Marian Porwit

Who was Marian Porwit?

Marian Porwit was a Polish military officer, a Colonel of the Polish Army and a military historian. A commander of one of the sections of the Polish front during the Siege of Warsaw of 1939, after the war he became one of the most renowned historians documenting the history of the Invasion of Poland.

Born September 25, 1895 in Gorlice, following the outbreak of the Great War Porwit joined the Polish Legions, where he served with distinction. In 1918 he joined the re-established Polish Army and fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War. In 1926 during the May Coup he supported president Stanisław Wojciechowski and the legal government of Wincenty Witos. For this reason when Józef Piłsudski forced the government to resign, Porwit's military career slowed down until World War II. By 1939 he was promoted to the rank of colonel. Attached to the staff of General Walerian Czuma, Porwit became the commanding officer of the Western Area of the defense of Warsaw during the siege of 1939. The troops under his command defended the westernmost approach towards the city center from September 8 to September 28 before collapsing.