He was a prominent staffer who, as fewer as anyone, could combine the university explanation with the practice of the battlefield. He became 1 of the architects of unprecedented success of the Polish army – the triumph over Bolsheviks close Warsaw, yet he remained in the shadows for the remainder of his life. present is the 160th anniversary of the birth of General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozadowski.
Marshal Józef Piłsudski, General Tadeusz Rozwadowski, General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, Warsaw 1923.
When General Tadeusz Rozwadowski, head of the Polish Military Mission in Paris, was called to the country in July 1920, the situation of the Republic seemed hopeless. The Bolshevik war took a disastrous turn. Polish troops were unsuccessfully retreating under the force of the Red Army. In the south, the front commanded by Alexander Egorov and Joseph Stalin as a political commissioner moved to the area of Lviv. In particular, the infamous 1st Horse Army of the Budionny Semion was liable for ravaged areas. It was even worse in the north. There Mikhail Tuchachevsky's troops consistently They were pushing for Warsaw. Moreover, at that time it was clear that Poland could not number on the military intervention of France and the UK – exhausted by the large war, active in diplomatic games...
Marshal Józef Piłsudski He knew he had a fight about everything. To be or not to be a reborn state. According to the maxim, “all hands on board” he called for aid a man he knew well, but with whom he was not always along the way. He hoped for his cognition and experience, though not only. – Rozwadowski was an highly talented staffman. An educated soldier and a man of good repute. Above all, though, he was very optimistic. And with this optimism, he managed to infect the spiritless commanders," said Marcin Ołdak, head of the Warsaw conflict Museum in Ossów.
On 22 July, Rozwadowski took the position of Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army and began preparations for the most crucial conflict of his life. shortly his fortunate star was to shine with all its power.
Divisions in French
Tadeusz Rozwadowski was born in 1866 in Babina, which at the time belonged to the Austrian partition. He was born in a noble household with long military traditions. He besides chose to follow this path. He graduated from the Military method Academy and then the highly prestigious War School in Vienna. In the imperial army, he rapidly defeated the next stages of his career, besides gaining diplomacy. He served as a military attaché in Bucharest until the end of the century. On the eve of planet War I, he advanced to the rank of Major General, leading the 12th Artillery Brigade. He took part in the conflict of Gorlicami, placing large merit in breaking the Russian front. Soon, however, his career was devastated.
– In 1916, Rozwadowski was transferred to a state of rest, after openly opposed the brutal policy of Austrian troops towards the Polish population – explains Oldak. shortly too, the general began to strengthen his contacts with the Regency Council, which the central states established in the edition of the Russians of Warsaw. Technically, this body was to stay dependent on Austrians and Germans. However, in fact, utilizing the dynamic global situation, she began to play at the revival of the independent Republic.
On October 7, 1918, the Agency Council proclaimed Poland's independence, and respective days later entrusted Rozwadowski with the position of Head of the General Staff of the Polish Army. – The general started building structures of the Polish army. It was a immense organizational effort. While Piłsudski was inactive in the Magdeburg fortress, the seed of the Vistula Flotilla, the economical and War Guard, was formed, which was to defender the future borders and cavalry," says Oldak. And here, however, Rozwadowski did not warm up any longer. He left SGWP in mid-November. The reason was a dispute with Piłsudski over the form of an army. The recently baked chief of state wanted it to be based on volunteers, while the chief of staff was opting for forced conscription.
However, the general did not stay unattended. At his own request, he was appointed commander of the East Army, who fought with Ukrainians about the Lions. Reorganized the city's defense, managed to repel the enemy's strike, stabilized the front. It was thanks to him, among another things, that he yet found himself within the borders of the Republic. Then in the service of the country, Rozwadowski utilized the talent of a diplomat. In the spring of 1919 he became head of the Polish Military Mission in Paris.
By this time, the war against the Bolsheviks was already ongoing. - Gen. Rozadowski tried to get aid for a fighting country in Western countries. A lot's been done. Among another things, thanks to his procedures 10 Polish divisions were full equipped with French equipment – explains Dr Maciej Pieńkowski from the Military Historical Office. Soon, however, the conflict began to take an adverse turn for Poland. Soon, too, the general from the diplomat was to become a staffer again.
Content in the concept
The main task of Rozwadowski was to reorganize the Polish army. “The constantly retreating military, after the Tuchachevsky army offensive in Belarus, had to be regrouped and prepared for the counteroffensive,” explains Dr. Pieńkowski. Even at the beginning of July, the Polish command wanted to conduct specified a maneuver on the Bug line, based on the fortress in Brest. But it shortly turned out to be unrealistic. On August 2, 1920, the Brest fortress fell. So the only chance was to regroup behind the Vistula line.
W Warsaw was a feverish conference. On the night of 5-6 August, the plan of the battle, which was to reverse the destiny of the war and save Poland, was yet refined. In short, he assumed that the 1st Army of General Franciszek Latinika would halt the march of Bolshevik troops on the prefields of Warsaw, while the 3 and 4th Army divisions would bring a blow from the Pig to the weakest left wing of the russian Western Front. An crucial task was besides the 5th Army operating in the north General Władysław Sikorski. According to the assumptions, it was not only intended to withstand the opposition of the Bolsheviks, but besides to decision on to the actions over the Wrote.
On 6 August, the WP General Staff issued an order 8358/III to regroup troops for counteroffensive. It was signed by Rozwadowski. He besides wrote a hand-written secret operating order No. 10,000, setting out additional tasks for the mentioned army of General Sikorski. “This fact later became the origin of the dispute over the actual authorship of the success that the conflict of Warsaw ended,” notes Dr. Pieńkowski. – any historians point to Piłsudski, others depreciating his role, attributing merit to Rozwadowski. They point out that Piłsudski did not have the right powers to prepare the plan of operation and then to implement it – he was not a military educated man, and his experience of war was limited to commanding the legions brigade," he states. However, he adds that, in his view, the dispute is due to a deficiency of knowing of the function of chief. – Piłsudski at that time had civilian and military power in his hand. He had the primary work for the full state's armed forces and he made the decisions. Its task was to draw up general guidelines at strategical level. However, these had to be transferred to the operational level by giving appropriate orders to subordinate fronts, armies and divisions. In another words, detail. And for this was the head of the General Staff – explains Dr. Pieńkowski. It states that it is hard to reproduce the exact course of the already mentioned night gathering in Belvedere, but... there is no reason to diminish Piłsudski's function at the expense of Rozwadowski and vice versa. Also, Piłsudski’s departure to the Pig did not mean retreating into the shadows. – After all, the chief commander decided to direct the key and most risky component of the operation, including individual command over the maneuvering group of the Polish Central Front – the expert points out.
Such a thesis is confirmed even in war correspondence. According to the preserved documentation, Rozwadowski reported on the execution of Piłsudski's orders, while ensuring his loyalty. He besides congratulated the chief chief on the correct concept of counteroffensive. On the another hand, the marshal repeatedly stressed that without the contributions of General Rozwadowski and the hard work of the staff of success at Warsaw it would simply not be. But Sielanka did not last long.
"Very capable, without ability"
After the winning war, Rozwadowski remained in crucial positions in the army. He served as the general inspector of the cavalry. He besides entered the permanent Chapter of the Order of Virtuti Militari. Even then his relation with Piłsudski seemed correct. – The general was even at the head of the Polish Soldier Committee, which led to the construction of the Milusin Manor, a gift of soldiers for the chief chief – Oldak recalls.
In fact, however, the marshal had mixed feelings towards Rozwadowski. In a secret characteristic of the Polish generalization, he wrote about him: “A very capable, fast-aware head. The man with large expertise and surviving intelligence, however, immediately added: “No organizational and administrative capacity.” In the opinion of modern times, the general was a man of strong principles and advanced individual culture, but besides occasionally his conflicting character was known. The differences between him and the folk's environment began to grow. Rozwadowski accused sanctioning officers of politicizing the army.
This dispute reached the apogee in 1926, during May fall. Rozwadowski then spoke out against Piłsudski, taking sides with legal authorities. shortly it turned out he was in the loser camp. And although the marshal initially declared that he would not draw consequences against his opponents, Rozwadowski shortly ended up in custody. The military prosecutor accused him of abuse of power and of losing his army budget. The general was besides to be charged with the fact that during the May coup he gave orders to bomb the troops of the faithful Piłsudski deployed in Warsaw. He spent almost a year behind bars and was released only after further interventions, among others, of social organizations and technological communities. But his career was over.
Rozadowski left the army. And he's been seriously ill. He yet died in October 1928.
Rapid consequence Army
Rozwadowski in a consistent opinion of historians was 1 of the most talented commanders of the Second Polish Armed Forces. And a prominent military theorist. He appreciated the importance of military technology. He advocated upgrading the Polish army, equipping conventional cavalry with armored and motorized troops," explains Dr. Pieńkowski. Shortly before his death, the general besides prepared a paper in which he wrote about the necessity of creating high-ranking troops. With this solution, Poland would gain the ability to respond immediately to impacts from ZSRS and Germany. Rozwadowski did not uncertainty that sooner or later 1 of the neighbours would attack the Republic of Poland. According to his estimates, another war would take place in 1936. As it turned out, he didn't make a crucial mistake.
Historians agree that his dispute with Piłsudski, arrest and death is 1 of the saddest chapters in the past of pre-war Poland. It's hard to get over. It is good, however, that erstwhile organising the celebration of the next anniversary of the conflict of Warsaw in Ossów, we can remind that in the decisive minute for Poland Piłsudski and Rozwadowski stood on 1 side, they were able to cooperate together, and their abilities and determination brought quite a few good to the country – Oldak points out.
Gen. Rozadowski had no political ambitions, no publicity. He preferred to stay in the foreground, in the shadows. He never became a hero of collective consciousness. Years later, however, the army pays tribute. The year 2026 in the Armed Forces of Poland was established as the Year of Rozwadowski. Soon, too. in the courtyard of the office of the SGWP will become a memorial dedicated to it.
According to any historical sources, Gen. Rozwadowski was born not on 20, but on 19 May.
