Jan Jagmin-Sadowski (24 April 1895 – 5 October 1977), was a general 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 ...

, having served in World War I as a member of

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 beca ...

's legions, as well as commanding Polish forces during the invasion of Poland in 1939.

Early life

In the early 20th century, Sadowski studied mechanics at the

Lviv Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...

, and there he got in touch with Polish independence movement. He became a member of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

- Revolutionary Fraction, as well as the Polish Rifles and the

Sokół movement ''Sokół'' (, English: Falcon), or in full the Polskie Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne "Sokół" (), is the Poland, Polish offshoot of the Czech Sokol movement, and the oldest youth movement organization of Poland. Created in Lviv, Lwów in 1867, by th ...

Military career

After the outbreak of World War I, he joined the 1st Legionnaire Rifles Regiment as a volunteer. In 1914, he distinguished himself in battles at Anielin and Łaski, and the next year he fought at Łowiczowek, Konary and Jozefowek. In 1916, as a soldier of the

I Brigade of the Polish Legions Brigade I of the Polish Legions (, , ) was a unit of Austro-Hungarian Army, manned by Poles under Austrian occupation, part of the Polish Legions in World War I, existing from 1914 to 1917. History The First Brigade was formed on December 19, 1 ...

, he fought in the bloody battle of Kostiuchnówka. After 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 ...

, Sadowski, together with many other officers, was interned in a prisoner of war camp in

Beniaminów Beniaminów is a village in central Poland, administratively located in the Legionowo County in the Masovian Voivodeship. It is located east of Warsaw, between Legionowo and Nieporęt within the Warsaw metropolitan area. History Within the vi ...

. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, Sadowski, then a major, was an instructor at the School of Infantry Officers in Warsaw. In 1919 he entered the Polish Army Headquarters' School in Warsaw, then was sent on a two-year course to Ecole Superieure de Guerre in Paris. After graduation, Sadowski was promoted to colonel and became commandant of the elite 15. "Wolves" Infantry Regiment in

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...

. Later on, in 1931, he was named commandant of the Polish 23rd Infantry Division, stationed in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

. On 19 March 1939 Sadowski was promoted to general, and took command of the freshly created Fortified Area of Silesia. During the opening phase of the Second World War, the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, he was commandant of the ''Operational Group Silesia'', which was part of the

Kraków Army Kraków Army () was one of the List of Polish armies, Polish armies which took part in the Invasion of Poland (1939), Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by ...

. His units were engaged in heavy fights with the advancing

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, especially in the area of

Mikołów Mikołów (, ) is a town in Silesia, in southern Poland, near the city of Katowice. Outer town of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of over 2 million, and is within a greater Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area populated by abou ...

and

Wyry Wyry () () is a village in Mikołów County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wyry. It lies approximately south of Mikołów and south-west of the regional capital Katow ...

. However, the Germans managed to break through the Polish defences and Sadowski ordered his men to retreat behind the

Przemsza The Przemsza () is a river in the south of Poland, and a tributary of the Vistula. According to one view, it originates at the confluence of the Black () Przemsza and White (''Biała'') Przemsza, between the towns of Mysłowice and Jaworzno. For ...

. In mid-September 1939

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

reformed the Śląsk Operational Group into Operational Group ''Jagmin''. Sadowski's troops participated in the defence of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, then fought in the area of

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

and finally, in the

Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski The Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski took place from 18 September to 20 September 1939 near the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. It was the second largest battle

, where they were defeated. Surrendering to the Germans, Sadowski was kept in a POW camp for the duration of the war. In 1946 he returned to Poland, where he was forced to move to the army reserve.

Later life

In 1976 his name once again became famous, when Sadowski, protesting against conferring

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, ...

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

, together with other war weterans, left his own Virtuti Militari at the

Jasna Góra Monastery The Jasna Góra Monastery ( , ''Luminous or Light Mountain'', ) in Częstochowa, Poland, is a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary and one of the country's places of pilgrimage. The image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Ou ...

. He wrote several books, including ''Dzialania Grupy Operacyjnej "Śląsk" 1-3 września 1939 r.'' (''Activities of the Śląsk Operational Group, 1–3 September 1939'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jagmin-Sadowski, Jan 1895 births 1977 deaths People from Grójec Polish generals Polish Rifle Squads members Lviv Polytechnic alumni Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Polish legionnaires (World War I) Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Officers of the Legion of Honour Burials at Bródno Cemetery Polish prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany