Józef Zajączek

Displeased with reforms in Poland that were threatening its influence there, Russia invaded Poland in May 1792, starting the Polish–Russian War of 1792. Two weeks before the war started, on 4 May Zajączek became the commander of the 3rd Front Guard Regiment (3 regiment straży przedniej). On 26 May he was given command over a reserve corps, and on 29 May he was promoted to the rank of major general.[17] After gathering some troops near Lublin, he departed towards Dubno, which he reached on 7 June.[18] He was one of the Polish commanders at the victorious battle of Zieleńce, for which he received the highest decoration of the Polish military, Virtuti Militari, becoming the fifth person to receive this award, instituted just that year.[19] He took part in some minor skirmishes, but did not participate in any significant battle before Stanisław August Poniatowski surrendered to the enemy, joining the Targowica Confederation.[20] The war ended without any decisive battles, with the Polish army still in the fighting condition, not suffering from any major defeat nor from lack of supplies.[21] Angered at the king's betrayal, Zajączek was one of the main proponents of the plan to kidnap the king; the plan, however, never came to fruition.[20] Like many other dissatisfied officers, including Prince Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, Zajączek requested a discharge from the army; his resignation was accepted on 18 August.[20][22]

Shortly afterward Zajączek left the country, heading to Vienna.[20][23] In August 1793 he moved to Leipzig, joining a number of other Polish emigres, namely Kościuszko and Kołlątaj, preparing for a new war.[24] Soon he became one of the major planners of this approaching conflict, often tasked with delivering important messages to Poland, and collecting information there; in particular he was active in Warsaw, and Kościuszko planned for him to become a commander of that region.[24][25] Zajączek also went on missions to Dresden and Paris.[26] During that time, he became known as a radical revolutionary, democrat and proponent of abolishing serfdom in Poland.[26] In April he joined the "club of Polish Jacobins".[27]

Shortly after the Kościuszko Uprising began in March 1794, Zajączek joined Kościuszko in Luborzyca on 2 April.[28] Zajączek was given the command of the Lesser Poland Division, and on 4 April he took part in battle of Racławice, which concluded with a major Polish victory.[29] On 6 April he was promoted to lieutenant general.[29] Over the next few weeks Zajączek accompanied Kościuszko and his staff.[28] On 8 June he was defeated at the battle of Chełm and retreated toward Lublin.[30] He lost support among the troops, and faced a mutiny, eventually quelled by Kościuszko, on 10 June.[31] In mid June Zajączek's forces merged with those of Kościuszko.[32] He commanded the forces in the inconclusive battle of Gołków on 9–10 July,[33] and soon after he was one of the Polish commanders of the defense of Warsaw that lasted from mid July until early September.[34] In the following few weeks Zajączek became one of the members of the Supreme National Council, and a president of its Criminal Court.[35] He was a commander of the defense of Warsaw during the disastrous battle of Praga of 4 November.[36] During the battle Zajączek was wounded and retreated from the battle even before the conflict was over.[36] He has been criticised for his insufficient preparation for the defense of Warsaw against Russian invasion, and for poor leadership during the battle.[36] Zajączek escaped to Polish Galicia where he was interned by Austrians.[37] He was released one year later, moving to Paris.[37]

In Paris, Zajączek quickly became involved with the active emigre groups there.[38] Hoping to sway revolutionary France into supporting the Polish cause, many Poles, including him, volunteered to join the French Revolutionary Army, eventually leading to the creation of the Polish Legions in Italy led by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, which became a part of Napoleon's army.[39] On 8 March 1797 Napoleon ordered that Zajączek should be recognized as an active brigade general of the French army.[39] That year he published a brochure on his experiences of the 1794 war, Histoire de la révolution de Pologne en 1794, in which he tried to justify his actions.[40][41] Zajączek was, however, still unpopular among the Polish troops, many of whom blamed him for the fall of Praga; due to frequent personal conflicts, Zajączek chose to remain with the French army, rather than joining the Legions themselves.[42] Over the coming years, he took part in the French Revolutionary Wars. He took part in the 1798 Egyptian Expedition.[43] There he also served as a governor of several provinces, first, from July that year, of the Monufia Governorate, later, from January 1799, simultaneously of the Faiyum Governorate and Beni Suef Governorate.[44] On 25 January 1800 he defeated Murad Bey at the Battle of Sédiman.[45] In 1801 he was promoted to division general, and later took part in the failed defense of Alexandria.[46][47]

In 1802 Zajączek became the commander of the French 2nd Division.[48] In 1803 he received the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honour; a year later, the Commander's Cross.[49] In 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition he was assigned to the French Army of the Rhine, where he worked at army's High Command.[50] Next year in September, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, he was assigned to command of the foreign (mostly Polish) North Legion; in the following month he organized another similar unit, the Kalisz Legion.[51] In 1808 those units were reorganized into parts of the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw, in which Zajączek became a general.[51][52] During that time, dissatisfied with his transfer from the French army, and being made subject to Prince Józef Poniatowski whom he disliked, he refused to wear a Polish uniform and swear an oath to the Duchy, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of French marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout.[53][54] In 1809 he commanded several formations in the Polish–Austrian War,[55] where he failed to distinguish himself, instead suffering the only significant defeat in this campaign at the battle of Jedlińsk on 11 June.[56] He remained in the Army after the war, commanding the 2nd Division, and organizing the troops for the expected conflict with Russia.[57]

During Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812, Zajączek commanded the 16th Infantry Division of the V Corps in la Grande Armée.[58] His division performed well at the battle of Smolensk in August where he was wounded, recuperating till October.[59] He rejoined his unit in the time to take part in the battle of Tarutino.[60] After Prince Poniatowski, commander of the V Corps, was wounded, from 1 November Zajączek took charge of that formation.[61] He led it at the battle of Vyazma[62] and battle of Krasnoi[63] until a wound at Berezina claimed his leg, which was amputated by doctor Dominique Jean Larrey.[64] While recuperating from the wound he was taken prisoner by the Imperial Russian Army in Wilno (Vilnius).[64]

Zajączek's name is found on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.[65]