Rudolf Prich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rudolf Prich (1881-1940) was a Polish military officer and a generał dywizji of the Polish Army. He was among the Polish officers murdered by the Soviet Union during the Katyń massacre.

Born 1881, Prich in his youth joined the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he served with distinction during the Great War. In April of 1919 he returned to Poland and joined the Polish Army. During the opening stages of the Polish-Bolshevik War between December of 1919 and April of 1920 he served as the head of the 1st Detachment of the General Staff, responsible for organization and mobilization of forces. Between April of 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'Etat 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.

After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War he returned to duty and on September 11 was made the commander of all the Polish forces defending the area of Lwów. He held that post until relieved on September 16, and then took part in the battle of Lwów as a commander of one of the areas of defence of the besieged city. After the capitulation of the Polish forces had been negotiated on September 22, 1939, Prich was to be released home along with other reserve and retired officers. However, contrary to the terms of the capitulation he was arrested by the NKVD and held in various prisons in the city. He was murdered in the spring of 1940, during the Katyń massacre.