Rudolf Prich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rudolf Prich | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | 6 August 1881 |
| Died | 1940 (aged 58–59) |
| Allegiance |  Poland |
| Branch | .png){kind=small} Austro-Hungarian Army Polish Army |
| Service years | 1902-1935 1939-1940 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Conflicts | World War I Polish–Soviet War 1939 Defensive War |
| Awards |  Polonia Restituta (Officer's Cross) Gold Cross of Merit Commemorative Medalfor the War of 1919-1921  Medal Dziesięciolecia Odzyskanej Niepodległości |
Rudolf Prich (6 August 1881 – 1940)[1] was a Polish military officer and a major general (pol. generał dywizji) of the Polish Army. He was among the Polish officers who were murdered by the Soviet Union during the Katyń massacre.[1]
Prich was born in 1881 in Opava, Austrian Silesia. During his youth, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he served with distinction during the Great War. In April 1919, he returned to Poland and joined the Polish Army. During the opening stages of the Polish-Bolshevik War between December 1919 and April 1920, he served as the head of the 1st Detachment of the General Staff, responsible for organization and mobilization of forces. Between April 1920 and 1922 in the Polish ministry of military affairs, after the Peace of Riga he remained in the army.
In 1923, after a year of service at the post of commanding officer of the 26th Infantry Division, he was promoted to the rank of generał brygady. After the May Coup d'État of 1926, he was sent to the Centre for Artillery Training in Toruń, where he served as one of the professors and a specialist in anti-air artillery. Promoted to the rank of generał dywizji in 1928, he retired from active service in 1935.