Wladyslaw Sikorski Polish military leader and politician Date of Birth: 20.05.1881 Country: Poland

1. Biography of Vladislav Sikorsky
2. Political Activism
3. Military Career
4. Political Career
5. Emigration and World War II
6. Contribution to Allied Forces
7. Relations with the Soviet Union

Biography of Vladislav Sikorsky

Vladislav Sikorsky, a Polish military leader and politician, was born on May 20, 1881, in the village of Tushov-Narodovy in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of Galicia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. He studied in Zheshuve and completed his gymnasium education in Lviv. In 1902, he enrolled in the Faculty of Roads and Bridges at the Lviv Polytechnic Institute.

Political Activism

In 1908, Sikorsky became one of the founders of the Lviv Union of Active Struggle, and in 1910, he became the chairman of the local militarized union of Polish citizens called "Strzelec." From 1914, he was a member of the Galician Main National Committee, and from 1916, he served as the head of its military department. During this period, Sikorsky clashed with Jozef Pilsudski, as Sikorsky advocated for the recreation of a Polish state under the auspices of Austria-Hungary. From 1916 to 1918, Sikorsky recruited Poles into the Austrian army.

Military Career

In November 1918, Vladislav Sikorsky joined the Polish Armed Forces. He served as the chief of staff of the "East" military group in Galicia, commander of the "Bartatuv" and "Sikorsky's Colonel Group," and commanded the 9th Infantry Division and the Polissian Group of Forces in the Kiev operation during the Polish-Soviet war from 1919 to 1921. He also commanded the 5th Army in the Warsaw operation and the 3rd Army in the battles for Zamostye. During the battle for Warsaw, Sikorsky's units successfully stopped the Bolshevik troops to the north of the Polish capital, allowing Pilsudski to conduct a victorious counteroffensive. Sikorsky was awarded the highest Polish military order, the Virtuti Militari, for his participation in the battle for Warsaw. In April 1921, Sikorsky replaced Jozef Pilsudski as the commander-in-chief of the Polish army and head of the General Staff.

Political Career

On December 16, 1922, after the assassination of President Gabriel Narutowicz, Marshal Maciej Rataj proposed Vladislav Sikorsky as the Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs. Sikorsky held this position until May 26, 1923. His government was able to restore internal stability and gain recognition of Poland's eastern borders from Western countries. From 1923 to 1924, Sikorsky served as the Inspector General of Infantry. In 1924-1925, he was the Minister of War in the second government of Vladislav Grabski. In 1925, he became the commander of the 6th District of the Polish Armed Forces in Lviv. However, another conflict with Jozef Pilsudski forced him to leave this position in 1928.

Emigration and World War II

In 1928, Sikorsky emigrated to France, where he opposed the Polish government. Until 1939, he was under the authority of the Minister of War, but he did not hold any official positions. He studied at the Higher Military School in France. When World War II began on September 1, 1939, with Germany and Slovakia's invasion of Poland, General Sikorsky tried to be assigned to the front by Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly but received no response. He returned to France, where he began forming the Polish army in exile on September 28 and became the Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile on September 30, 1939. He held this position until his death in 1943.

Contribution to Allied Forces

On November 7, Sikorsky was appointed the Chief Inspector (Commander-in-Chief) of the Armed Forces by the President of the Republic of Poland. The army he created in France consisted of 84,000 soldiers. After the German invasion of France, the surviving Polish units, along with the French and British forces, actively participated in the battles. After the defeat of France, the Polish units were transported to England from Dunkirk, and on September 5, 1940, they became part of the British Armed Forces.

Relations with the Soviet Union

On July 30, 1941, Sikorsky signed an agreement with the Soviet Union, represented by I.M. Maisky, the Soviet ambassador in England, to resume diplomatic relations and create a Polish army in the East. In 1941-1942, he was involved in the formation of the Anders Army, which was stationed in the Buzuluk area and later transferred to the Middle East. However, the discovery and disclosure by the Germans of the Katyn Massacre led to a rupture between Sikorsky and Moscow. In April 1943, the Soviet government formally severed diplomatic relations with Sikorsky's government after he demanded an investigation into the Katyn massacre. In the same month, Sikorsky made sharp accusations against the Soviet Union, specifically demanding that Churchill sever relations with the USSR. A few weeks later, General Vladislav Sikorsky and his daughter Sofia died in an airplane crash on July 4, 1943, near Gibraltar. The circumstances surrounding the incident have given rise to numerous rumors, speculations, and theories. Despite investigations conducted by Polish experts in 2008, no evidence of Soviet involvement was found. Some contemporary historians claim that it was not a coincidence. An English pilot, who had never worn a life jacket before, wore one on this flight and survived. The true cause of Sikorsky's death remains unknown. He was buried with honors, in the presence of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, at the Polish Air Force Cemetery in Newark, near Nottingham. On September 17, 1993, his remains were transferred to Poland and reburied at Wawel Castle in Krakow.

During his lifetime, Sikorsky received numerous awards and honors, including the Order of the White Eagle, the Commander's Cross with the Star of the Virtuti Militari Order, the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Order, the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, and the Order of the Military Cross. He was also honored with the Commander's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, the Gold Cross of Merit, and the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor.