Stanisław Kopański

Between 1943 and 1946, he was Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces in the West.

Early life

Stanisław Kopański was born on 19 May 1895 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire to Polish parents. In 1905, he enrolled in a local Polish gymnasium (high school), where he graduated upon passing his matura examinations. Afterwards, he matriculated in a local Institute of Civil Engineering, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.

World War I and the establishment of the Second Polish Republic

In 1914, Kopański was drafted into the

Kopański was unable to realize his plans, however, as Poland regained its independence in November 1918 and immediately became engaged in the

At the end of hostilities, Kopański remained in the army and fought in the opening stages of the

However, Kopański requested to be sent back to the front and in September 1919, became commander of the 1st Mounted Artillery Detachment. In 1920, he joined the 8th Uhlans Regiment, with which he took part in the famous battles of Komarów and Tyszowce. In October 1920, he was awarded the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari.

Inter-war Poland

After the

World War II

Polish Defensive War

After the outbreak of the

Formation of the Carpathian Brigade

In France, Kopański applied for a post in one of the Polish units being formed in France and Great Britain at that time. Initially, however, the

The unit was composed mostly of Polish soldiers who were able to escape prisoner of war camps in Hungary and Romania and make it to Allied-controlled territory, much like Kopański himself. On 12 April 1940 the brigade was officially formed and the new unit joined the French Armée du Levant. As a unit specializing in mountain warfare, the brigade was thought of as a Polish contribution to the Allied plan of landing in the Balkans. It was modelled after a standard French mountain infantry brigade. Although new recruits arrived on a daily basis, the brigade did not reach the planned strength of 208 officers and 6840 soldiers and NCOs.^[2]

Carpathian Brigade joins the British Army

After the capitulation of France nullified all pacts that country had with Poland and the United Kingdom, the commander of the Armee de Levant, General Eugène Mittelhauser, decided to support the new government of Philippe Pétain and Vichy France. He ordered the brigade to be disarmed and took Kopański as a hostage. However, due to strong opposition within Mittelhauser's own staff, he had to set Kopański free the following day. Kopański then followed the orders of General Sikorski and left French-controlled territory. On 30 June 1940 the brigade defected to the British Mandate of Palestine, where it joined the British forces stationed there. It was the only large military unit of the Armee de Levant to defect as a complete unit, with all of its equipment.

Western Desert Campaign

Initially composed of 319 officers and 3,437 soldiers, Kopański's brigade soon grew to roughly 5,000 men. Among the distinctive features of the unit was the high morale of the soldiers, all volunteers. In addition, roughly 25 percent were educated, a thing uncommon in European armies of the time. Kopański continued to train his men in mountain warfare, but also in warfare in desert conditions, completely alien to the Polish soldiers. In August 1941, the brigade was moved by sea from Palestine to the besieged town of Tobruk, where the unit took part in the final four months of the siege. After the siege was lifted on December 10, the brigade joined British forces in their pursuit of the withdrawing Italo-German armies and fought in the Battle of Gazala.

Formation of 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division

On 21 April 1942, after more than two years in constant service, Kopański was given a three weeks leave in London. On the day of his arrival there, he was appointed by General Sikorski as commander of the newly formed

London

Shortly before the invasion of Italy commenced, Kopański was withdrawn to London on 21 July 1943, where he was appointed

After the war the Allied governments withdrew their support from the Polish government, and the Polish forces were transformed into the Polish Resettlement Corps. This was a paramilitary organization designed to allow Polish veterans who were unwilling to return to communist-dominated Poland to find employment and homes in the west. In 1946 Kopański, became commander of the corps, and on 26 September that year he was deprived of Polish citizenship by the Communists.

Post-war

After the corps disbanded in 1949, Kopański settled in the United Kingdom. He remained an active member of the Polish government-in-exile and until 1970, held the honorary title of Chief of General Staff. On May 13 of that year, his office was disbanded and transformed into the office of the

On 23 November 1971 the Communist authorities of Poland declared their decision to deprive Kopański of citizenship null and void; this however was never made public. He died on 23 March 1976 in London and was buried at the Northwood Cemetery.

In December 2023 the remains of Kopański and his wife, Janina Kopańska, were returned to Poland and received a military funeral before being intered at Powązki Military Cemetery.

Notable awards

• Virtuti Militari (rank 5th and 4th)
• Order of Polonia Restituta (rank 1st and 4th)
• Gold Cross of Merit (Krzyż Zasługi) with swords
• Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych) (twice)
• Companion of the Order of the Bath
  (CB)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire
  (CBE)
• Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
• French Legion of Honour (5th class)
• Croix de Guerre with palm leaves

Bibliography

• Stanisław Kopański: Wspomnienia wojenne 1939–1945 (1961)
• Stanisław Kopański: Moja Służba w Wojsku Polskim 1917–1939 (1965)

Footnotes

References

• Zbigniew Moszumański (April 2006). "Stanisław Kopański (1895–1976)". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 2006-04-22.
• "gen. Stanisław Kopański". klubmontecassino.abc.pl (in Polish). Stowarzyszenie Klubu Przyjaciół, Szkół i Organizacji Monte Cassino. 2005. Retrieved 2006-04-22.^{[permanent dead link]}

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