Biography

Grocholski Remigiusz Adam (1888-1965), assumed name Żukowski, pseudonyms: Brochwicz, Doctor, Engineer, Miś, Waligóra. Certified officer of the permanent service of the Polish cavalry: major (1927). Transferred to retirement in 1934. Lieutenant Colonel (November 11, 1942).

Born on September 3, 1888, in Strzyżawka, Winnicki County in Podolia, son of Tadeusz, a landowner, and Zofia Zamoyska. After graduating from high school in Odessa and the Faculty of Law and History at the University of St. Petersburg, he treated tuberculosis for several years in Zakopane and Davos. From July 1915, as a representative of the Red Cross, he was an officer for special assignments of the Caucasus governor. In March 1917, organizer and chairman of the Congress of the Union of Polish Soldiers in Batumi – Tiflis (now Tbilisi), from December that year head of the 2nd department of the staff of the 3rd Polish Corps in the East. In January 1919, briefly arrested in Warsaw as a (random) participant in the coup of Gen. Marian Januszajtis. From March 1919, officer of the permanent service of the Polish Army, initially commander of the heavy machine gun squadron of the 12th Uhlan Regiment. After completing the first course of the War School of the General Staff (July-October 1919), he remained there as a translator. From December that year, adjutant of the 15th Infantry Brigade, from July 1920 head of the 3rd department of the staff of the 6th Army, participant in the 1920 war, from September 1920 head of the 2nd department of the staff of Gen. Władysław Jędrzejewski’s group. In March 1921, he became head of the 3rd (operational) department in the Command of the Plebiscite Defense (Supreme Command of the Insurgent Forces) during the Second Silesian Uprising, among others, he was the author of the operational order No. 1 for the start of the uprising. He used the pseudonym Brochwicz at that time. From November 1921, inspector of the eastern border in the Volhynian Voivodeship, in 1923 he briefly worked at the Military Scientific and Publishing Institute, then was a translator at the Military School. After completing the retraining course at the Central Riding School in Grudziądz (1923 – 1924) and the 4th retraining course at the Military School (1924 – 1925), he was from October 1925 an officer of the 3rd Department of the Strict War Council Office, from August 1926 adjutant to the Minister of Military Affairs Józef Piłsudski. From 1932, commander of a squadron, then deputy commander of the 1st Regiment of Mounted Rifles, on August 31, 1934, he was transferred to retirement. He then devoted himself to writing and painting.

Member – founder of the Society of Military Knowledge and the Aeroclub of the Republic of Poland. Author of articles in professional military press.

During the September campaign of 1939, he organized the “Brochwicz” conspiracy unit in mid-September, which performed reconnaissance tasks for the Independent Operational Group Polesie of Gen. Franciszek Kleberg from September 28 until the end of hostilities. During the German occupation, he headed the “Brochwicz” conspiracy organization in the Lublin region. He used the pseudonym Brochwicz, Miś at that time. After subordinating this organization to the ZWZ in April-May 1940, he initially remained without assignment.

Member of the editorial committee of the “Soldier’s Bulletin” published from August 1940, a TAP publication, then the Armed Confederation. In the spring of 1941, he submitted a project to the ZWZ Main Command to create a diversion organization that would – in anticipation of a conflict between Germany and the USSR – operate behind the German-Soviet front line. From September 1941, chief of staff and deputy to Lt. Col. Jan Włodarkiewicz, commander of the “Wachlarz”, in the rank of certified major under the pseudonyms Doctor, Engineer, Waligóra. Appointed lieutenant colonel by order L21/BP of November 11, 1942. After Włodarkiewicz’s death from April-May 1942 to March 1943, he was the commander of the “Wachlarz”. He lived at Puławska Street 103 under the name Żukowski at that time. During the Warsaw Uprising from September 1, 1944, he was the commander of the V District (Lower Mokotów) of the Mokotów District of the Warsaw AK under the pseudonym Waligóra (all forces of this district formed the “Waligóra” regiment). Seriously wounded on September 25, two days later he was led out of the combat area by liaison officers along with civilians leaving Mokotów.

After the war, he lived in Szklarska Poręba, and from 1954 in Warsaw. He died on March 17, 1965, in Cannes. Buried at the military cemetery in Laski near Warsaw. Decorated five times with the Cross of Valour, the Independence Medal with swords (1934), Virtuti Militari V and IV class.

PDF Sources

Warsaw Uprising 1944, outline of military actions

When the enemy approached from the south and intensified his fire, shelling Sadyba from several sides, which was poorly manned, part of the insurgent platoons began to retreat in disarray to the north. However, Lt. Col. Waligóra, who was in Sadyba, managed to control the situation by turning back the retreating; Lieutenant Leonard (Xawery Grocholski) and rifleman Wojtek distinguished themselves by their calmness and example, drawing the hesitant back. [p. 346]

Command of the V District
M.P. 13.9.44.

Situation report

Point 1. Own position. Despite the most intense action carried out (by the enemy) to capture Lower Mokotów and Czerniaków, the held territory was essentially maintained. After two days of incessant attacks, only on the section of Captain Garda, two houses were abandoned from the direction of Czerniakowska Street due to being surrounded on three sides and the collapse of a wall.

Point 2. Enemy position. Essentially unchanged; it seems that the enemy’s attention is directed towards the Vistula, as evidenced by the artillery fire directed in that direction. The monastery in Służewiec, Bernardyński Square, and the area of Wilanowska Road were shelled by Soviet aircraft with onboard weapons. Artillery explosions were observed at the Pump Station and in Służewiec. Soviet aircraft bombed the area west of Mokotów around 2 p.m.

Point 3. Course of events. During the night on the section of Captain Janusz – Captain Garda, only weak activity of artillery, tanks, and machine guns. The enemy withdrew its furthest outposts for the night. From the morning of today, relative calm on all sections, only at the junction between Captain Janusz and Captain Garda between Belwederska Street and Górska Street, enemy patrols are leaking through. In the morning, enemy tank movements were heard in the direction of Czerniaków – Belwederska and Czerniaków – Bernardyński Square. Calm on the Królikarnia section. On the “K 1” (fort) section, two people were killed yesterday as a result of shelling by German aircraft.

Point 4. Moral and physical state. Moral and physical state generally good, physical state as yesterday (fatigue)…

…Commander of the V District
(-) Waligóra Lt. Col. (Remigiusz Grocholski)

Distribution: I submit to the commander of the V District
Commander of the V District (aa)
For information: Battalion “Oaza”, Battalion “Ryś”, “K 1”, OSV.

Command of the V District
Command of the V District
M.p. on 22.9.44

Situation report

I. Situation
A. Own: Unchanged. Constant earthworks.
B. Neighbors and news from other areas.
1. Łazienki District. During the evening and night, constant sounds of fighting. German and Russian artillery fire and mortar, machine gun, and rifle fire. According to the observer, the sounds of fighting are approaching us.
2. Eastern front. Mutual activity very weak. Soviet artillery shelled the area of Czerniakowska Street, the area of Bernardyński Church, and the area of Sadyba, Siekierki, and the Łazienki area.

German artillery shelled: the vicinity of Łazienki, Praga, Wał Miedzeszyński, and the area of the church in Glinki. Soviet observation balloons appeared: in the direction of Washington Avenue and in the direction of Wawer.
C. Enemy. The enemy has dug new positions for machine guns on Dworkowa Street.
An enemy patrol of 1/6 was at 1 a.m. in the houses on Piaseczyńska Street at the corner of Dolna. Weak harassing fire from mortars, machine guns, and rifles. During the night from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., vehicle movements, wheel movements, engine work, commands, and stops were heard in the Bruhn-Werke area. According to the “Oaza” report, all this movement is directed towards Chełmska, Czerniakowska to Wilanów. This is the second night from which I receive reports of enemy movement to the south.

II. Course of actions and events.
Actions. Two patrols sent by the uhlans to retrieve a container that fell by the wall of Dworkowa Street had to retreat due to constant lighting of the area and enemy fire. The container was retrieved by the enemy before dawn. Battle for immobilized vehicles in front of Królikarnia. During the afternoon of the 21st, constant arrival and departure of tanks that could not attach vehicles due to the shelling of our outposts; in the evening, the enemy approached with a Red Cross vehicle and under the pretense of removing the wounded managed to take one truck. When the enemy tried to repeat this operation, it was fired upon and retreated.
At 8 p.m., a patrol of 9 people was sent from “K 1”, which took away the items listed in the point: loot. At that time, a cover was left by the vehicle, which was driven away at 10 p.m. by 4 tanks. The vehicle was taken by these tanks. From the uniforms captured, it appears that the vehicles belonged to the “Hermann Goering” division.
Events: On 21.9.44. 9-10 a.m. flight of German aircraft towards Powiśle, 3 p.m. – setting fire with incendiary shells to a house at the corner of Dolna and Konduktorska Streets, at 9 p.m. one Soviet aircraft was set on fire over the city center.

III. Miscellaneous.
Own losses: one cadet and one rifleman wounded. Enemy losses: in total during the fight for vehicles, commander “K 1” reports 40 killed and wounded.
Loot: one thousand five hundred rounds of 7.9 mm ammunition for rifles, 5 “panzerfaust”, 1 grenade launcher and 30 shells, sapper-mining equipment, uniforms, and underwear.
Moral state good, physical – in the “Oaza-Ryś” battalion unit very high fatigue.
Intent: digging in, combat reconnaissance.

Commander of the V District
(-) Waligóra Lt. Col. (Remigiusz Grocholski)

Third Silesian Uprising

GAZETA WYBORCZA

Włodzimierz Kalicki May 2, 2005

Although the political decision to start the uprising was made at the day before yesterday’s meeting of the leadership of the civilian and military conspiracy, although the sworn insurgents have been extracting weapons from hiding places for over 20 hours and secretly moving them to the concentration areas of strike units, the formal order to start the armed struggle must be signed by Wojciech Korfanty

At dawn, a strike paralyzes Upper Silesia. All industrial plants are at a standstill. The resolution on the strike and the start of the third Silesian uprising at night was adopted the day before yesterday at a secret meeting of representatives of Polish political groups, trade unions, and the command of the military conspiracy. Wojciech Korfanty, the Polish plebiscite commissioner and undisputed leader of Silesian Poles, secretly learned that day that the Inter-Allied Commission overseeing the plebiscite decided to assign most of the disputed territories to Germany.

Factory sirens howl, church bells ring. Polish Silesians are tearing yesterday’s issue of “Goniec Śląski”, the press organ of the Polish Plebiscite Commission, from each other’s hands. They angrily comment on the newspaper’s information about the resolution of German industrialists who allegedly decided that in the event of Upper Silesia being awarded to Poland, they would destroy all factories and mines there.

Although the political decision to start the uprising was made at the day before yesterday’s meeting of the leadership of the civilian and military conspiracy, although the sworn insurgents have been extracting weapons from hiding places for over 20 hours and secretly moving them to the concentration areas of strike units, the formal order to start the armed struggle must be signed by Wojciech Korfanty. Late in the morning, Lieutenant Colonel Maciej Count Mielżyński, the chief commander of the military conspiracy in Silesia, leaves his office in the gloomy building of the Lomnitz Hotel in Bytom. The hotel houses the headquarters of the Polish Plebiscite Defense Command, where Polish politicians reside. Lt. Col. Mielżyński carries a briefcase with the most important document of his long military career – the order to start the uprising. Behind the colonel follow the head of the insurgent staff, Major Stanisław Rostworowski, and the first operations officer, Lieutenant Remigiusz Count Grocholski.

Lt. Col. Mielżyński, accompanied by officers, enters the spacious office of Wojciech Korfanty. In addition to the host, he finds one of Korfanty’s friends and closest associates, lawyer Konstanty Wolny. For a long moment, the gentlemen consider how the political situation will change after the outbreak of fighting. Finally, Lt. Col. Mielżyński opens the briefcase and hands the order text for signature. But the burden of responsibility unexpectedly paralyzes Korfanty. With a pen in hand, he freezes over the sheet of paper. Surprised, Lt. Col. Mielżyński, who knows very well that there is no turning back, orders Major Rostworowski and Lieutenant Grocholski to submit a detailed report on preparations for the fight. Korfanty still stares as if paralyzed at the order sheet. The unbearable silence is broken by Konstanty Wolny: “Wojtek, since you said a, say b too!”.

Korfanty signs. An hour later, he telegrams Prime Minister Wincenty Witos: “In view of the situation and the immense bitterness of the people, I am unable to fulfill my main task, namely maintaining order and peace in the plebiscite area. For this reason, I hereby resign from the office of plebiscite commissioner, emphasizing that any attempts to reverse my decision will be ineffective.” By resigning from the office authorized by Warsaw, Korfanty politically secures the authorities of the Republic.

But the Polish government wants to avoid armed confrontation at all costs. Politicians and military officials believe that the uprising is poorly prepared, and starting the fight threatens intervention by the German army.

A phone call from Warsaw to the Lomnitz Hotel. Prime Minister Wincenty Witos conveys to Korfanty the official position taken by the government at today’s secret meeting: “The government categorically opposed the start of the uprising.” Korfanty, who has already overcome his hesitation over the order sheet, firmly replies to the Prime Minister that the uprising cannot be called off. He is not moved even by Witos’s argument that the head of state Józef Piłsudski is also against the fight.

Just before 7 p.m., Korfanty telegrams Witos once again. He conveys the favorable information that the commander-in-chief of the inter-allied forces in Silesia, the French General Gratier, apparently has no objections to the armed action of the Poles. In addition, Korfanty asks for confirmation of his resignation from the position of plebiscite commissioner.

Korfanty’s telegram lands on the table where the ministers are deliberating. Arguments and disputes erupt repeatedly. Representing the National Workers’ Party, Jan Jankowski demands government support for the armed action in Silesia, but the ministers ultimately adopt a resolution calling on Korfanty to prevent the uprising. Prime Minister Witos leaves for his office and calls Korfanty. “I am a prisoner of events” – he hears from him. Witos returns to the government meeting room. In this situation, the ministers vote to undertake diplomatic action supporting the uprising.

And the insurgents are already gathering. Unsworn Silesians come with them, demanding weapons. In three or four hours, they will go into battle, but in many secret concentration points, the atmosphere resembles Sunday picnics. Volunteers light campfires, sing songs. Officers struggle to establish military order.

At this time, small sabotage groups of the Polish conspiracy’s Destructive Units Command begin Operation “Bridges”. The future of the uprising depends on its success. The goal is to destroy the bridges on the Oder and thus cut off the German forces on the right bank from supplies and support from deep inside Germany. The key is the 200-meter-long bridge in Szczepanowice near Opole. The command of the operation in Szczepanowice is personally taken by the head of the Destructive Units, Captain Tadeusz Puszczyński “Wawelberg”. After dark, from under the dirt floors in the barns of the Damboniów and Biasów, the saboteurs extract fuses, detonators, and 320 kg of a powerful explosive – melinite. Enough to blow up two granite, three-meter-thick bridge pillars.

But sapper Wiktor Wiechaczek unexpectedly discovers that the several-meter-long slow-burning Bickford fuse is almost entirely soaked. What to do? There is not enough fuse for two charges. “Wawelberg” decides that one pillar must be blown up, but properly, using all 320 kg of melinite. But how? An explosion of such a large amount of melinite initiated by a single detonator may scatter the mine before the entire explosive material is detonated. And then it will end not with the collapse of the span, but with a spectacular but harmless firework. Wiechaczek, a former sapper of the German army, immediately constructs a special detonator in the barn. He places the entire stock of several hundred detonators with mercury fulminate in a tin can and adds another 10 kg of melinite. It should work. There is only one problem – even the slightest shock will cause the detonators and the detonator to explode.

The “Wawelberg” unit sneaks towards the bridge in the darkness. Everyone prays that Wiechaczek carrying the detonator does not stumble or sneeze. A quarter of an hour before midnight, the saboteurs mine the middle pillar of the bridge. They attach 50-kilogram boxes of melinite to it, and in the middle, Wiechaczek’s can with mercury fulminate.

When Wiechaczek finishes attaching the dry section of the fuse in the dark, the phone rings on the desk of the insurgent army commander, Col. Mielżyński. From Warsaw. Col. Bogusław Miedziński, on the order of the Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Władysław Sikorski, tries to force the cancellation of the uprising.

“I am unable to stop the armed uprising” – replies Lt. Col. Mielżyński.

Under the bridge in Szczepanowice, Wiechaczek lights the fuse. At that moment, the patrol guarding the bridge raises the alarm. The Poles jump into the bushes. A moment of waiting and – nothing. Silence. “Wawelberg” along with Wiechaczek and 18-year-old miner Herman Jurzyca, a participant in both previous uprisings, return to the pillar. Half a meter from the detonator, the fuse went out. “Wawelberg” and Wiechaczek retreat, Jurzyca lights the fuse stub again and runs away as fast as he can. A powerful explosion. The great span majestically collapses to the ground.

Text on the plaque in the Church of the Visitation Sisters
on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw

ADAM REMIGIUSZ GROCHOLSKI

* 4.IX.1888 – + 17.III.1965

OFFICER OF PODOLIAN UHLANS
HEAD OF THE 3RD DEPARTMENT, STAFF OF THE 2ND CAVALRY DIVISION – 1920.
HEAD OF THE 3RD DEPARTMENT, SILESIAN UPRISING – 1921.
HEAD OF THE ADJUTANCY OF MARSHAL J. PIŁSUDSKI – 1926.
DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE 1ST MOUNTED RIFLE REGIMENT – 1932-34.
COMMANDER OF THE “BROCHWICZ” ORGANIZATION – 1939-40 COMMANDER OF “WACHLARZ” A.K. 1941-43
COMMANDER OF THE “WALIGÓRA” REGIMENT IN THE WARSAW UPRISING 1944
COLONEL DIPLOMATICALLY DECORATED WITH CROSSES:
(crosses are affixed to the plaque here)

BARBARA CZETWERTYŃSKA

* 21.VI.1900 GROCHOLSKA + 23.VII.1970

MOTHER OF TEN CHILDREN, PARTICIPANT
IN THE WARSAW UPRISING 1944,
DECORATED WITH THE CROSS OF VALOUR.

TO THE PARENTS FOR THE GIFT OF LIFE, FAITH, EXAMPLE
OF SERVICE TO GOD, THE HOMELAND, AND NEIGHBORS
GRATEFUL DAUGHTERS AND SONS.

4. IX. 1988.

Path Beside the Road

I later grew fond of that large, sunny, unattractive salon where I began to function as Marshal’s personal secretary. But at first, I did not approve of such an office…

I moved there one morning, already in that navy blue, percale dress with white polka dots up to the neck. This time I was received by an imposing new adjutant, who, for a change, knew nothing about me, Captain Remigiusz Grocholski.

– You are the personal secretary? – he looked at me as if I were crazy.
– Yes – I said, discouraged by the lack of any ovation from his side – is there a desk for me here?
– There is nothing, there is only a room for the adjutancy. And in general, I know nothing about it.
– Then I will wait. [p. 147]

Captain Grocholski (Remigiusz, note HKG), with whom I was briefly acquainted, had a broad gesture and a beautiful posture. No one could enter and leave a room so well, which might seem at first glance – an easy thing, but actually one of the most difficult. For example – leaving somewhere – to close the door behind oneself without turning thoughtlessly and clumsily in circles at the handle. The captain wrote poems and painted, so he was never boring, and I liked him very much. [p. 201]

It can be argued that my remark about Captain Grocholski is trivial. But it is not. The issue of so-called presence is not trivial. Here again, as in clothing, the virtues and faults of a person are expressed through external gestures, this vehicle of the soul. Neglecting these gestures, through careless and ridiculous arrangements, we often give others a completely false impression of ourselves. [p. 203]

“Path Beside the Road”
Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna
Publishing Society “Rój” Warsaw 1939
Literary remembrance of Józef Piłsudski from the poet’s time working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs

Plaque on Puławska Street 103 in Warsaw

Plaque on Puławska Street in Warsaw

Funeral Speeches

Funeral speech delivered at the Holy Cross Church by Jan Zieja, ps. Rybak, chaplain of the Baszta regiment
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. It is good that this coffin returned from France from the Azure Coast and that it will rest in Poland, if not where the late Colonel Remigiusz once dreamed of, then here on the Mazovian Land. It is good that it will rest in the cemetery in Laski near Warsaw, where the soldiers of 1939 rest, who made their way to Warsaw from under Kutno, from under Modlin, among the soldiers of the Home Army who died before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising or during the Uprising itself. It is good that this coffin returned here because the body of the man resting in it longed for this rest in the Native Land. It is good that this coffin is here and that the deceased’s colleagues can stand by it and keep watch, and some, like the late Colonel Remigiusz once with his whole family, have stood by the altar to be strengthened with the Most Holy Body of Jesus Christ at this funeral. It is good that the body of this soldier returned here to us, wounded in military service already in the First World War, severely wounded in the Warsaw Uprising. The late Remigiusz Grocholski tried in his life and in his soldierly service to combine Christian ideals with the ideals of soldierly service. From childhood, he dreamed of a saber with which he would fight for Poland’s freedom. As he got to know the human fate on earth and what the Cross of Jesus Christ is over all humanity, it seemed to him that Christian and knightly ideals should be combined as much as possible. Many thought so, many still think so, that the sword and the cross can be in some harmony. But human thought reaches deeper and sees deeper and further and higher than we saw in our youth when we secretly prayed for a universal war for the freedom of all peoples. Human thought now in deep reflection and increasingly clearly sees how the Cross of Jesus Christ, how His Name in light goes up, up above nations, above ages, and everything else somehow hides lower and seeks a place for itself. Such thoughts often came to the late Colonel Remigiusz.

Such thoughts were expressed in his book by one of the soldiers of the First World War, and it is worth recalling these words at this coffin: “Shall we be able to fill this gaping chasm of savagery and hatred with the rubble of Polish bodies deprived of a higher spirit than this evil spirit raging in the chasm?” We must become something fundamentally different against the terrible soul of these our enemies. We must exhibit the all-conquering Divine Humanity of our Soul. The late Remigiusz Grocholski often pondered these matters and struggled with the thoughts of other people expressed on these matters, seeking support for man as man, seeking support not in something that lasts one day, one year, one five-year plan, but what does not pass. And he saw only one such point that man can lean on and not perish. This point for the late Colonel Remigiusz was only the one who IS, when everything passes. The only one who is – GOD. The only one who is, to Him everything, to Him everything!

He walked through life so faithfully to the end. Surely his closest family, his venerable wife through her work and service, children faithfully standing by their parents, now already grandchildren will surely follow this highest guidance given to them by the life of this Polish Soldier, God’s Soldier. In our memory for a long time will remain the one we so often saw in the church of the Visitation Sisters approaching Holy Communion. Together with his family. In the memory of the closest ones will remain the one who began every important action of his by turning to the Blessed Mother “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary…”

Before this coffin is carried out of the church, before we perform the last prayers over it here, let us turn to God with the words “O God, the Only One, before You no one stands pure, show Your mercy to Your servant who bore the mark of the Holy Trinity in his life.”

Speech by General Juliusz K. Rómmel

I see your eyes, those smiling and those sad, worried. I see your smile because I have you in my memory and heart. I know you are rejoicing seeing here on this soldiers’ cemetery those closest to you gathered. Here is your venerable wife, with whom you shared all hardships and all inconveniences, all falls and all flights. She was your support throughout your life, helped raise your whole brood into honest, brave, talented people. You see here also comrades from various parts, from Vilnius and Lviv, from Upper Silesia, from all over Poland, because you were always wherever Poland was in need. You belonged to that generation that carved out the borders of Poland. If we have Poland now, we owe it to that generation to which you belonged. When I recall you, and we met 50 years ago, the guns of the First World War were still thundering when Poles from all over the world gathered to carve out future Poland, you were not missing, and then, when the disastrous situation for the partitioning states caused everything to collapse, then Poles in this military and historical turmoil gathered to break through to their country with arms in hand. I remember you under Kiev, under Vinnytsia. Together with you, we created the Polish Army, the so-called “Light Brigade of the Third Corps”. You were my assistant, I sent you to Warsaw to find out “what’s going on”. You were the first to break through all fronts, through that conflagration in Podolia, where Polish centers were burning, where every hut was hostile to us. You managed to break through to Warsaw and brought us news that the Germans were being beaten in the west, that the time was near when Poland would stand on its feet and be free and independent. And then the war for our Homeland began. You were everywhere, we were with you in those skirmishes and those battles in the south under Rovno, under Korosten, under Komarow, you were wounded there, I remember everything and carry it in my heart. You were a soldier everywhere. And then the Upper Silesian Uprising, you organized it too, it broke out according to your plan. So my dear ones, gathered here, God wants it so that we are only temporary guests in this world, each of us will depart, but what each of us did will not depart, our deeds will remain.

So Remigiusz Grocholski has departed physically, but spiritually he is always with us. His deeds speak for themselves. So dear Colonel, sleep peacefully in this soldiers’ cemetery, where all your Comrades of the efforts to create our Homeland are. You did everything for society and for the family, for the country and the nation. The memory of you will not cease to live in our hearts and our souls. Honor to you.

Speech by General Leon Bukojemski

A handful of participants in the Upper Silesian Uprisings want to bid farewell to Colonel Remigiusz Grocholski, our chief of staff of the Third Uprising. I apologize for perhaps returning to history, there was the first and second victorious Silesian uprising. However, we did not manage in this first and second uprising to attach this Upper Silesian land to Poland. Then we turned to the Polish army, which at that time delegated Major Remigiusz Grocholski to Upper Silesia, he connected with the inter-allied mission led by General Le Rond.

The English and Italian occupation forces were against us, however, our beloved chief of staff of the Third Upper Silesian Uprising connected with General Le Rond and together they came up with a plan developed by Remigiusz Grocholski, creating a northern, eastern, and southern front. In victorious battle, we took the St. Anne’s Hill.

After heavy fighting, we withdrew, but what remained was our land and our blood, and that was the reason that this land, which was always ours, remained ours. Honor to you Major, Chief of Staff of the Upper Silesian Forces.

Speech by Ordynat Jan Zamoyski
…it can be said, the struggle of today’s times is a struggle of love against hatred, a struggle of spirit against matter. And He was the one who defended these lofty ideals, because to maintain the balance between Spirit and Matter, these extremes must exist. He was it – unfortunately, not always did things work out for Him in life as He wished, nevertheless, He went through life with this ideal that He chose from the beginning. Today in the church, large crowds bid farewell to Remigiusz Grocholski, giving Him the last service, they did not say goodbye to the body, they said goodbye to the Spirit, which, however, spoke, which, however, reached the minds. If in our life we have heard more than once: “Remiś the fantasist, Remiś sometimes unrealistic”, he had to be, he had to, to oppose those who chose too much the temporal life as their goal.

And today, saying goodbye to Him, saying goodbye to the one who was half a generation older than us, showed the way to many like me and younger. Glory to His memory.
Speech by Colonel Alfred Paczkowski ps. Wania

On behalf of the former soldiers from the “Wachlarz” group, I bid farewell to the Commander of the “Wachlarz” Colonel Grocholski. Colonel Grocholski was not only our commander in a military sense and set an example of his personal courage, he participated in actions for which he was not obliged. He will remain in our memory as a man, as a great man, as a thinker full of optimism and faith in people. Such will the Colonel remain in our life and memory.

Speech by Colonel Józef W. Rokicki ps. Karol

It is my duty to bid farewell on my behalf and on behalf of the soldiers from the Mokotów division, during the uprising – a distinguished commander, a heroic soldier, and the most noble man I met in my life, Colonel Remigiusz Grocholski. After commendable work in the conspiracy, Colonel Grocholski during the Uprising commanded the eastern section of Mokotów, loosely built, and thus exposed to frequent enemy attacks. The Officer Cadet School, Konduktorska and others, are monuments to His glory in the Uprising. During the final period of the Uprising, when he was surrounded by tanks from the “Herman Goering” armored division, he fought tirelessly for every street, every house, every ruin.

He was not only a commander but also a shooter with anti-tank weapons. Today we bid you farewell Dear Colonel with deep sorrow, we will never forget you, your heroism in the Warsaw Uprising has become something that future generations of Polish soldiers will bow to.

Speech by Stanisław Ledóchowski

Colonel Remigiusz Grocholski was a friend of my Father, was the Father of my dearest friends, but above all he was a friend, teacher, and guide for us, the young generation of Poles. And here at the last roll call with Him together, I would like to make a promise that we young will never forget His words, His deeds, and His goals. And whenever needed, as He wanted, we will go like stones thrown by God onto the rampart, of which He was a co-creator.

Remembrance. Gazeta Stołeczna

supplement to Gazeta Wyborcza. March 19, 2007 (download PDF document – 507 KB)

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Biography from the book KNOWN POLES IN THE HISTORY OF VINNYTSIA by Mrs. Wiktoria Kolesnyk.

GROCHOLSKI Remigiusz Adam (1888-1965) – military activist, pseudonyms: Brochwicz, Miś, Doctor, Engineer, Waligóra. Born on August 22, 1888, in Strzyżawka, Vinnytsia County. He was the son of → Tadeusz and Zofia Zamoyska. He graduated from high school in Odessa and the historical and philological faculty of the University of St. Petersburg. He treated tuberculosis for several years in Zakopane and Davos. Then he worked for the Red Cross in the Caucasus.

Around 1914, he stayed, presumably for some time in Podolia. In that year he became a member of PSGR. From December 1914, he served in the Russian army: first in the army, police of the Caucasus, and from July the following year – as an officer for special assignments at the governor of the Caucasus. Organizer of the Congress of Polish Soldiers in Batumi-Tiflis, he was elected its chairman (March 1917). From December of the same year, he commanded the 2nd department of the 3rd staff of the Polish Corps in the East. In January 1919, he was arrested in Warsaw as a member (accidental) of the coup attempt of Gen. M. Januszajtis, but was quickly released. From March 1919, officer of the Polish Army: initially commanded the machine gun squadron of the 12th Uhlan Regiment. After completing the first year of the military school (July-October 1919), he remained there as a translator. From December of the same year, he became an adjutant of the 15th Infantry Brigade, from July 1920 – head of the 3rd department of the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division, from August of the same year – referent in the 3rd department of the staff of the 6th Army. He participated in the 1920 war, from September 1920 he became head of the 3rd department of the staff of Gen. W. Jędrzejewski’s group. In March of the following year, he became head of the PI department in the main command of the insurgent forces during the Third Silesian Uprising, in particular, he was the author of the operational order No. 1 for the start of the uprising. At that time he used the pseudonym Brochwicz.

Remigiusz Grocholski. Photo, around 1919. In the upper left corner, the coat of arms of the Grocholski family Syrokomla*.
Remigiusz Grocholski. Photo, around 1919. In the upper left corner, the coat of arms of the Grocholski family Syrokomla*.

He was a founding member of the Military Knowledge Association (September 1919) and the Aeroclub of the Republic of Poland (1921). From November 1921, he served as an inspector of the eastern border in the Volhynian Voivodeship. In 1923, he briefly worked at the Military Scientific and Publishing Institute, and then as a translator at the Higher Military School. He completed a retraining course at the Central Cavalry School in Grudziądz (1923-24) and the 4th retraining course at the Higher Military School (1924-25). From October 1925, he was an officer of the 3rd Department of the War Council Office, from August 1926 adjutant to → J. Piłsudski. In 1927, he received the rank of major. From 1932, he was the commander of a squadron, and then deputy commander of the 1st Mounted Rifle Regiment. On August 31, 1934, he retired, devoting himself to literary and painting activities. He published several articles in professional military press.

At the beginning of the 1939 war, he organized the “Brochwicz” conspiracy unit in mid-September for reconnaissance activities to support the Independent Operational Group “Polesie”. During the German occupation, he headed a conspiracy organization of the same name in the Lublin region; he used the pseudonyms Brochwicz and Miś. After the organization was subordinated to the Union of Armed Struggle in April – May 1940, he remained out of matters. He was a member of the editorial committee of the magazine “Soldier’s Bulletin”, published from August 1940.

In the spring of 1941, he submitted to the command of the Union of Armed Struggle a project to create a diversion organization that would operate behind the German-Soviet front in the event of a conflict between Germany and the USSR. From September 1941, he was chief of staff and deputy commander, and from April 1942 to March 1943, he was the commander of the diversion organization of the Union of Armed Struggle and the Home Army “Wachlarz”. Initially, he had the rank of major, and from November 11, 1942 – lieutenant colonel; he operated under the pseudonyms Doctor, Engineer, Waligóra. Then he lived in Warsaw under the name Żukowski. During the Warsaw Uprising on September 1, 1944, he was the commander of the V district (Lower Mokotów). Severely wounded on September 25, after 2 days he was taken out of the combat area.

After the war, he lived in Szklarska Poręba, and from 1954 – in Warsaw. He was awarded the Cross of Valour (five times), the Independence Medal with swords (1934), the Virtuti Militari Cross V and IV class.

He died on March 17, 1965, in Cannes, and was buried at the military cemetery in Laski near Warsaw. He was married (wedding on October 11, 1925, to Barbara Czetwertyńska (June 21, 1900, Suchowola – July 23, 1970, Warsaw), daughter of Prince Seweryn Franciszek Czetwertyński and Zofia Barbara Przeździecka, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, decorated with the Cross of Valour. He had seven sons and three daughters with her.

List of members of POSH; — Remigiusz Adam Grocholski “Doctor”* //wilk.wpk.p.lfidj.pl/~whatfor/biog_grocholski.htm; Remigiusz Adam Count Grocholski* //www.polskiebiografie.com/classifieds.php?a=2&b= 1262; *Remigiusz Adam Count Grocholski* // https://www.grocholski.pl/ galeria/full/3_32.jpg; Wachlarz* //www.wilk.wpk.p.lodz. pl/~whatfor/wachlarz.htm; – DAVO: f. 904, op. 21, file 19, pp. 163 rev.-164.

Colors in cavalry and horse artillery – a sacred thing

The author of the article is Mr. Aleksander Smoliński

With the formation of the first uhlan formations in the Saxon army, and then also within the militia of the last Polish king Stanisław August, one of the elements differentiating the various existing parallel cavalry formations of this type were the colors of the pennants placed on lances.

Similarly, this was also done in other cavalry units using this type of weapon, as well as in other foreign armies. With the increase in the number of uhlan regiments in the Polish Army of the Duchy of Warsaw, new color combinations and ways of arranging colors on pennants were also created. Similarly, this was the case during the Polish-Russian war of 1831. From that moment, however, with the disappearance of regular formations of the Polish Army, for many years Poles lost influence on the further development of this element of native and at the same time European clothing tradition.

Color schemes

It is worth noting that among all foreign armies, the one closest to Polish solutions and the most aesthetically pleasing system of colors of this type was used in numerous uhlan regiments of the Tsarist army. This was influenced not only by long-standing mutual military contacts, especially with the Polish Army of the Kingdom of Poland in the years 1815-1830, but also by the fact that in the Russian cavalry, lances remained a regulatory component of its armament until the very end of the existence of uhlan regiments in 1917. Thanks to this, pennants used with them also survived with garrison uniforms. These were pennants with a horizontal arrangement of two main colors separated in the middle by horizontal lines (sometimes also called piping) in the same colors but in reverse order.

In addition, there were also pennants with a different color scheme. In the formations of the Tsarist mounted guard and in cuirassier regiments, these were pennants composed of three colored triangles; in hussar regiments, two horizontally arranged main colors were separated by a line of another color. In dragoon regiments, on the main color of the pennant, two uniform rectangles of another color were placed.

Many Polish officers serving in the Russian cavalry before 1914 and during the years of World War I encountered such pennants on lances. This caused that after 1918, except for this last pattern, all the others were used as pennants on lances and collar pennants in cavalry, horse artillery, and supply units, and for a certain period in armored car squadrons of the reborn Polish Army. To this was added the genealogically oldest solution, namely two colors placed in the form of horizontal stripes, as was the case with the pennant of horse artillery, and then also in communications and pioneer squadrons and the pennant in a uniform color, or other, relatively rarely occurring, combinations of two or more colors. Sometimes the classic shape of the collar pennant was replaced with a triangle or another form.

Their actual, repeated appearance as an element of the Polish soldier’s color occurred a little earlier, during which a new, hitherto unknown form was born, namely collar pennants – according to regulations – worn on the collars of jackets and coats, and then also woolen capes. However, the exact time of their creation and the authorship of this idea is difficult to determine precisely today.

Collar pennants

The genesis of collar pennants has many options. Some historians believe they originate from the end of 1917, and their author is Captain Bronisław Romer from the 1st Krechowiecki Lancers Regiment. Meanwhile, in cavalry literature, at least several other versions related to this can be found.

One of them is contained in the official history of this regiment, where Captain Mikołaj Adolf Waraksiewicz and Lieutenant Jan Pogorski, who served there at the time, are mentioned as the originators of this solution, consisting of placing colors on collars identical in shape and color to those placed on lances. Another version of this event is also contained in the history of the 12th Podolian Lancers Regiment, where the following excerpt from a letter from Colonel Remigiusz Grocholski is included: “My pride is that the pennants of our cavalry are my idea. It happened like this: I was riding in a carriage with Col. Mościcki from Minsk to Dukora (…). I knew the colonel very briefly (…). During the journey, he asked me, as a ‘painter’, to devise a badge for the lancers to distinguish themselves (…). In Dukora, in his room, I ‘colored’ two cut-out pennants with a red pencil at the bottom. The colonel looked at himself in the mirror, having pennants on his collar. He gave the order for squadron commanders to gather – asked for their impression, and so the pennants of the Polish cavalry were created. I remember as present: Captain Pajewski, Captain Romer, Lieutenant Zaza-Podhorski, Captain Żółkiewski, Captain Karol Zdziechowski (…)”.

Unfortunately, this is not the entire catalog of possibilities in this matter. However, it is not time to resolve which of them is true. One thing is certain, however, that they were created in the circle of cavalry and horse artillery officers serving in the Polish Corps in Russia. It is also important that these pennants became an inseparable element of cavalry color and were an original and extremely beautiful Polish solution.

Colors of regimental seniority

At that time, the color code of regimental seniority based on patterns taken from the army of the Kingdom of Poland was finally established. The first three existing uhlan regiments in the Polish Corps received two-color pennants arranged in horizontal zones, where to the lower white color (except for the 2nd Uhlan Regiment, where it was navy blue) an upper amaranth zone was added in the 1st Krechowiecki Lancers Regiment, white in the second regiment, and yellow in the third regiment. In the 4th Zaniemeński Lancers Regiment, formed already in independent Poland, light blue (actually cornflower blue). In later years, efforts were made to ensure that the combination of these five basic colors indicated the seniority of the regiment. However, the introduction of new colors and other shades of those already used, combined with different combinations of their arrangement on the pennant, greatly complicated the readability of this system. However, this was the price that had to be paid for the numerical and structural development of the Polish cavalry, which took place in the years 1918-1921, and then also after 1924…

Documents from the Warsaw Uprising

Documents handed over by the Head of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Public Security, Lt. Col. Józef Różański, to Captain Deska from the 1st Department of the 2nd Directorate on January 25, 1947, for use in the investigation conducted against Waldemar Baczak, Ksawery Grocholski, Witold Kalicki, and Krystyna Kosiorek.

Works