Stanisław Maczek
Stanisław Maczek | |
|---|---|
After the war, still in the rank of Generał dywizji. | |
| Nickname(s) | Baca |
| Born | 31 March 1892 Szczerzec near Lwów, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary (now Shchyrets, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine) |
| Died | 11 December 1994 (aged 102) Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | Poland |
| Years of service | 1914–1947 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | 1st Armoured Division 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of the White Eagle Knight's Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta Cross of Valour Gold Cross of Merit with Swords Full list |
| Relations | Vladko Maček (cousin) |
| Other work | barman |
| Signature | |
Lieutenant General Stanisław Władysław Maczek ([staˈɲiswav ˈmat͡ʂɛk]; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destruction of 14 German Wehrmacht and SS divisions. A veteran of World War I, the Polish–Ukrainian and Polish–Soviet wars, Maczek was the commander of Poland's only major armoured formation during the September 1939 campaign, and later commanded a Polish armoured formation in France in 1940. He was the commander of the famous 1st Polish Armoured Division, and later of the I Polish Army Corps under Allied Command in 1942–45.