poland Uhlans, based on the unit of Sergeant Swierczek, was formed in

Biedrusko Biedrusko is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Suchy Las, within Poznań County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies on the Warta river, approximately north of the regional capital Poznań. In 2006 the vil ...

. On November 18, 1919, in front of the town hall in Poznan, Colonel Paslawski of the regiment received a flag, handed to him by General

Jozef Dowbor-Musnicki Jozef or Józef is a Dutch language, Dutch, Breton language, Breton, Polish language, Polish and Slovak language, Slovak version of masculine given name Joseph. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list see and .. * J ...

. The flag featured the Mother of God on one side, and a red cross with a white eagle in the middle on the other side. Buried during

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 opposin ...

, it is now kept at the

Polish Army Museum Museum of the Polish Army ( pl, Muzeum Wojska Polskiego) is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it occupies a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum as w ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. On January 24, 1920, the regiment entered Bydgoszcz, to stay there until 1939. It was garrisoned in the barracks located on Szubinska Street. In March 1920, after renaming into 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment, the unit was transported east, to fight in the Polish-Soviet War. It distinguished itself in several battles and clashes. In 1938, the regiment was named after General

Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer Gustaw Konstanty Orlicz-Dreszer (October 2, 1889 − July 16, 1936) was a Polish general, and a political and social activist. Before World War I, Orlicz-Dreszer was involved in pro-independence activities in partitioned Poland. On 3 August 1914 ...

. Mobilized in late August 1939, the regiment, commanded by Colonel Julian Arnoldt-Russocki, was ordered to defend the positions in the

Tuchola Forest The Tuchola Forest, also known as Tuchola Pinewoods or Tuchola Conifer Woods, (the latter a literal translation of pl, Bory Tucholskie; csb, Tëchòlsczé Bòrë; german: Tuchler or Tucheler Heide) is a large forest complex near the town of Tuch ...

, near

Chojnice Chojnice (; , or ''Chòjnice''; german: Konitz or ''Conitz'') is a town in northern Poland with 39,423 inhabitants as of December 2021, near the Tuchola Forest. It is the capital of the Chojnice County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. History Pias ...

and

Tuchola Tuchola (german: Tuchel; csb, Tëchòlô) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. The Pomeranian town, which is the seat of Tuchola County, had a population of 13,418 . Geographical location Tuchola lies about n ...

. After heavy fighting against panzer units of General

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the " blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in t ...

and being bombed by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, the regiment ceased to exist on September 7. By that time, it had lost 40% of its soldiers. The regiment had its own zurawiejka: “Even though they are drinking straight from the barrel, they are not drunk, the uhlans from Bydgoszcz”.

Sources

* Roman Abraham: Wspomnienia wojenne znad Warty i Bzury. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1990 * Kazimierz Satora: Opowieści wrześniowych sztandarów. Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1990

Sources

See also