Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz
Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz
1883–1940
✕ Killed in German-occupied Warsaw in 1940
Anti-Soviet partisan commander who moved from Estonia to Belarus, changing camps as he went
Born to a Belarusian-Polish family near Vilnius, he fought as a cavalry officer of the Russian imperial army in the First World War, served briefly in the Red Army in 1918 and went over to the White Northern Corps at Pskov. His troops took Pskov on 25 May 1919, and the executions and abuse of Jewish inhabitants there caused trouble even within the White camp. He broke with Yudenich and sided with the Estonians, briefly detained Yudenich in January 1920 on the eve of the Northwestern Army's dissolution, and then took his men to Poland to fight under Piłsudski. After the armistice of October he marched independently on Mozyr under the banner of a Belarusian People's Republic with Polish acquiescence, was beaten in November, and this campaign too is recorded for his troops' anti-Jewish violence. As a Polish citizen he led volunteers in the defence of Warsaw in 1939, and was killed in occupied Warsaw in 1940.
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionAnti-Soviet commander from Estonia to BelarusChanged from Red to White service, fought on the Estonian front and later cooperated with Poland. His independent Belarusian expedition after the 1920 armistice failed. His troops’ anti-Jewish violence is also part of the war’s record.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsAnti-Soviet commander from Estonia to BelarusTook Pskov in May 1919 with the White Northern Corps, broke with Yudenich to side with the Estonians, and moved with his troops to Poland in 1920.
- 1919–1921The Soviet-Polish WarAnti-Soviet commander from Estonia to BelarusChanged from Red to White service, fought on the Estonian front and later cooperated with Poland. His independent Belarusian expedition after the 1920 armistice failed. His troops’ anti-Jewish violence is also part of the war’s record.
Revolution and independence wars
Changed from Red to White service, fought on the Estonian front and later cooperated with Poland. His independent Belarusian expedition after the 1920 armistice failed. His troops’ anti-Jewish violence is also part of the war’s record.