- Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki
Infobox Military Person
name=Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki
rank=
died=death date|1939|9|19|mf=y
placeofdeath=Tułowice, Poland
born=birth date|1894|1|13|mf=y
placeofbirth=Skotniki,Congress Poland ,Russian Empire
serviceyears=1914-1939
commands=
battles=Great War,Polish-Ukrainian War ,Polish-Bolshevik War , Invasion of Poland
awards=Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki (IPAudio|Grzmot-skotnicki.ogg| [sta'nisu̯af 'gʐmɔt skɔt'niʦki] ; 1894-1939) was a Polish military commander and a
general of thePolish Army . During the Invasion of Poland of 1939 he commanded theCzersk Operational Group and was among the highest ranking Polish officers to bekilled in action in that war.Stanisław Skotnicki was born
January 13 ,1894 in the village of Skotniki (being the root of hissurname which literally means "lord of Skotniki"), to a family of Polish nobility (bearing the coat-of-arms of Clan Bogoria of which the lords of Skotniki are among the most ancient and prominent branches). After graduating from a gymnasium inRadom , he was sent to a Trade Academy inSankt Gallen inSwitzerland . There he formed a unit of theZwiązek Strzelecki and started organizing military training for the Polish emigrees and students. It was then he adopted hisnom de guerre of "Grzmot" (Polish language forthunder ), which later formed a part of his surname. Upon the outbreak of the Great War he returned to Poland, to Austro-Hungarian Galicia, where he volunteered for the service in the Polish Legions. In August of 1914 he became the member of the famousBelina's Patrol underWładysław Belina-Prażmowski , the first detachment of thePolish Cavalry to cross the border with Russian-held part of Poland. Later in the war he served in the cavalry regiment of the Legions, in which he commanded a platoon and then a squadron. After theOath Crisis of 1917 he was interned in a camp inBeniaminów .After
Poland regained her independence in November of 1918 Stanisław Grzmot-Skotnicki took part in re-creation of his cavalry regiment, which later adopted the name of 1st Regiment of Light Cavalry ofJózef Piłsudski ("1. pułk szwoleżerów im. marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego"). As one of its commanders he took part in thePolish-Ukrainian War , after which he was sent to the newly-created School of Cavalry Officers inWarsaw , and then to the Application School of Cavalry inSaumur in France.Upon his return, in August of 1920 he became the commanding officer of the 8th Cavalry Brigade and then the entire 2nd Cavalry Division on the fronts of the
Polish-Bolshevik War . After the war he became the head instructor at the Centre for Cavalry Training inGrudziądz . Between 1924 and 1927 he was the commander of the prestigiousPoznań -based 15th Uhlan Regiment. Since 1927 he commanded the 9th Independent Cavalry Brigade. After the reorganization ofPolish Cavalry in 1932 he commanded the "Baranowicze " cavalry brigade of theBorder Defence Corps and then theNowogródek Cavalry Brigade . Since 1937 he served as the commander of thePomeranian Cavalry Brigade .At the start of the Invasion of Poland in 1939, he commanded his unit as the core of the "
Czersk "Operational Group which was to shield theVistula river crossings against the German offensive and to protect the flanks of thePomorze Army . After that unit's defeat in thebattle of Tuchola Forest , he withdrew with the remnants of his unit to the south. During theBattle of the Bzura River he commanded a small improvised infantry unit, with which he headed forWarsaw after the Polish defeat in the battle. OnSeptember 18 ,1939 , he was heavily wounded in the village of Tułowice and died of wounds the following day. Initially buried on the spot, in 1952 his body was exhumated and moved toWarsaw 'sPowązki Cemetery .References
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