Leopold Lis-Kula

Leopold Lis-Kula (nom de guerre Lis) was a Colonel of Infantry of the Polish Army, and recipient of the Virtuti Militari. Lis Kula was born on November 11, 1896 in the village of Kosina near Lancut (Austrian Galicia), and died on March 7, 1919 in the villlage of Torczyn near Lutsk, Volhynia, during the Polish–Ukrainian War.



His father Tomasz Kula was a railway worker, while mother Elzbieta née Czajowska was a housewife. Leopold was their fourth child, and to provide better education for the children the family moved to Rzeszow in ca. 1910. Altogether, Tomasz and Elzbieta had eight children.

Young Leopold, raised in a patriotic spirit by his mother, attended Austrian State Gymnasium II, which now is a high school named after him. He was an average student, who liked to cut classes: in spring 1911, on a day when Leopold decided not to go to school, he founded a secret youth organization, and soon afterwards, he joined boy scouts. In November 1911, Andrzej Malkowski, the father of Polish boy scouting in Galicia, came to Rzeszow. During a meeting with local teenagers, Leopold Kula took on a nickname “Lis” (“Fox”).

By spring 1912, Kula was one of main members of patriotic youth organizations in Rzeszow. Together with other teens, he practiced military training in forests around Glogow Malopolski and Tyczyn. Some time in 1912, he left boy scouting and joined Riflemen's Association. In summer 1912, the association organized secret training camp near Jaslo. Jozef Pilsudski, who attended the event, personally talked with Lis-Kula, congratulating the young activist on his skills and enthusiasm. Recommended by Pilsudski, Kula was sent to Zakopane, where he completed summer officer school of the Riflemen's Association. In 1913, Leopold, who as 16 at that time was named deputy commandant of Rzeszow branch of the association.

On August 5, 1914, together with a group of riflemen, Kula came to Krakow where he was named commandant of the 4th Company of a group of Mieczyslaw Trojanowski. In the fall of that year, Kula took part in the First Cadre Company’s fighting against Russians in the area of Kielce. On October 9, 1914, he was promoted to the rank of Podporucznik (second lieutenant), by Jozef Pilsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski. 18-year old Leopold then fought in the battles of Krzywoploty and Lowczowek (November - December 1914). He was generally regarded as an excellent and courageous leader.



In spring of 1915, together with 1st Brigade, Polish Legions, Lis crossed the Vistula river, moving eastwards, to Volhynia. In his spare time, Leopold studied French language and read works of Kant, Nietzsche and Spinoza. In January 1915, during a leave in Wadowice, he completed final high school exams. In 1917, after the so-called Oath crisis, Kula was interned, and then drafted into Austrian Army, which sent him to the Italian Front.

Some time in 1918 Leopold returned to Galicia, and immediately busied himself with creation of Polish Army. He was of Pilsudski’s favourite soldiers, and a very brave soldier. During the Polish–Ukrainian War, he fought both in Eastern Galicia and Volhynia, taking part among others in the Battle of Lemberg (1918). In the night of March 6/7, 1919, Kula carried out a successful attack on a Volhynian town of Torczyn, which had been in Ukrainian hands. On March 7 he died from wounds he had received during the night battle.

Leopold Lis Kula was at that time regarded as one of the most gifted Polish officers. He was posthumously promoted to Colonel (Polkovnik), and his funeral, which took place in Rzeszow, turned into a patriotic demonstration. Kula was buried at Rzeszow’s Pobitne Cemetery; among flowers placed on his coffin was a wreath that said “To my brave boy - Jozef Pilsudski”.

Lis was posthumously awarded Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari and Cross of Independence (December 19, 1930). Several streets and buildings were named after him, as well as an armoured train Lis-Kula (named so on April 5, 1919). In 1937, Warsaw’s 5th Men Gymnasium was named after him, and on March 8, 1939, Polish Minister of Internal Affairs named a settlement near Torczyn “Kolonia Lisa-Kuli”. Also in 1939, Lis Kula was named patron of the 23rd Infantry Regiment from Wlodzimierz Wolynski. His monument is located in Rzeszow.