Stanislaw Puchalski

Stanisław Puchalski (around 1914)

Stanisław Puchalski (* 5. January 1867 in Wapowce , Poland ; † 16th January 1931 in Warsaw ) was a Field Marshal Lieutenant of the Austro-Hungarian Army , Commander of the Polish Legions and division general of the Polish army .

Military background

Puchalski completed his training at the military school von Güns , at the military-technical academy in Vienna (1884-1887) and in the general staff school (1890-1893). In 1887 his officer career began as a second lieutenant in the 10th Infantry Regiment. In 1890 he was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1903, already with the rank of major, Puchalski was commanding the staff of the 45th Landwehr Infantry Division. In 1910 he became a colonel and a year later he took over command of the kuk infantry regiment No. 20 "Heinrich Prince of Prussia", which was barracked in Cracow and 80% of which consisted of Polish compatriots.

At the beginning of the First World War he led his regiment as part of the 12th Division (FML Kestranek ) as a reserve of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army in the Kraśnik area against the Russians. Shortly thereafter, he took over command of the 24th Infantry Brigade, which moved to the northern bank of the Vistula in October 1914 and was deployed in the battle of the Vistula as part of the Imperial and Royal I. Corps . Between February and November 1916, Puchalski commanded the Polish Legion, which was assigned to the Hauer Corps and was temporarily subordinate to the Austro- Hungarian 4th Army in Volhynia during the Brusilov offensive . From February 1917 he took over command of the 12th Infantry Division, which was deployed in the Forest Carpathians and from May 1917 was relocated to the Italian theater of war. From August 1917 Puchalski's division was under the XXIII. Corps on the southern Isonzo front . On November 1, 1917, Puchalski was promoted to field marshal lieutenant. In June 1918 Puchalski's troops took part in the Second Battle of the Piave and from July 1918 were assigned to the kk VII Corps. Shortly before the end of the war, in September 1918, he became military commander of Przemyśl .

After the war, he was accepted into the Polish army on March 18, 1919 with the rank of lieutenant general and retrospectively transferred to the officer reserve in Warsaw as of March 1. In this role he was in charge of the training of the staff adjutants. On June 10, 1919 he was appointed commander of the General Staff School. He held this position until July 10, 1920. After various activities, e.g. B. in the Ministry of Military Affairs , he was transferred to the reserve on March 1, 1921 at his own request, only to go into retirement shortly afterwards. On October 23, 1923, the Polish President Stanisław Wojciechowski appointed him a division general with retroactive effect to June 1, 1919.

Puchalski died in Warsaw on January 16, 1931.

Austrian military awards (as of December 31, 1918)

• Memorial cross 1912/13
• Military Jubilee Cross 1908
• Military Jubilee Medal 1898
• Official badge for officers III. class
• Bronze Military Merit Medal
• Military Merit Cross III. class
• Military Merit Cross 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
• Military Merit Cross II. Class, war decoration with swords
• Military Merit Cross II. Class, war decoration with swords

literature

• R. Egger:  Puchalski Stanislaus von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 8, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-7001-0187-2 , p. 321.