Józef Haller
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Józef Haller von Hallenburg (13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a
Haller was born in
In 1918, in the aftermath of the "
Subsequently, by the way of
In 1920–1927 Haller was a deputy to the Sejm. After the election of Gabriel Narutowicz as President of the Republic in December 1922, Haller fell into disfavor.[1] After the 1926 May Coup, he was ordered into retirement. He co-organized an opposition party, the "Front Morges".
At the time of the invasion of Poland (1939), Haller was living abroad. From 1940–1943 he served as Minister of Education in Władysław Sikorski's government. After 1945 he settled in London as an exile and did not take active part in any émigré Polish political activities.
Early life
Haller was born 13 August 1873 in a small village called
Józef spent his early childhood in the countryside where up to the age of nine he grew up with his brothers and sisters. Like other family members, he belonged to the Catholic organizations such as
In 1882 the Haller family moved to the city of
Austro-Hungarian Army
When Józef Haller graduated from the university he was designated the rank of
In 1910 Józef resigned from the Austro-Hungarian Army stating that "since he had reached the rank of captain and he is not able to learn anything new in the Austrian Artillery, he leaves the army in order to serve the country in some other way until his Homeland needs him."
Social work
After dropping out of the army, Haller dedicated himself to
Since mid 1912 Haller had worked as a military trainer: he set up Falcon teams, organized secret soldier, non-commissioned officer and officer courses for the Polish youth. In 1913 along with other colleagues he worked out model badges and terminology for "harcerstwo", many of which are still used today. He made a major contribution to creating the
World War I
The Eastern Legion
When the Great War broke out it was a sign to mobilize Polish patriotic paramilitary organizations. On 27 August 1914,
Polish Legions
Soldiers, who were in favor for continuing the war against the
In the beginning of October 1914, the brigade got to Hungarian side of Carpathians. On October 12 the 3rd Legions' Infantry Regiment troops under the command of Haller surmounted the
On the night of 24 January 1915, Russians attacked the 3rd Legions' Infantry Regiment. Polish soldiers did not expect the offensive. However, due to their commander's actions, they defeated the enemy and took many
On a temporary permit in Częstochowa, in May 1915 Haller was injured in a car accident. He spent 10 months recovering in a hospital. In spring of 1916 Haller became a member of the Colonels’ Council, which incorporated the heads of Legions’ military units, and functioned in opposition to Legions’ Headquarters, which advocated Austrian policy. In July 1918 Haller was given an assignment to command the 2nd Legions’ Infantry Brigade, which he accepted.
Polish Rifle Division
On 15 February 1918, Haller questioned the agreements of the
From 28 March 1918, he took charge of the military units of the
Kaniów
Germany considered the presence of Polish military units in Ukraine an infringement of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. At midnight on 10–11 May 1918 German troops assaulted Polish units near Kaniv (Polish: Kaniów). There were no warnings preceding the attack. The battle continued for one day. After the ammunition storage expired, the Polish 2nd Corps surrendered. Many people were seriously injured. The Polish army lost less than 1000. the Germans close to 1500. Haller avoided imprisonment by faking his own death. Using the name "Mazowiecki" he fled to Moscow, where he became the head of Polish Army Commission.
France
In July 1918, after a long journey through
In 1918 Polish troops commanded by Joseph Haller struggled with German soldiers on the western front line in the Vosges mountain region and
Blue Army
The end of war did not interrupt the enlargement of the Polish army in France, also known as the Blue Army due to their uniforms. The number of soldiers was eventually over 100,000. Due to weapons supplied from France, the Polish Army finally became a significant military force. Beginning in April 1919, men and equipment were conveyed to Poland. Modern arms of the Blue Army, especially airplanes and Renault FT tanks enhanced the Polish Armed Forces yet to be founded. General Haller arrived in Warsaw on 21 April 1919, where he was welcomed as a national hero. He was granted honorary citizenship of Warsaw. The Blue Army was involved in anti-Jewish violence and its soldiers participated in pogroms.[3][4]
World War I aftermath
Polish-Ukrainian War
Because the Blue Army was the only well-armed combat unit in the recreated Polish Army, the command decided not to split it into smaller pieces. The whole army was deployed at the
Pomerania
As Venice so symbolized its marriage with the Adriatic so we Poles symbolize our marriage with our dear Baltic Sea.
In October 1919, Haller was entrusted with the command of the Pomeranian Front, created in order to claim the territory of Pomerania, in peaceful and planned way, as the territory was granted to Poland according to the Treaty of Versailles. As planned, the taking over of Pomerania began on 18 January 1920, starting with Toruń, which was taken over by squadrons of the 16th Pomeranian Infantry Division. More territories were taken from the retreating German Army, until 11 February 1920, when the last of the soldiers left Gdańsk (Danzig).
Despite a few incidents, including armed resistance and sabotage, the Pomeranian takeover proceeded rather easily. On 10 February 1920, General Haller together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Stanisław Wojciechowski, and the new administration of the Pomeranian Province came to Puck, where he performed a "symbolic wedding ceremony" of Poland and the Baltic Sea.
Polish-Soviet War
In 1920 Haller was appointed
The interwar period
After the war, Józef Haller had inter alia function of the
In 1923 and again in 1933, the General traveled to the United States with a mission of support for veterans and disabled members of the Blue Army. Among the sites General Haller visited in 1923 was
General Haller condemned
World War II
After
After the fall of the government in France, Haller reached
Postwar
After the war Józef Haller decided to remain abroad and settled in London for good, where, steeped in the legend of the "Blue General", he died on 4 June 1960 at the age of 86. He was buried in the Gunnersbury cemetery. Thanks to the initiative of the Polish Scouts from "Whites" team, his ashes were returned to Poland on 23 April 1993 and are now kept in a crypt in St. Agnes’ garrison church in Kraków.
Promotions
- Captain of Artillery – 1909
- Captain of Infantry – 18 October 1914
- Major of Infantry – 25 October 1914
- Lieutenant Colonelof Infantry – 20 November 1914
- Colonel of Infantry – 14 March 1915
- Brigadier – 7 April 1918
- Major General – 29 November 1918
- Lieutenant General – 10 June 1920
Honours and awards
- Knight of the Order of the White Eagle
- Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari
- Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
- Cross of Valour, four times
- Legion of Honour, Class II (France)
- Croix de guerre (France)
- Scouts Cross
- Order of Malta
- Order of St. Stanislaus
- Imperial Order of Leopold
- Order of Vasa
- Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)
- Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
- Freedom Cross Second Class (Estonia)
Legacy
After World War I, the Warsaw chapter of the Order of Haller's Swords was formed to commemorate the wartime service of individuals who aided in the Polish independence movement.[6] The organization conferred Haller's Swords, a decoration featuring the Polish eagle and crossed swords, on a number of Polish soldiers and several Allies.[6] Recipients included:
- Clarence Ransom Edwards[7]
- Laurence Hawley Watres[6]
- Grover Whalen[8]
See also
- The Blue Army
- Poland's Wedding to the Sea
- Stanisław Haller de Hallenburg
References
- ^ Ligocki, Edward Elgoth (1923). O Jozefie Hallerze. Nakladem Obywatelskiego Obrony Panstwa, Warszawa.
- S2CID 145773595.
- ^ Nationalizing a Borderland: War, Ethnicity, and Anti-Jewish Violence in East Galicia, 1914–1920, Alexander Victor Prusin, University of Alabama Press, p. 103
- ^ Poland's Threatening Other: The Image of the Jew from 1880 to the Present, University of Nebraska Press, Joanna Michlic, p. 111
- PDF), The New York Times, 13 February 1920
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Conley, E. T. (March 11, 1936). "Statement of Service, Clarence Ransom Edwards". Report of the U.S. Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Authorizing the President of the United States to Award Posthumously a Distinguished Service Medal to Maj. Gen. Clarence Ransom Edwards. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 8–10 – via Google Books.
- Newspapers.com.
Bibliography
- W. Lipiński, Walka zbrojna o niepodległość Polski w latach 1905–1918, Warszawa, 1990 (in Polish)
- J. Haller, Pamiętniki. Z wyborem dokumentów i zdjęć, Londyn 1964 (in Polish)
- H. Przybyłowski, Chrześcijańska Demokracja i Narodowa Partia Robotnicza w latach 1926–1937, Warszawa 1980 (in Polish)
- O. Terlecki, Generał Sikorski, t. 1, Kraków 1986 (in Polish)
- Władze RP na obczyźnie podczas II wojny światowej, pod red. Z. Błażyńskiego, Londyn 1994 (in Polish)
- T. Kryska-Karski, S. Żurakowski, Generałowie Polski Niepodległej, Warszawa 1991 (in Polish)
- S. Czerep, II Brygada Legionów Polskich, Warszawa 1991 (in Polish)
- I. Modelski, Dlaczego podczas II wojny światowej nie powstała Armia Polska w Ameryce?, (w:) "Komunikaty Towarzystwa im. Romana Dmowskiego", t. II, cz. 1, Londyn 1979/1980 (in Polish)
- Paul Valasek, Haller's Polish Army in France, Chicago 2006 English
External links
- Józef Haller and the Blue Army at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009)
- The story of the Haller Army and the volunteers from America
- The "blue" uniform in Canada