Juliusz Zulauf

Who was Juliusz Zulauf?

Juliusz Zulauf was a Polish Army major general. A recipient of the Virtuti Militari, he fought with distinction during World War I, the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish-Soviet War, and the 1939 invasion of Poland.

Juliusz Zulauf was born in Lwów, then the capital of Austro-Hungarian Galicia. In 1910, after graduating from a local gymnasium, he joined the Lwów University of Science and Technology. There, at the age of 18, he joined the Związek Walki Czynnej and the Związek Strzelecki. After the outbreak of The Great War, on September 1, 1914, he joined the Polish Legions. In 1915 he was promoted to first lieutenant and then to captain. He commanded a company of infantry in the 2nd Legions Infantry Regiment and then in 5th Infantry Regiment. Wounded in July 1916, during the battle of Opłowa he was taken prisoner of war by the Russians. However, Zulauf managed to escape from captivity and cross the front lines to rejoin the Polish Legions. After the Oath Crisis of 1917 he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army.

After Poland was reestablished in 1918, Juliusz Zulauf returned to his hometown, where he joined the Polish Army and took part in the defence of Lwów during the Polish-Ukrainian War. On May 11, 1919, he was given the command of the Polish 4th Legions Infantry Regiment and took part in the opening stages of the Polish-Bolshevik War. Heavily wounded in August of that year, he quickly recovered. However, he did not reassume his former post and instead became the commanding officer of the garrison of Radom on October 1 of that year.