Mieczysław Mackiewicz

In partitioned Poland, Mackiewicz joined the Imperial Russian Army and fought in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), reaching the rank of a captain.

In 1913 he secretly joined the Polish pro-independence organization Związek Strzelecki, and worked with Józef Piłsudski.

He took part in the Polish-Lithuanian negotiations in Suwałki and fought in the Polish-Soviet War, where he commanded infantry divisions and operational groups; He was wounded in 1920, and promoted to general in 1927.

He retired in 1935, but joined the Polish Army again during German invasion of Poland in 1939 as a volunteer.

He settled on the estate of Żydomla near Grodno, which he received for his war services as part of a military settlement.