Antoni Szylling Antoni Szylling ( 31 August 1884 - 17 June 1971 ) was a Polish general , considered , along with Generals Wiktor Thommée and Stanisław Maczek , to have been one of the most successful Polish Army commanders during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 . Biography . Antoni Szyling was born in Płoniawy - Bramura . He finished a 7 - year trade school in 1904 and from an early age was an active member of the Polish pro - independence nationalist paramilitary organization the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party . He had several safehouse s , in which he stored " bibuła " and arms , as well as hiding wanted PPS members and members of other organizations . Arrested by the authorities of the Russian Empire , he served several one - and - a - half - month sentences in the Warsaw Citadel and Daniłłiczowski Prison . He was also denied the right to study at a university and was conscripted into the Russian Army for two years ( 1905 – 1907 ) . In 1910 , he married Zofia Bajkowski ( 1887 – 1944 ) . In the years 1909 - 1912 he was able to finish ' industrial - agricultural courses ' at the Higher Agricultural School in Warsaw , and from 1912 to 1913 he worked on an experimental folwark in Szamocin . In 1914 he was mobilized into the Russian Army again and fought in the First World War . In 1917 , with the rank of captain , he joined the Polish 2nd Corps in the East . In 1918 he was promoted to major , and soon afterwards taken prisoner by the Germans . In January 1919 he joined the Polish Army . During the Polish - Soviet War he commanded the 44th Infantry Regiment . In 1922 he was promoted to colonel and later retired at his own request . In 1925 he was commissioned again and became the commander of the 28th Infantry Division in Warsaw . Later he commanded the 23rd Infantry Division in Katowice and the 8th Infantry Division in Modlin . In 1929 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general ( generał brygady ) . In May 1937 he worked at the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces in Silesia . During the German attack on Poland ( 1939 ) that started World War II he commanded Army Kraków . This army was the main pivot of Polish defence . Its main task was to delay advancing German troops and withdraw eastwards along the northern line of the Carpathians and defend the heavily industrialized Upper Silesia region . It consisted of four infantry divisions ( 6th , 7th , 23rd and 55th ) , two mountain infantry divisions ( 21st and 22nd ) , one mountain brigade and two cavalry brigades : one motorized ( 10th ) and one standard ( " Kraków " ) . It was the most southwestern of the Polish Armies , with Army Łódź to its north and Army Karpaty to its southeast . During the early stages of the Battle of the Border the northern Army Łódź was partially surrounded by quickly advancing German forces . Army Kraków , attacked by the German 14th Army under the command of General Wilhelm List , was forced to retreat to protect its flanks from 2 September onwards . A careful tactician , General Szylling followed the strategy of ' retreat to fight another day ' instead of engaging the superior enemy . General Szylling , despite the increasingly difficult situation for the Polish forces , was able to retreat successfully towards the city of Lublin , following his orders and avoiding several German attempts to surround him . On 19 September Szyling ' s forces joined with Army Lublin of General Tadeusz Piskor in the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski , the second largest tank battle of the campaign . Polish forces followed the plan of General Piskor , but the German defences proved too strong and the majority of Polish forces , including the headquarters of both generals , were encircled and surrendered on 20 September . Hence General Szylling became a German prisoner for the second time . He spent most of the war in the Oflag VII - A Murnau POW camp . On 30 April 1945 he was freed by advancing American forces ; he decided not to return to Polish Communist - controlled Poland , but emigrated to France and later to the United Kingdom and , finally , to Canada ( in 1947 ) . In 1949 he married Maria Róża Dobrowolska ( 1896 – 1986 ) . He lived on a farm at Abercorn , near Montreal , where he died on 17 June 1971 . He is buried in Saint - Sauveur , Quebec . He actually died at the Maria ( Currie ) Sklodowski Polish Home for the Aged on Belanger Street in Montreal After emigrating he wrote a monograph , " Moje dowodzenie we wrześniu 1939 " ( " My command in September 1939 " ) . The original draft was given to Antoni Borejsza - Wysocki ( 1918 – 2000 ) to be published at a later date . It was published in Kraków in 2007 - with some minor changes and additions unbeknownskt to the author . In 1946 the Polish government promoted him to generał dywizji in recognition of his valor .