A cavalry officer, Chief Commandant of the National Army, Chief of the Polish Armed Forces and Prime Minister of Poland in exile. On 1 June 1895 General Tadeusz Komorowski “Bór” was born, 1 of the most crucial figures of the Polish Underground State. Although he commanded the AK for just over a year, any of his decisions are inactive controversial.
"With religion in the final triumph of our right cause, with religion in the beloved, large and happy Homeland, we stay all soldiers and citizens of Independent Poland, faithful to the banner of the Republic" - wrote General Tadeusz Komorowski "Bór" in a farewell order to soldiers National Army after surrender Warsaw Uprising.
The general was born on June 1, 1895 in Chorobrowa, Podol. He began his military career in the Austro-Hungarian Army. He studied at the Military Academy in Vienna and fought at the east and Italian Front during planet War I. In November 1918 he joined the emerging Polish army. He participated in the war against the Ukrainians and with the Bolsheviks. “He became celebrated in the conflict of Komarov, fighting at the head of the 12th Podolski Ulan Regiment,” says Dr. Jarosław Czerwiński, a historian specializing in the past of planet War II. For his attitude in the wars of 1918–1920 Komorowski was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari.
Bachelor
During the period of the Second Republic, “Bór” served, among others, in the 8th Ulan Regiment as quartermaster and deputy commander, commanded the 9th Ulan Regiment, and in 1938 became commandant of the Cavalry Training Centre in Grudziądz. "The officer, distinguished in all respect, deserves to be deployed, can command the brigade and be Chief of the School of Cavalry. A very morally valuable unit," wrote the Army inspector, General Julius Rómmel, in 1931.
As an excellent rider, Komorowski competed in hippy competitions, and in 1924 competed at the Olympics in Paris. 12 years later, the riding squad led by him won a silver medal in a versatile horse top competition at the Berlin Olympics.
On September 1939, he found an officer as commander of the Cavalry Backup Center in Garwolin. Then he and the Combined Cavalry Brigade fought, among others, at Mount Calvary and Zamość. He managed to avoid captivity and went to Krakow, where he created the underground Military Organization in late 1939. He guided it to subordination of the Armed Union.
In the foreground from the left: Prime Minister Tomasz Arciszewski, General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, Minister of National Defence Gen. Marian Kukiel.
At the head of the AK
At the command of Gen. Stefan Rowecki, “Grot”, Chief of the National Army (ZWZ), “Bór” in mid 1941 moved to Warsaw and took over as Deputy Commandant. – Among the tasks of General Komorowski were contacts with the delegate of the government to the country, cooperation with political parties in the country and supervision of the unitary action of conspiracy organizations,” says the historian. At the same time, he served as Commandant of the Western AK Area, covering the Poznań and Pomerania Districts.
After Gen. Rowecki was arrested by the Gestapo, Gen. Komorowski in July 1943 assumed the function of chief of the AK. – any of the decisions he made in the following months caused controversy, for example the 1 about collective retaliation on settlers of German displaced Poles from Zamość or about pacification of Ukrainian settlements during the Volyn massacre – says Dr. Czerwiński.
On 20 November 1943, in the face of entering the lands of the Second Republic of the Red Army, “Bór” issued an order to launch the “Burza” action. It meant a fight or an increased diversion against the German occupier, and at the same time the arkers were to appear before the Soviets as hosts of Polish lands. Unfortunately, the next months showed that the Soviets did not intend to recognise Polish rights.
When the front approached Warsaw in late July 1944, Gen. Komorowski, having obtained the consent of Jan Stanisław Jankowski, a delegate of the government to the country, decided to The outbreak of an uprising in the capital. “The immense losses incurred during the rally by the Polish side have caused this decision to origin large controversy,” says the historian. “If we had behaved passively, Warsaw would not have avoided harm and damage. We had to number on the fact that if the capital became a battlefield and a street fight between Germany and the Soviets, the destiny of Stalingrad could await it," explained “Bór” in 1964 on Radio Free Europe.
Throughout the uprising, the general remained in the capital. The insurgent forces were led by Gen. Antoni Chruściel "Monter", and Komorowski was in charge of the AK as a whole. On 30 September, after the resignation of General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, president Władysław Raczkiewicz appointed General Komorowski as chief commander. His duties were to take place erstwhile he appeared at the President's seat in London.
In the face of the exhaustion of the fighting opportunities and the immense losses of “Bór” decided to surrender the Warsaw branch, which was signed on 2 October. After the fall of the uprising, he stayed in German olags until the end of the war. “He did not agree to the German authorities’ proposal to issue an order to fight the AK alongside the Germans against the Soviets,” explains Dr. Czerwiński.
They stand from the left: Gen. Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, president of Poland Władysław Raczkiewicz.
Chief Chief
After his release from captivity in May 1945, General Komorowski went to large Britain and took over from the hands of General Władysław Anders as chief commander. “The triumph over Germany has not yet restored our homeland to independency and freedom. This tragic arrangement of things causes that at the minute there is no joy among Poles, neither in the Homeland nor here – in the country – he emphasized “Bór” in his first order as chief chief.
He held these duties until November 1946, then held various functions in the government on emigration: he was Prime Minister, was a associate of the Political Council and sat on the President-in-Office of the Council of Three. He published the memoirs of the “Underground Army” and on his initiative established the National Army Cross. As he did not receive a general retirement in England, he maintained by moving a upholstery plant.
The general died abruptly on August 24, 1966. He was buried in Gunnersbury Cemetery in London, and on the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising his ashes were brought to Poland by Komorowski's son. They rested at the Military Cemetery in Warsaw Powązki. After death, “Bór” was honored with the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish distinction.
