Edward Śmigły-Rydz

Uncommon card · No. 177786

Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz (surname also formulated as Rydz-Śmigły; [ˈɛdvard ˈɕmiɡɫɨ rɨdz] 11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces, as well as a painter and poet. Born in 1886 and orphaned at age 13, Śmigły-Rydz was raised by his maternal grandparents. He graduated with distinction from the local Gymnasium. He completed his studies in philosophy and art history at the Jagiellonian University. During the interwar period, he cultivated a dictatorial cult of personality, and was regarded as a hero for his exemplary record as an army commander in the Polish Legions of World War I and the ensuing Polish–Soviet War in 1920. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief and Inspector General of the Polish Armed Forces following Marshal Józef Piłsudski's death in 1935. Rydz served in this capacity at the start of World War II during the invasion of Poland. As the war approached, Rydz's stature began to eclipse...

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