Roman Józef Abraham (28 February 1891 – 26 August 1976) was a Polish cavalry general, commander of the

Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade (Polish: ''Wielkopolska Brygada Kawalerii'') was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the Cavalry Brigade "Poznań". Its headquarters were stationed in P ...

during the German and Soviet Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and

Battle of Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was both the largest battle and Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Goog ...

commander of Polish cavalry (combined cavalry unit). During the Second Polish Republic, he was Brigadier-General and, for a short period, from 1930 to 1931, Abraham was also a member of the Polish Parliament.

Early life and education

Abraham was born in Lwów, in what was then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(later in

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 Ukrai ...

, now

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He was the son of

Władysław Abraham Władysław Henryk Franciszek Abraham, a Polish lawyer and scientist, was born on 10 October 1860 in Sambor. A graduate of law and philosophy departments of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, he was a specialist in Canon law. After habilitati ...

, professor of

Canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and rector of the University of Lwów. He studied at the

Jesuit School in Chyrów The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

in Bąkowice, graduating in 1910. He then studied at the Faculty of Philosophy and Law at Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów, graduating in 1915.

Military service

World War I

During World War I he served from August 1914 to October 1918 in the Austro-Hungarian army in the 1st Regiment of Uhlans of National Defence, fighting on the French, Romanian, Russian, Serbian and Italian fronts, ending his service as a Lieutenant in the cavalry.''Generałowie II Rzeczypospolitej'' s. 12

Polish-Ukrainian War

At the end of World War I, he joined the Polish Military Cadres in Lwów. From 1 November 1918 in the reformed Polish Army in the rank of lieutenant, he was the commander of the Góra Strudenia sector in Lwów.
He created his own unit, later called "Straceńcami". The unit fought successfully in various defences of Lwów, in the defence of Persenkówka, and in Śródmieście. The unit raised the Polish banner at the Lwów City Hall at dawn on 22 November, and on 24 November 1918 he was appointed the rank of Captain. However, his troops were accused of numerous robberies. An account, for instance, cited that the Galician unit he commanded allegedly plundered from peasants living in captured Ukrainian villages, hauling all that could be transported to Lwów.
From January to August 1919 he commanded an independent battalion, regiment and Operational Group in the division of Colonel Władysław Sikorski. From August 1919, he was an officer in the operating department and an observer in the 59th Air Force Squadron. He also participated in Polish-Ukrainian battles around Przemyśl.''O kawalerii polskiej XX wieku '' s. 65

Polish-Bolshevik War

In 1920, Abraham defended the city of Lwów during the Polish-Bolshevik War. He was wounded during the conflict but he continued performing his duties, commanding his unit whilst being carried on a stretcher.

World War II

In the September Campaign in 1939, he commanded Wielkopolska Brygada Kawalerii as part of the "Poznań" Army, commanded by gen.

Tadeusz Kutrzeba Tadeusz Kutrzeba (15 April 1885 – 8 January 1947) was a general of the army during the Second Polish Republic. He served as a major general in the Polish Army in overall command of Army Poznań during the 1939 German Invasion of Poland. Biogr ...

. He fought in the area of

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

Śrem Śrem () is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It is the seat of Śrem County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. As of 1995, the population of Śrem was 29,800. Śrem is to the south of Poznań, a local road junction on the road from ...

and

Rawicz Rawicz (; ) is a town in west-central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants as of 2004. It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Rawicz County. History The ...

. From 9 September in the Battle of Bzura he commanded attacks on Sobota and Walewice and from 13 September he took part in heavy fighting in the area of Brochów, Sieraków and Laski. From 15 to 21 September Leżeński i Kukawski O kawalerii polskiej XX wieku. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1991, s. 65. he commanded the Operational Group of his own name, which included the Wielkopolska Brygada Kawalerii and the Podolska Brygada Kawalerii. Some of the units from the first Brigade reached Warsaw on 20 September. General Abraham was the only commander of the cavalry tactical unit, which throughout the entire combat trail of the September campaign did not suffer a single defeat, did not lose a single battle. Near Brochów and Sochaczew the German 4th Panzer Division and 2nd Light Division withdrew from his soldiers. On September 23, Maj. Gen. T. Kutrzeba appointed Brig. Gen. Roman Abraham commander of the Collective Cavalry Brigade in the defense of Warsaw. As its head he fought until the capitulation of the capital city on September 28. From 1939 to 1945 he was a

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 ...

in Oflag VII-A Murnau in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. A handwritten card sent by Abraham to his friend in Chicago from his prison has been preserved, and is currently part of the Centralne Muzeum Jeńców Wojennych's collection.

Decorations

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, ...

, Silver Cross (1922) * Cross of Merit, Gold Cross (1930, 1938, 1940) *

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, ...

, Officer's Cross (1933) * Cross of Independence with Swords (1933) *

, Golden Cross (1961) *

, Commander's Cross (1970) * Cross of Valour 5 times * Lwów Defence Cross *

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 ...

, Knight's Cross (France)

References

*http://www.generals.dk/general/Abraham/Roman/Poland.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Roman 1891 births 1976 deaths Military personnel from Lviv Military personnel of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members Polish generals of the Second Polish Republic Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel of World War II Polish prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) People associated with Chyrów Recipients of the commemorative badge Orlęta