Franciszek Latinik

Franciszek Latinik

Franciszek Ksawery Latinik (born July 17, 1864 in Tarnów , Galicia , † August 29, 1949 in Cracow ) was an Imperial Austro-Hungarian colonel in World War I and a Polish general and army leader in the Polish-Soviet War .

Life

He was born the son of Antoni Isidor Latinik, a geography teacher, and Cornelia, daughter of Theophilus Romer, in the then Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.

Military career in the Austro-Hungarian Army

In 1882 he graduated from the cadet school in Łobzów near Kraków and began to serve in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1885 he was made a lieutenant . In the years 1881-1891 he studied at the General Staff Academy in Vienna and then served as a staff officer in various units and later in the General Staff . During this time the comradeship arose with Tadeusz Rozwadowski , who served as chief of staff of a brigade, while Latinik worked in the cartographic office of the general staff. He moved to Lemberg for a long time , where he worked in the operations department of the XI. Army Corps was active. Back in Vienna, he was given a business trip to the Balkans to carry out strategic and tactical surveys in the area between Bosnia and Albania. In 1909 he was promoted to major and taught tactics at the officers' infantry school. In 1911 he received the rank of lieutenant colonel and in 1913 he became deputy commander of the infantry regiment in Opava .

After the outbreak of World War I, he took part in the 1st Army in the offensive to Lublin and fought near Annopol , Kraśnik , Rozwadow and Mielec . On September 17, 1914, he took command of the 100th Infantry Regiment, with which he took part in the fighting on the Nida during the battle of the Vistula in the association of the 23rd Infantry Brigade (Major General Miecislaus von Zaleski) . In the association of the superior 12th Infantry Troop Division (General Paul Kestranek ) he took part in the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów in May 1915 and was promoted to colonel in the same year . In 1916 he fought first in Volhynia and then on the new Romanian front, in spring 1917 he moved to the Isonzo front . In October 1917, the brigade he led took part in the 12th Isonzo Battle. From February 1918 he fought on the Tyrolean front and took command of the 8th Infantry Brigade. In June he was seriously injured in the last attacks by the Austro-Hungarian Army .

Service in the Polish Army

After Poland regained independence, he joined the Polish Army . From November 1918 to January 1919 he was the commandant of the garrison in Zamość, then he led the military district of Cieszyn . In January 1919 he repulsed Czech troops at the Silesian border near Skoczów . On May 30, 1919, he was appointed commander of the 6th Infantry Division, which was still under construction. From October 13, 1919 to March 1920, he commanded the 7th Infantry Division in Silesia. Latinik was promoted to lieutenant general on December 1, 1919 and served from February to August 1920 as a representative of the Polish army at the border and referendum commission in Cieszyn.

During the decisive battle of Warsaw in August 1920, as military governor of Warsaw, he also commanded the 1st Army of the Northern Front and distinguished himself with Radzymin in successfully repelling the Bolshevik offensive on the Polish capital. During the pursuit of the Red Army , he commanded the southern group of the 6th Army. On April 20, 1921, he was appointed commander of the Kielce Military District.

From September 20 to October 9, 1921, he was absent from Poznan for family matters and was replaced by General Pogorzelski . From November 15, 1921, he commanded Corps Command X in Przemyśl . On May 3, 1922, he was verified with the rank of major general with seniority from June 1, 1919 at Corps Command X. On November 30, 1923, the Minister of Military Affairs, General Szepycki , appointed him a member of a temporary organizing committee responsible for building the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. In March 1925, Latinik said goodbye and retired.

He received several high honors during his career, including the Order Virtuti Militari , in addition he was Commander of the Order Polonia Restituta .

Austrian military awards (as of December 31, 1918)

• Military Jubilee Cross 1908
• Military Jubilee Medal 1898
• Service badge for officers, 2nd class
• Karl-Troop Cross
• Military Merit Cross III. class
• Franz Joseph Cross Knight
• Order of the Iron Crown Knight III. Class, war decoration with swords
• Order of Leopold Knight's Cross, war decoration with swords
• Order of the Iron Crown Knight II class, war decoration with swords

literature

• Henryk Piotr Kosk: Generalicja polska , Popularny słownik biograficzny, Oficyna Wydawnicza, Pruszków 1998 (Polish)
• Tadeusz Kryska-Karski: Stanisław Żurakowski: Generałowie Polski niepodległej Edition Spotkania, Warszawa 1991 (Polish)

Web links

Commons : Franciszek Latinik  - collection of images, videos and audio files