CIACIUCH Jan

1894

1976

Commander of the Poznań-Lviv company and major in the Polish Army. Born on 3 December in Białożewin (Żnin poviat), to the family of a farmer- Jan, and Franciszka née Goliwąs. He graduated from common school and then commercial school. After he completed his commercial apprenticeship, he was conscripted into the German army (1915). He was promoted to the rank of deputy officer. In June 1918, he deserted the army and hid in the Gniezno poviat. After the outbreak of the uprising, he took part in the seizure of Gniezno, the skirmish near Zdziechowa (30-31 December 1918) and in battles near Szubin and Żnin (11 January 1919). From the middle of January till the end of February 1919, he served as an adjutant of the Gniezno command. By decree No. 8, item 14 of the Commissariat of the Supreme People’s Council (dated 13 March), he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. At the beginning of March he took command of the Poznań-Lviv company (204 soldiers) with which, on 9 March, he went to Lviv through Warsaw and Przemyśl. The company joined the battle of Dolgomostiska on 16 March and fought near Melniki on 18 March, opening the railway connection to Horodok. On 20 March, it reached Lviv, where it was assigned to the Lviv Brigade. It manned the Lipinki stretch of defence (30 March) and was active there until 13 April. It was integrated with the 1st Lviv Rifle Regiment (14 April) and as part of it, participated in the April offensive, in the battles of Velyka Berezovytsia and Zbiriv and in taking control of the Sasiv-Zolochiv line, reaching the Matskiv-Gayok-Khromish line on 30 June. On 6 August, the company left for Poznań where it was disbanded. Ciaciuch was assigned to the 10th Greater Poland Rifle Regiment (68th Infantry Regiment) where he served until 1922 as captain and then was transferred to the reserves. He worked for the Polish Radio in Poznań in the years 1927-1937. In 1939 as part of the mobilisation, he was assigned to the Garrison Headquarters in Zalishchyky. After crossing the boundaries of Romania, he was interned. Under a changed name, he escaped from the camp and reached Rhodesia, travelling through Turkey and Palestine. On 10 February 1947 he returned as commander of the transport of 500 Poles from Rhodesia. He settled in Poznań where he worked as the Director of the Commercial Headquarters for Electronic Industry, and then in the Municipal Retail Trade. In 1972, he was promoted to the rank of major. He died on 21 November 1976 and was buried in the Junikowo cemetery. He received the Order of Virtuti Military of the 5th class, the Cross of Independence, the Cross of Valour, the Silver Cross of Merit, the Greater Poland Insurgent Cross, the Lviv Defence Cross and the Star of Przemyśl medal. He was married to Stefania Żyto, with whom he also had two children: Bogna and Wiesław.

B. Polak , Ciaciuch Jan (1894-1976) (in:) Słownik biograficzny powstańców wielkopolskich 1918-1919, ed. A. Czubiński, B. Polak, Poznań 2002, pp. 55-56.

Janusz Karwat