Pole Vladislav Sikorsky became famous thanks to his participation in the struggle for national independence during the First World War. He managed to combine military service and a vibrant political career. After the occupation of Poland by the Third Reich, Sikorski became chairman of the government in exile. He died in a plane crash, and her circumstances became the basis for many conspiracy theories.
early years
The future Polish politician and military leader Sikorski Vladislav was born on May 20, 1881 in Tuszow Narodovy - a small village in Galicia. Then this region belonged to Austria-Hungary, although its population was mainly Slavic. The boy graduated from high school in Lviv (Lemberg) and entered the local Polytechnic Institute. At this time, Poland was divided between Russia and the Habsburg Empire. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sikorsky Vladislav became an active participant in the national movement. In Lviv, he took part in the creation of Polish liberation organizations.
In 1908, the young man joined the Active Struggle Union. In the militarized Polish organization "Sagittarius" he was elected chairman. While anti-Austrian sentiments grew in Galicia, Europe inevitably approached the First World War. In 1914, a Serbian terrorist shot dead Austrian heir Franz Ferdinand. This event was the occasion for the outbreak of war, which swept the entire Old World. Austria-Hungary and Russia were on opposite sides of the barricades. The Poles, whose lands were divided between these powers, began to prepare for a war for their own independence. Sikorsky Vladislav turned out to be one of the most active figures in this liberation movement.
Struggle for independence
After the unsuccessful offensive of the Russian army in East Prussia, the Central Powers occupied the western provinces that belonged to Russia. Among these lands was the Kingdom of Poland - Polish autonomy within the empire.
In 1916, Sikorski Vladislav became a supporter of Germany and Austria-Hungary, starting to campaign for the creation of a national state with the support of the Central Powers. This position led the military leader to come into conflict with the leader of the nation, Jozef Pilsudski, who believed that Poland should shun the patronage of its neighbors.
In alliance with Germany
Nevertheless, in 1916, the Sikorsky project was really implemented. An act was signed on November 5, according to which Germany and Austria-Hungary recognized the new Kingdom of Poland. This state turned out to be a satellite of its powerful neighbors.
The Germans did not care about Polish independence, they only wanted to enlist the support of the Poles in the struggle against Russia. Nevertheless, for some time Vladislav Sikorsky remained a supporter of Germany and Austria, hoping for their support in creating an independent state. In the years 1916-1918. the commander was engaged in recruiting the Poles in the army of the Central Powers.
In the new Polish army
On November 11, 1918, the Polish militia in Warsaw disarmed the German garrison. Germany had just lost the First World War, after which a revolution began in it. In such circumstances, in Poland, German patronage could not be preserved under any circumstances. A few days after the above episode, Josef Pilsudski arrived in Warsaw, who became the head of state. In the same November, Vladislav Sikorsky was appointed chief of staff of the army in Galicia.
Although World War I ended, Poland had yet to achieve peace on its territory. A threat to the country was Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks, establishing their power on the ruins of a crumbling empire, considered Poland their rightful place. The war between neighbors began in January 1919. Lenin regarded this campaign as the initial stage of the world proletarian revolution. Gradually, after the successive defeat of the white groups on different fronts, the Red Army concentrated all its forces in the western direction.
Against the Bolsheviks
With the outbreak of war against Soviet Russia, the Polish commander and politician Sikorski Vladislav went to the Polessky group of forces, where he became commander. He had to organize an army from scratch. Polish troops did not have a single command center and clear structure. The authorities simply did not manage to refill volunteer units into a normal army. Poland had to enter the war literally with bare hands.
And yet, after it became clear that the Bolsheviks were a real threat, the army was quickly organized and staffed. A huge contribution to this success was made by Vladislav Sikorsky. The biography of this man is a vivid example of the biography of a military leader who tried himself in a variety of qualities in staff and field work. Therefore, it is not surprising that the leadership of the new state considered it appropriate to entrust him with several operations.
Kiev operation
Sikorsky was appointed to the army group "Polesie" in August 1919. For some time, its units stood motionless in the vicinity of Minsk. Then Mozyr was taken. The Red Army at least four times tried to recapture the city, but to no avail. In April 1920, the military leader took part in the offensive Kiev operation in order to capture the Ukrainian capital occupied by the Bolsheviks. The attacks were carried out on the border section from Olevsk to Mozyr. In this operation, the Poles were supported by the 15,000th army of Simon Petliura.
On April 28, the Polesie group as part of the Polish Army found itself on the Vinnitsa-Kazatin-Chernobyl line. Over the next day, she marched another 90 kilometers and ended up on the outskirts of Kiev. Throughout this path, the Poles did not meet any resistance. The Soviet commander Sergei Mezheninov withdrew his troops, fearing a direct collision with the enemy who had gathered speed.
Sikorski (Sikorski) Vladislav together with his colleagues entered Kiev on May 8, 1920. However, this success was temporary. Already on May 14, the Red Army, under the command of the "demon of the Civil War" Mikhail Tukhachevsky, launched a counterattack, because of which the Poles had to hastily retreat. On June 5, the front was broken. On the 12th, the Red Army entered Kiev. On August 6, the Polesie group was disbanded. Sikorsky began to command the 5th Army.
Warsaw operation
Tukhachevsky’s counterattack forced the Poles to retreat. Army after army surrendered all new cities. In this stream there were also units commanded directly by Sikorsky Vladislav. The military leader, however, did not give up and prepared for a decisive confrontation with the Bolsheviks.
At the crucial moment, when blood was already pouring in the vicinity of Warsaw, his 5th army stopped the enemy north of the capital. Tukhachevsky’s forces were too stretched and became vulnerable to Polish attacks. The Sikorsky army took advantage of this and broke through the ranks of the Bolsheviks, advancing several kilometers. On the decisive night of August 15, divisions came to her aid under the command of Lucian Zheligovsky.
This success allowed Commander-in-Chief Jozef Pilsudski to better prepare for the upcoming counterattack, which was supposed to save Poland from the "red plague". Sikorsky's contribution to the salvation of Poland was enormous. He was awarded the most honorable national military order - "For Military Valor." In April 1921, he replaced Pilsudski as commander in chief of the army and head of the General Staff.
Peace years
With the advent of peace, Sikorsky became involved in politics. In December 1922 - May 1923 he held the chair of the Prime Minister and at the same time acted as Minister of the Interior. The government under the leadership of Sikorsky was able to obtain recognition from the Western countries of the borders established after the won war with the USSR. Western Ukraine and Belarus were annexed to Poland.
Since 1928, Sikorsky lived in exile in France. The departure was due to the fact that the politician was one of the most active critics of the then government. The military spent years in France for a reason - he entered the Higher Military School. Premonition did not deceive Sikorsky. Peace in Europe was short-lived.
The Second World War
When Hitler Germany attacked Poland in 1939, Vladislav Sikorsky, who lived in exile, tried to get an appointment to the front from the country's leadership. These efforts ended in nothing. At the same time, the formation of the Polish army in exile began in France. This process in Paris and began to lead Sikorsky Vladislav. The Pole did everything he could while his country was rapidly approaching defeat.
A month after the start of the war, Sikorsky became the prime minister in exile in the government. Under his leadership in France was created 84 thousandth Polish army. When the Third Republic came under German attack, Sikorsky's troops tried to stop the aggressors. After the defeat of France, both the Polish government and the remnants of its troops moved to England.
When Germany attacked the USSR, Sikorsky went on to resume diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Normalization of relations was short-lived. Soon the Germans, who occupied part of Soviet territory, released information about the Katyn execution. The news of the brutal massacre of NKVD officers over Polish prisoners led to another break. Sikorsky began to persuade Churchill to stop cooperation with the USSR. A few weeks later, on July 4, 1943, the prime minister in exile, along with his daughter, died in a plane crash near Gibraltar. Unexpected death was the final chord in the life of a politician. Equally changing and full of sharp turns was his entire remaining biography. Vladislav Sikorsky and his death still cause a lot of controversy. The Pole was buried in England in the presence of Churchill. The ashes of a national hero were transported to their homeland in 1993.