Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski

Infobox Military Person
name=Tadeusz Komorowski
nickname=Bór


caption=
rank=Generał dywizji
date_of_birth=birth date|1895|6|1|mf=y
placeofbirth=Lwów, Galicia
date_of_death=death date and age|1966|8|24|1895|6|1|mf=y
placeofdeath=London, United Kingdom
profession=professional soldier
serviceyears=1910
units=CO of the Home Army
C-i-C of the Polish Army
Prime Minister of Poland
battles=Great War
Polish-Bolshevik War
Polish Defensive War
Operation Tempest
Warsaw Uprising
World War II
laterwork=politician, writer
portrayedby=
awards= |General Count Tadeusz Komorowski (Korczak Coat of Arms) (June 1, 1895 - August 24, 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code-names: "Bór" - "The Forest") was a Polish military leader.

Komorowski was born in Lwów, Austria-Hungary (now L'viv, Ukraine). In the First World War he served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, and after the war became an officer in the Polish Army, rising to command the Grudziądz Cavalry School.

The Uprising

After taking part in the fighting against the German invaders of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, Komorowski functioned as one of the organisers of the Polish underground in the Kraków area, with the code-name "Bór". In July 1941 he became deputy commander of the Home Army ("Armia Krajowa" or AK), and in March 1943 gained appointment as its commander, with the rank of Brigadier-General.

In mid 1944, as Soviet forces advanced into central Poland, the Polish government-in-exile in London instructed Bór-Komorowski to prepare for an armed uprising in Warsaw. The government-in-exile wished to return to a capital city liberated by Poles and not seized the Soviets, and to prevent the Communist take-over of Poland which Stalin had clearly set in train.

The Warsaw Uprising began on 1 August 1944, and the insurgents of the AK seized control of most of central Warsaw. Elements of the Soviet Army stood only 20 km away but on Stalin's orders gave no assistance: Stalin described the rising as a "criminal adventure." The British managed to drop some supplies by air but could give no direct assistance. The Germans employed large forces of SS and regular troops, plus auxiliary forces made up of Soviet Army deserters, who acted particularly brutal, under the command of Erich von dem Bach. In September he was promoted to General Inspector of the Armed Forces (Polish Commander-in-Chief).

Aftermath

After two months of fierce fighting Bór-Komorowski surrendered to the Germans on October 2, on condition that Germany treat the AK fighters as prisoners-of-war, which they did. Bór-Komorowski went into internment in Germany (at Oflag IV-C). Despite pressure from Germans, he refused to issue orders of surrender to Home Army units in German controlled Poland who continued fighting [http://www.mowiawieki.pl/drukuj.html?id_artykul=1164] . Liberated at the end of the war, he spent the rest of his life in London, where he played an active rôle in Polish "émigré" circles. From 1947 to 1949 he served as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile, which no longer had diplomatic recognition from most Western European countries. He wrote the story of his experiences in "The Secret Army" (1951). He died in London aged 71. [cite book|title=The Spring Will Be Ours: Poland and the Poles from Occupation to Freedom |author= Andrzej Paczkowski|year= 2003|publisher=Penn State Press|id=ISBN 0271023082|pages=196|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WoKQWem2yl4C&pg=RA2-PA196&ots=pLik5pnp66&dq=%22Tadeusz+Bor-Komorowski%22+intitle:poland&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=u_-bFovGDmDeqHpPrvhsNaicjhA]

ee also

* Operation Tempest
* Warsaw Uprising

References