7th Legions' Infantry Regiment
7th Legions Infantry Regiment (Polish language: 7 Pulk Piechoty Legionow, 7 pp Leg.) was an infantry regiment of the Polish Army. It existed from 1918 until 1939. Garrisoned first in Ostrow Mazowiecka and then in Chelm, it was part of the 3rd Legions Infantry Division.
The regiment was formed on May 1, 1918 in the centers of Polska Sila Zbrojna at Ostrow Mazowiecka and Zegrze. The new unit, which at that time was called 1st Infantry Regiment consisted of three infantry battalions and a company of machine guns. In November 1918, its soldiers disarmed German garrisons of Warsaw, Ostrow Mazowiecka and Malkinia. In early February 1919, the regiment was renamed the 7th Legions Infantry Regiment, to fight in the Polish-Soviet War.
In the Second Polish Republic, the 7th Legions Infantry Regiment was stationed in the garrison of Chelm, as part of the 3rd Legions Infantry Division. On September 24, 1933, during a special ceremony attended by President Ignacy Moscicki and General Felicjan Slawoj-Skladkowski, a monument dedicated to the soldiers of the regiment killed in the wars of 1918-1920 was unveiled in Chelm.
Commandants
- Colonel Karol Udalowski (1 V 1918 - 16 III 1920)
- Colonel Zdzislaw Mackowski (since 17 VII 1920)
- Colonel Michal Micewicz
- Colonel Mieczyslaw Wieckowski (XI 1925 - † 13 V 1926)
- Colonel Stanislaw Borowiec (X 1926 - VI 1930)
- Colonel Stanislaw Dabek (VI 1930 - 1937)
- Colonel Wladyslaw Muzyka
Symbols
On September 22, 1921 in Podbrodzie, the anniversary of the Battle of Brzostowica, Colonel Władysław Bończa-Uzdowski handed the flag to the regiment. It was funded by the Association of Landowners of the Land of Chelm, and the ceremony was attended by Bishop Wladyslaw Bandurski.
The badge, approved in 1928, was in the shape of the cross, with the 1916 Eagle of the Polish Legions and the initials 7 PPL.
Sources
- Kazimierz Satora: Opowieści wrześniowych sztandarów. Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1990
- Zdzisław Jagiełło: Piechota Wojska Polskiego 1918-1939. Warszawa: Bellona, 2007