Tadeusz Konstanty Anders served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

artillery officer in 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 ...

during the Interbellum Period, and as a

podpułkownik ''Podpolkovnik'' () is a military rank in Slavic peoples, Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. In different languages the exact name of this rank maintains a varie ...

(lt. col) in the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

during World War II. He was awarded 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, ...

V Class, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war.

Biography

Early life

Tadeusz Anders was born on June 7, 1902, in the village Błonie,

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, located approximately one kilometer north of

Krośniewice Krośniewice is a town in Kutno County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,258 inhabitants (2020). Transport The European routes E30 and E75 used to intersect in the town until a bypass was built around the town in 2010. The main railway betwe ...

. Tadeusz was the third and youngest son of Albert Anders, a German Balt and Elżbieta Anders ''née'' Tauchert,Władysław Anders on Technical University Rzeszów
/ref> and the brother of Władysław and

Karol Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India ** Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town *Karol Bagh, neighbourhood of Central Delhi, Delhi, India **Ka ...

. The Anders family was of German descent and Evangelical faith; Albert Anders' ancestors had settled in Poland in the first half of the 18th Century.

Military career

By the age of 16, Tadeusz Anders joined the

Polish Military Organisation The Polish Military Organisation, PMO (, POW) was a secret military organization that was formed during World War I (1914–1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914. It adopted the name ''POW'' in November 1914 and aimed to gathe ...

and served in the vicinity of Mińsk Litewski in 1918. From September 1919, he was stationed in Modlin as part of the II Cadet Corpus. With the onset of the

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 ...

, Anders served in the

15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

, only to be transferred to

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

in May 1921 to participate in the

Third Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (; ; ) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic at the time. Ethnic Polish and Polish-Silesian insurrectionists, seeking to have the area tra ...

. Upon completion of his

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

on June 25, 1922, Anders entered the Field Artillery Officers' School in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. On July 1, 1923, he advanced to the rank of

podporucznik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

(''the equivalent of

Junior Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, comparable to Sub-lieutenant. Germany In East Germany's National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956 and used until German reunification in 1990. Eastern Europe ...

'') while being assigned to the 29th Light Artillery Regiment. Two years later on July 1, 1925, he was promoted to

porucznik Porucznik (Por.) is a rank of the Polish Army, roughly equivalent to the military rank of the First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of ...

(''

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

''). After his promotion in 1925, Anders was transferred to the 11th Mounted Artillery Division. From 1931 to 1934, he served as an instructor in the Reserve Officers' Cadet School in

Włodzimierz Wołyński Volodymyr (, ), previously known as Volodymyr-Volynskyi () from 1944 to 2021, is a small city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Volodymyr Raion and the center of Volodymyr urban hromada. It is one ...

. On January 1, 1934, he was promoted to

. Afterwards, he was transferred to

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

, where he served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

in the 4th Mounted Artillery Division.

World War II

Anders remained at the 4th Mounted Artillery Division in Suwałki until the beginning of the

September Campaign 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 Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Sovie ...

, where the 4th Mounted Artillery Division was incorporated ''in situ'' into the Cavalry Brigade "Edward". Apart from the 4th Mounted Artillery Division, Cavalry Brigade "Edward" also consisted of the 3rd Masovian Light Cavalry Regiment, the 3rd Mounted Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Uhlan Regiment, which was commanded by Tadeusz's older brother, Karol Anders, who then held the rank of

('' Lieutenant Colonel''). The brigade was tasked with the protection of the defensive corridor formed between the Suwałki and

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

regions. During the September Campaign, the brigade retreated south to protect the

Romanian Bridgehead __NOTOC__ The Romanian Bridgehead (; ) was an area in southeastern Poland that is now located in Ukraine. During the invasion of Poland in 1939 at the start of the Second World War, the Polish commander-in-chief, Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz- ...

. Both Anders brothers, along with the rest of brigade, participated in the Battle of Kock. At the conclusion of the September Campaign, Tadeusz Anders evaded capture. He made his way to France and joined Sikorski's Army. Next, he made his way to the II Polish Corps, which was led by his eldest brother, Władysław. There, Tadeusz was appointed commander of the 7th Mounted Artillery Regiment. In December 1944, the 7th Mounted Artillery Regiment was regrouped into the 7th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment and he was appointed commander of the new regiment. While serving in the 7th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, Anders was promoted first to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and then to podpułkownik (''Lieutenant Colonel''). By the end of World War II, the II Polish Corps was transferred to Great Britain. Shortly thereafter, Anders emigrated to the United States. He died on July 7, 1995, in New York City. He was laid to rest at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, located near

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. Doylestown is located northwest of Trent ...

. His tomb can be found at the cemetery dedicated to the Polish Veterans of World War II.

Family

His brothers were Karol Anders and Lt. General

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, the latter being the commander of the

Polish II Corps The 2nd Polish Corps (), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought with distinction in the Italian Ca ...

.Englert, Juliusz L., and Krzysztof Barbarski. 1990. General Anders. London: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum.

References

Bibliography

*
Personal acts collection no. 154/012 at the Piłsudski Institute of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anders, Tadeusz 1902 births 1995 deaths People from Krośniewice People from Warsaw Governorate Polish people of German descent Polish Military Organisation members Polish Army officers Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel of World War II Polish emigrants to the United States Individuals associated with the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland)