Wacław Stachiewicz

General
Wacław Stachiewicz
General; Wacław Stachiewicz
Chief of the General Staff
	In office; 7 June 1935 – 18 September 1939
Preceded by	Janusz Gąsiorowski
Succeeded by	Aleksander Kędzior (in exile)
Personal details
Born	19 November 1894; Brigadier General
Battles/wars	First World War; Polish–Soviet War

Wacław Teofil Stachiewicz (19 November 1894 – 12 November 1973) was a Polish writer, geologist, military commander and general of the

Polish Defensive War

of 1939.

Early life and career

Wacław Teofil Stachiewicz was born 19 November 1894, in

Związek Strzelecki

, where he received military training and graduated from NCO and officer courses.

After the outbreak of the

General Staff

and was to be promoted.

Oath Crisis and rebirth of Polish Army

However, the

regained its independence, the organization became one of the cores of the reborn Polish Armed Forces

.

Initially serving as the head of the I Detachment of the General Staff and the deputy chief of staff of the Warsaw military district, Stachiewicz soon became a staff officer of General

Peace of Riga

, Stachiewicz returned to the ministry.

In 1921, Stachiewicz was sent to Paris, where he graduated from the

Chief of Staff

of the Polish Army.

World War II, exile and death

One of the most promising staff officers in the Polish military, Stachiewicz was the author of various military plans, such as

Polish Defensive War, he automatically became the Chief of Staff of the headquarters of the Polish commander-in-chief. However, lack of communication made him lose any influence on the conflict, and he and Rydz-Śmigły withdrew to south-eastern Poland. After the Soviets joined the war on the side of the Nazis, he crossed the border on 18 September with Romania

to continue the struggle abroad in France. However, internal struggle for power among the Polish emigres made the French pressure the Romanian authorities into interning Stachiewicz and his superior.

In January 1940, Stachiewicz managed to escape from captivity and, through

Polish citizenship

by the Soviet-backed communist authorities of Poland and had to remain in exile.

In 1948, Stachiewicz moved to Montreal, Canada. Blamed by many for the Polish defeat in the war, Stachiewicz devoted himself to writing and wrote several books on the Polish preparations for the war of 1939.