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 Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

and a veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

Polish–Lithuanian War The Polish–Lithuanian War was an undeclared war fought in the aftermath of World War I between newly independent Lithuania and Poland, with fighting mainly in the Vilnius and Suwałki regions, which was part of the Lithuanian Wars of Independe ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

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

Kalisz Governorate Kalisz Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. History It was created in 1837 from the Kalisz Voivodeship, and had the same borders and centre (Kalisz) as the voivodeship. T ...

to a family of Stanisław Nieniewski, a veteran of the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

of 1863 and Halina née Wybicka, granddaughter of

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

, the author of

Polish national anthem "Poland Is Not Yet Lost", also known in Polish as "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (; ) and formerly the "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy", is the national anthem of Poland. The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, in No ...

. After finishing primary school in

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

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 (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) 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 administr ...

. 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. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

and

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) 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 is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

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

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. 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 (; German language, German: ''Eidkrise'') was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central P ...

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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( ; or ; or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided betwe ...

front and

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

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 Division The 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division (, 1.DL-B; ; ) was a volunteer unit of the Polish Army formed around December 1918 and January 1919 during the Polish–Soviet War. It was created out of several dozen smaller units of self-defence forces c ...

. On August 16, 1920, during the Battle of Warsaw, he was assigned as the commanding officer of

Polish 4th Cavalry Brigade The IV Cavalry Brigade (Polish ''IV Brygada Kawalerii'') was a unit of the Polish Army during the Polish-Bolshevik War and later in the inter-war period. It was commanded by Major Feliks Jaworski and then by Colonel Adam Nieniewski. During the ...

, which later became the core of the so-called ''Nieniewski's

Operational Group Operational Group (, GO) was the highest level type of tactical division of the Polish Army at various points in the 20th century, mainly during the Second World War. Polish-Bolshevik War (1919-1921) Operational groups first appeared in the Polis ...

'' during the

Battle of the Niemen River The Battle of the Niemen River was the second-largest battle of the Polish–Soviet War. It took place near the middle Neman River between the cities of Suwałki, Grodno and Białystok. After suffering almost complete defeat in the Battle of ...

. 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 (, ) 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 province. Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...

. 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, and served in t ...

and briefly served as the chief of staff of the

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

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

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

. He was buried in Wróblewo near

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. 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"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

* Officer's Cross of the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, ...

- 4th Class *

Cross of Independence Cross of Independence () was the second highest Polish military decoration 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 classes. History The Cr ...

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

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Biography

Decorations

Bibliography

See also