BARTSCH Maksymilian

1892

after 1945

The commander of the Gołańcz section of the Northern Front and captain in the Polish Army. Born on 21 February 1892 in Bartodzieje (the then Wągrowiec poviat), to the family of Teodor - a renter, and Juliana née Kruger. He graduated from the gymnasium in Wągrowiec. He took up work at a farm and was involved in social activities in several agricultural circles. In September 1914, as a recruit he was drafted into the German army. He served in the 17th Light Artillery Regiment and the 149th Infantry Regiment. On 30 November 1916, he was made a second lieutenant. In December 1918, he returned from the front and joined the Polish military conspiracy in the Wągrowiec poviat. After the outbreak of the uprising he took over command of the 2nd Wągrowiec Company. He was commander during the seizure of Margonin and resolutely took control and burnt the bridge in Białośliwie (11 January 1919), and participated in the unsuccessful attack on Szamocin (15 January 1919). On 4 April, he took command of the Gołańcz section, and from the troops gathered there, he formed the 3rd battalion of the 4th Greater Poland Rifle Regiment (58th Infantry Regiment). He commanded it until 27 July 1920, taking part in battles on the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front. He stayed in hospital, wounded (from 27 July till 16 August), and then served temporarily (from 4 November) in the 362nd Infantry Regiment. Having been promoted to captain on 5 November 1920, again he found himself in the 58th Infantry Regiment as the commander of the reserve battalion. On 7 September 1921, he went on unlimited leave. From 26 January 1922, he was transferred to the reserves. He returned to work in agriculture, on residual land in Ochodza (near Wągrowiec). He participated actively in the activities of the organisations of the former Greater Poland insurgents, including the Association of Greater Poland Insurgents. He also participated in military operations in 1939, then in the underground resistance of the Union of Armed Struggle formed by the Home Army. In 1940, in Warsaw, his fictional funeral was arranged. He disappeared after the year 1945. He was awarded among other things: the Order of Virtuti Militari of the 5th class, the Cross of Independence, the Cross of Valour (twice), the Golden Cross of Merit and various other medals and badges. He was married and left two children: Krystyna Helena (1922) and Stanisław Teodor (1926).

I. Polak, B. Polak, Bartsch Maksymilian (1892 -after 1945) (in:) Słownik biograficzny powstańców wielkopolskich 1918-1919, ed. A. Czubiński, B. Polak, Poznań 2002, pp.27- 28.

Bogusław Polak