Piotr Skuratowicz (1 August 1891 – 1940) was a Polish military commander and a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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 ...

. A renowned

cavalryman Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, a victim of the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

of 1940 murdered by the

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) se ...

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

in the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. Piotr Marian Skuratowicz was born 1891 in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He joined the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, where he received officer's training. During

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 ...

he was drafted to the army and served with distinction on the Eastern Front. In 1917 he joined the 1st Polish Corps being formed in Russia, he was sent to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

and then to France, where he joined Gen.

Józef Haller Józef Haller (''de Hallenburg''; 13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a Polish lieutenant general and legionary in the Polish Legions during the First World War. He was a harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the p ...

's Blue Army. In June 1919 he returned with his unit to the re-established Poland.

Fight for independence

During the Polish-Bolshevik War he distinguished himself as a skilled cavalry commander and in 1920 he was made the commanding officer of the 6th Mounted Rifle Regiment. After the war he remained in the army and, following 1932, became the commander of

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

-based XII Cavalry Brigade. In 1937 came the peak of his career, when he was appointed to the Polish Ministry of Military Affairs as the chief of Cavalry Department. Throughout the entire interbellum period (after 1922) he was also the commander of

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 ...

-based Centre for Cavalry Training. Promoted to the rank of

in the spring of 1939, he became the commanding officer of the Dubno Operational Group, formed of various march battalions of cavalry units. With that unit he was to reinforce the Polish troops fighting with the Germans after the outbreak of 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 ...

. However, after the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

of September 17, his post was taken by Stefan Hanka-Kulesza and the unit was destroyed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

soon afterwards.

Death in Kharkov (part of the Katyn massacre)

After the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, Skuratowicz was taken prisoner of war together with thousands of other Polish military and police personnel. He was held in the special

interrogation camp for Polish PoWs in Starobelsk.J.K.Zawodny ''Death in the Forest'' Notre Dame, 1962 Page 146''The Crime of Katyn'' Polish CultUral Foundation 1989, . Page 19 He was then murdered, aged forty-eight, in the

Katyń massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by the Soviet Union, specifically the NKVD (the Soviet secret police), at ...

of 1940, in spring 1940 by in the NKVD prison in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

and buried in one of the unnamed mass graves in Piatykhatky (nowadays part of Kharkiv). Poland could establish a cemetery for the victims of the Katyn massacre murdered in Kharkov there only in 2000. It was officially inaugurated on 17 June 2000 and it is called the Cemetery of the Victims of Totalitarianism (as also victims other than Poles those killed in the Katyn massacre, rest there). Among the victims of the Katyn massacre were 14 Polish generals. Apart from Skuratowicz, eight others were also murdered in Kharkov, namely:

Leon Billewicz Leon Billewicz (April 25, 1870 in Werbiczna – April 1940) was a Polish officer and a General of the Polish Army. He was murdered during the Katyń massacre. Biography Service Initially serving with the Imperial Russian Army, in November 19 ...

, Stanisław Haller, Aleksander Kowalewski, Kazimierz Łukoski,

Konstanty Plisowski Konstanty Plisowski of the Odrowąż coat of arms (8 June 1890 – 1940) was a Polish general and military commander. He was the Commander in the battle of Jazłowiec and the battle of Brześć Litewski. He was murdered in Katyn. Biography ...

, Franciszek Sikorski, Leonard Skierski,

Alojzy Wir-Konas Alojzy Wir-Konas (born Alojzy Konas, 1894–1940) was a military commander in the Polish Army, commanding the 38th Infantry Division during the Invasion of Poland. He was murdered in the Katyn massacre. Early life and career Alojzy Konas was bo ...

. Four were murdered in Katyn, namely: Bronisław Bohaterewicz, Xawery Czernicki (admiral), Henryk Minkiewicz,

Mieczysław Smorawiński Brigadier General Mieczysław Makary Smorawiński (1893–1940), was a Polish military commander and officer of the Polish Army. He was one of the Polish generals identified by forensic scientists of the Katyn Commission as the victim of the Sovi ...

; and one,

Rudolf Prich Rudolf Prich (6 August 1881 – 1940)Indeks Represjonowanych - Rudolf Pri ...

, is among the victims from the so-called Ukrainian Katyn List.; ; ; ; ; ;

Honours and awards

* 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

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

* Gold Cross of Merit * Medal of Independence * Knight's Cross of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

(France)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skuratowicz, Piotr 1891 births 1940 deaths Military personnel from Minsk People from Minsky Uyezd Polish generals Belarusian people of World War I Polish military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I Military personnel of the Russian Empire Blue Army (Poland) personnel Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel killed in World War II Belarusian people of World War II Belarusian people executed by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Medal of Independence Knights of the Legion of Honour Katyn massacre victims