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Finally stumbled across the information needed to put this story to rest. In the book "History of Gdansk" (in English) by Edmund Cieslak, he states,
[INDENT]"In the struggle for Gdansk, apart from the Soviet troops which constituted the main force, Polish detachments also took part: a motorized batallion and a platoon of tanks of the First Armoured Brigade of the Heroes of Westerplatte. On 28th March Polish soldiers ran up the Polish flag at the Artus' Court. The following day Soviet and Polish troops crushed the German resistance in the city, and on 30th March forced a division of the German army on Westerplatte to surrender."[/INDENT]
So, there we have it, seems Commander Klishin was second in command of a batallion of Polish soldiers. They did the flag raising and he got the credit. This is probably the reason he received a "Red Star" instead of the "Patriotic War, 2nd class". That and because they raised the wrong flag first.
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01-13-2009, 05:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-13-2009, 07:53 PM by jefflgarrison.)
Today I received by post the award group, formerly owned by Alfred (Andreas), in which was the ORS for raising the flag over the "Dwor Artus" in Gdansk.
Big thanks to Andreas for parting with them and allowing me to be the proud owner.
This weekend I have a meeting with a former soldier (possibly) of the 1st Armoured Brigade "Heroes of Westerplatte" to discuss the fighting in Gdansk.
I will let those interested know about the meeting.
Oh, and now to hide the credit card bill from my wife :eek:
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Reference post #12 above, I once had a Russian language teacher who said her dad was there as one of the dudes involved in the Reichstag final capture, and was well-decorated. She said he later became mayor of Vilnius (I think) as an ethnic Russian. I never confirmed the story.
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Nice acquisition!
Oh what tangled webs we weave...
This is an example of someone's desire overriding what the "market value" of a piece. There are several intangibles that go into the "pricing" of a piece. Sometimes you get lucky when no one appreciates your particular niche curiousity.
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Ok, I am a bit confused with something in Captain Klishin's service information.
Afred's information states that he was:
- western front June - December 1941
- Stalingrad front October 1942 to January 1943
- Southern front February 1943 to March 1943
- 2nd Byelorussian front since February 1945
He is gone from the battlefield for nearly 2 years during some crucial battles.
Could he have been a political officer attached to a Polish unit?
Finally, three cities are named in his two citations.
Konitz (Chojnice, captured February 14, 1945) Citation for Red Star
Miroz (Miroslawiec, captured February 20, 1945) Citation for OPW1st
Dantzig (Gdansk, captured March 28, 1945) Citation for Red Star
This guy was all over the northern Polish map. Could he have been moved from division to division and therefore not noted in his citations?
Konitz was taken by the "Red Army" February 14th.
Miroz (Miroslawiec in Polish) was taken on February 20th by troops of the 1st Division of Polish 1st army. At that time this division was attached to the 1st Byelorussian Front. After this fight the army was taken out of action until March 1st and used between the 1st and 2nd Byelorussian Fronts.
Gdansk was taken on March 28-30 by the 2nd Byelorussian Front.
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Do you have his career sheet? He may have been at a military academy or in the rear as a decimated unit was refitting.
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I forgot to mention the obvious explanation - a recuperative term in a hospital.
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01-17-2009, 07:44 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2009, 08:08 AM by jefflgarrison.)
Alfred said there was no career sheet supplied with the research.
Ok, so obviously, he was attached to the Southern front after the battle of Stalingrad.
Also obvious is that when the Polish 1st Army started forming in May, 1943 under the command of Berling, they would need political officers to teach the men how to be good communists. Having been involved in Stalingrad and having been a party man since 1931, it would stand to reason that he would have been a good candidate for political officer of a Polish division.
Almost 40% of officers and technical specialists were Soviets, while for command staff and training officers the proportion reached 70 to 85%. Special political officers made completely out of Soviets had overseen Polish soldiers, as Poles weren't trusted.
I am not trying to make up history but simply trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together to get to the whole picture.
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I'd lean toward the teaching or hospital option. Both those were pretty common reasons, and I've seen them in research I've received.
If he was a commissar in a Polish unit, I bet he was a popular dude... :rolleyes:
