Širica, Michal

Sirica, Michal

     
Příjmení:
Surname:
Širica Širica
Jméno:
Given Name:
Michal Michal
Jméno v originále:
Original Name:
Michal Širica
Fotografie či obrázek:
Photograph or Picture:
Hodnost:
Rank:
sborový generál Corps General
Akademický či vědecký titul:
Academic or Scientific Title:
- -
Šlechtický titul:
Hereditary Title:
- -
Datum, místo narození:
Date and Place of Birth:
01.02.1894 Smrečany /
01.02.1894 Smrecany /
Datum, místo úmrtí:
Date and Place of Decease:
18.07.1970 Bratislava / 18.07.1970 Bratislava /
Nejvýznamnější funkce:
(maximálně tři)
Most Important Appointments:
(up to three)
- veliteľ Pešieho pluku 21 "David" (1942)
- veliteľ 2. taktickej skupiny "Fatra" (1944)
- veliteľ Vojenskej oblasti 4 (1945-1950)
- Commander of the 4th Military Area
Jiné významné skutečnosti:
(maximálně tři)
Other Notable Facts:
(up to three)
- v zajatí (1915-1917)
- uväznený (1945)
- uväznený (1954-1955)
-
Související články:
Related Articles:
Zdroje:
Sources:
Vojenský ústřední archiv Praha, fond Kvalifikační listiny vojenských osob
Vojenský ústřední archiv Praha, fotoarchiv
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Sirica-Michal-t46998#417560 Version : 0
     
Příjmení:
Surname:
ŠiricaŠirica
Jméno:
Given Name:
MichalMichal
Jméno v originále:
Original Name:
Michal Širica
Všeobecné vzdělání:
General Education:
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR Ľudová škola, Smrečany
DD.MM.1911-DD.MM.1914 Nižšia hospodárska škola, Široké
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR Elementary School, Smrecany
DD.MM.1911-DD.MM.1914 Lower economic school, Siroke
Vojenské vzdělání:
Military Education:
DD.MM.1919-DD.MM.1919 Škola pre dôstojníkov pechoty, Sľuďanka
Důstojnické hodnosti:
Officer Ranks:
08.11.1919 podporučík
DD.05.1921 nadporučík
DD.06.1922 kapitán
23.02.1924 štábny kapitán
17.05.1939 podplukovník
DD.01.1943 plukovník
01.06.1945 brigádny generál
DD.10.1946 divízny generál
01.09.1947 zborový generál
01.02.1951 výslužba
DD.MM.RRRR zbavený hodnosti
DD.MM.1964 rehabilitovaný
Průběh vojenské služby:
Military Career:
DD.MM.1914-DD.MM.RRRR 67. peší pluk
02.10.1915-DD.03.1915 ruský front
DD.03.1915-DD.08.1917 v ruskom zajatí
20.08.1917-DD.MM.RRRR 7. československý strelecký pluk
DD.10.1919-DD.MM.RRRR veliteľ čaty, 12. československý strelecký pluk
DD.12.1919-DD.MM.1920 obrana 3. československej streleckej divízie
DD.01.1921-DD.12.1921 Peší pluk 12
DD.12.1921-DD.MM.RRRR Peší pluk 44
DD.04.1927-30.09.1929 veliteľ 4. roty, Horský prápor 12
DD.MM.1929-DD.MM.RRRR veliteľ 1. roty, Horský prápor 11
DD.MM.1930-DD.MM.RRRR veliteľ roty / zástupca veliteľa II. práporu, Peší pluk 30
DD.MM.1931-DD.MM.1933 zástupca veliteľa práporu, Peší pluk 36
DD.09.1933-30.12.1937 pobočník veliteľa 22. pešej brigády
DD.MM.RRRR-15.12.1938 Peší pluk 33
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.1939 veliteľ 17. divízie
DD.04.1939-DD.MM.1939 inštruktor, Peší pluk 2
26.06.1939-DD.MM.1939 posádkový veliteľ v Žiline
DD.11.1939-DD.MM.RRRR veliteľ Pešieho pluku 6
DD.09.1940-DD.MM.RRRR prednosta Všeobecného úradu Divíznej oblasti 1
26.06.1941-DD.MM.1942 zástupca veliteľa Divíznej oblasti 1
21.09.1942-DD.MM.RRRR zástupca veliteľa Divíznej oblasti 1
DD.01.1945-02.04.1945 väznený
12.04.1945-DD.MM.1945 oblastný veliteľ pre východné Slovensko
20.09.1950-01.02.1951 nútená dovolenka
DD.MM.1914-DD.MM.RRRR 65th Infantry Regiment
02.10.1915-DD.03.1915 Russian front
DD.03.1915-DD.08.1917 in Russian captivity
20.08.1917-DD.MM.RRRR 7th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment
DD.10.1919-DD.MM.RRRR platoon leader, 12th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment
DD.12.1919-DD.MM.1920 defense 3rd Czechoslovak Rifle Division
DD.01.1921-DD.12.1921 12th Infantry Regiment
DD.12.1921-DD.MM.RRRR 44th Infantry Regiment
DD.04.1927-30.09.1929 commander of the 4th company, 12th Mountain Battalion
DD.MM.1929-DD.MM.RRRR commander of the 1st company, Mountain Battalion 11
DD.MM.1930-DD.MM.RRRR company commander / deputy commander II. battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment
DD.MM.1931-DD.MM.1933 deputy battalion commander, 36th Infantry Regiment
DD.09.1933-30.12.1937 aide to the commander of the 22nd Infantry Brigade
DD.MM.RRRR-15.12.1938 33rd Infantry Regiment
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.1939 commander of the 17th division
DD.04.1939-DD.MM.1939 instructor, 2nd Infantry Regiment
26.06.1939-DD.MM.1939 garrison commander in Žilina
DD.11.1939-DD.MM.RRRR Commander of Infantry Regiment 6
DD.09.1940-DD.MM.RRRR head of the General Office of 1st Divisional District Command
26.06.1941-DD.MM.1942 Deputy Commander of 1st Divisional District Command
21.09.1942-DD.MM.RRRR Deputy Commander of 1st Divisional District Command
DD.01.1945-02.04.1945 arrested
12.04.1945-DD.MM.1945 regional commander for eastern Slovakia
20.09.1950-01.02.1951 forced vacation
Vyznamenání:
Awards:
Poznámka:
Note:
DD.MM.1954-DD.MM.1955 uväznený1954-1955 imprisoned
Zdroje:
Sources:
Ján Štaigl a kol. - Generáli - slovenská vojenská generalita 1918 - 2012, 2. vyd., Magnet Press, ISBN 978-8089169-25-2
buko1
LÁNIK, J. a kol.: Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939 – 1945. Praha 2005. ISBN 80-7278-233-9
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Sirica-Michal-t46998#490244 Version : 0
Corps General Michal Širica

* February 1, 1894, Smrečany, okr. Liptovský Mikuláš
+ 18.07.1970, Bratislava

- legionnaire; commander of the II. tactical group during the SNP

Michal ŠiricaMichal Širica was born as the fifth of thirteen children, but was more fortunate than his eight siblings who died in infancy. After finishing primary school, he started his studies in 1911 at an economic school in the village of Široké near Prešov, which he did not complete, however, because after the outbreak of World War I he was conscripted into the army on September 14, 1914. He begins his military service in Prešov in the 67th Infantry Regiment and after completing basic training and being promoted to the rank of lance corporal (December 1914) he is sent with his regiment to the Eastern Front. However, he does not fight for the C. and K. monarchy for long, because already on 21.3.1915 he is captured by Russian troops near the Lupkovsky Pass and like many other prisoners he is used for strategically important military work. Among other things, this is how Freedman Shirica is helping to build the Kazan-Sverdlovsk railway line.

In captivity, another significant chapter of his life begins. In 1917, he joins the Czechoslovak Legion in Berezany and is assigned to the 12th Company of the 7th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment of the Tatra Mountains, with which he travels to Vladivostok in March 1918. From July to August 1918 he fights in Siberia and from October he is an instructor in a Czechoslovak camp for Slovaks in Irkutsk. In November 1918 he is promoted to the rank of sergeant and in January 1919 to the rank of sergeant-major. Due to his demonstrated abilities, he is enrolled as a student at the Artillery Officers' School in Slyudyanka, Siberia, in June 1919, and upon its completion, he takes up the post of platoon commander of the 11th Company of the 12th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment of M. R. Štefánik. This regiment first took part in guarding the Siberian Highway and from December 1919 in securing the retreat of the Czechoslovak troops to Vladivostok.

When he returned to his homeland in December 1920, already at the rank of second lieutenant, he would not have dreamed of continuing his military career. The experiences of the frontline battles and all his war experiences strengthened his dislike for war and for the profession of a professional soldier. In his own words, he disliked the war and remained a professional soldier only because of his social and family circumstances. Being an officer meant having some bread in the then economic conditions of the first Czechoslovakia.

He was recruited as a soldier in 1920 in his parent regiment in Komárno, where he returned after a short repatriation leave. At the same time, he is in charge of administrative matters related to the regiment's operations outside the territory of the republic. He performs several functions in the regiment. From platoon commander, to assistant garrison commander, to battalion quartermaster. Promotion awaits him in May 1921, when he becomes a lieutenant. As a proper career soldier, he does not stay in one garrison for long, and in December 1921 he is transferred to the 44th Infantry Regiment to Liberec, where he is posted first as a company commander and later as a machine-gun company commander (from April 1922). Further rank advancement follows in June 1922, when he is promoted to the rank of captain and becomes a staff captain in February 1924. He returns to Slovakia in April 1927, when he is transferred to Mountain Battalion XII in Prešov as a company commander. In the same capacity, he also serves briefly in Mountain Battalion XI in Bardejov and in Mountain Battalion X in Sabinov. At the end of August 1929 he is permanently transferred to Mountain Battalion XI, where he stays for almost one year. Subsequently, he is again transferred to Presov to Infantry Regiment 14, where he replaces the positions of company commander, deputy battalion commander and commandant of the NCO school. In January 1930, he is promoted to the rank of major. From May 1931 he finds himself in the extreme east of the Republic, serving with Infantry Regiment 36 in Uzhhorod as deputy battalion commander until August 1933. From there he is transferred to the headquarters of the 22nd Infantry Brigade in Prešov, where he serves as an aide-de-camp to the brigade commander. At the end of December 1937, he transfers to Infantry Regiment 33 "Doss Alto" to Cheb, from where the regiment moves to Slovakia in February 1938.

During the September mobilization, mjr. Širica temporarily took command of the 1st Battalion, which was stationed in Moravské Sv. Ján (today's Moravský Ján). His unit was tasked with the protection of the state border with Austria, which at that time was already part of Hitler's Third Reich. The 1st Battalion protected the stretch from Dynburg (today's Suchohrad) to the mouth of the river Dyje into the Morava. After demobilization on 14.12.1938, he moved with the unit to the peacekeeping garrison in Modra.

After the establishment of the Slovak Republic on 14.3.1939 he is transferred to Prešov, where he took command of the 17th Division, which under his command participated in repelling the Hungarian attack on Slovakia. At the same time, however, mjr. Širica also had to undertake a difficult task - to carry out the disbanding of the unit and the separation of officers and men of Czech and Slovak nationality. On 17.5.1939 he is promoted to lieutenant colonel and stays in Prešov until the beginning of July as an instructor of Infantry Regiment 2. It was in Prešov that he established his first contacts with the organizers of the anti-fascist resistance in eastern Slovakia - Dr. Daxner from Vranov n/T, Dr. Mačuh and later also with the leading figure of the civil resistance group Obrana národa (Defence of the Nation) Dr. J. Lichner. From June 1939 he commanded the training centre in Žilina and then from November 1939 the 6th Infantry Regiment stationed in the same garrison.

Like many other officers dissatisfied with the People's regime, Col. Shirica, even before the World War II began, intended to flee to Poland and from there to the Middle East. However, he was dissuaded from this idea by Dr. Lichner, who convinced him that he would be more useful to the Resistance in Slovakia.

From 1.11.1939 he became the commander of the Mountain Infantry Regiment 6 in Žilina and after a short period, during which he was transferred to the direct subordination of the MNO in Bratislava, he took up the post of the head of the General Office at the Divisional Area Command 1 (hereinafter referred to as VDO 1) in Trenčín at the beginning of October 1940. From 26.6.1941 he was deputy commander of VDO 1. The termination of his assignment in peacekeeping garrisons means for Lt. Shirica the date of 31.1.1942, when he is sent to the eastern front. After arriving at the front (Mius River, Don region), he takes command of the Motorized Infantry Regiment 21 "David", which was part of the Slovak Rapid Division, and holds this post from 17.2.1942 to 19.7.1942.

He returns to his original post at VDO 1 at the end of July 1942. It was during his time at VDO 1 in Trencin that Col. Shirica contacts with Colonel Gšt. Ján Golian, the future commander of the Military Headquarters of the Slovak National Council. On 1 January 1943 he is promoted to the rank of colonel of infantry. In the same year he completes a one-month course for regimental commanders at the Infantry School in Döberitz (Infanterieschule in Döberitz) near Berlin.

In March 1944 he took command of Infantry Regiment 3 in Zvolen, with which he moved to Svidník in May 1944 to join the Eastern Slovak Army under construction. On 2 July 1944, however, due to acute health problems, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Prešov and after a two-month hospitalization he was discharged for home treatment and subsequently began spa treatment in Korytnice. It was here that the beginning of the Slovak National Uprising caught up with him.

Without finishing his spa treatment, he reports to Col. Michal Širica immediately after the outbreak of the Uprising at Col. Golian in Banská Bystrica and already on 3 September 1944 he takes command of the garrison of the replacement battalion of Infantry Regiment 6 in Dolný Kubín. Units under his command fought with Kampfgruppe Volkmann, which captured the Vesta refinery in Trstena on 4 September 1944.

From 10.9. 1944 he commanded II. tactical group with the code name Fatra with headquarters in Brezno. The group had eight combat battalions, each with the codename Flower, and numbered about 11,000 men, approaching the combat value of an infantry division at the time. II Tactical Group was the largest tactical and operational grouping of the 1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia. In view of this, this group had the important task of covering the longest (about 130 km) stretch of the insurgent front. The section stretched from the Demänovská valley along the ridges of the Low Tatras to Vernár, in an arc through Dobšinú and Revúca to Rožňava and along the then Hungarian-Slovak border to Lučenec. Here, approximately in the area Podkriváň-Detva, he followed the III Tactical Group.

Despite this difficult task, the units of II Tactical Group, especially the exposed defensive sections of Kosatec and Plesnivec, achieved significant combat successes, especially with operations of an offensive nature during the period from 10 September - 19 October 1944. For example, the defensive section Plesnivec under the command of kpt.gšt. J. Stanek advanced from Telgárt (today's Švermovo) to an area 2 km south of Hranovnice and had an open road to Poprad. This promisingly developing attack must have been the first time that Col. Širica, despite the protests of his subordinates, stopped it, as the order of the army commander was to release a considerable force for deployment to the area Jánova Lehota near Sv. Križ nad Hronom (today's Žiar nad Hronom).

After the general offensive of the German army, the troops under the command of Col. Širica in a critical situation. On 19 October 1944, the right regimental group 18. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division "Horst Wessel", with its main column heading from Jelšava to Revúca and a secondary one to Rimavská Baňa. Three days later, on 22 October 1944, the left regimental group of this division also attacked and attacked the units of II Tactical Group with the main part of its forces. Its three weak cover battalions were not helped even by the strong reserves sent by the 1st Czechoslovak Army Headquarters in Slovakia. In addition, the enemy attacked from the north on 23 October 1944 with units of Kampfgruppe Wittenmeyer and other units, and so the group's disaster was complete. On 25.10.1944 in the early morning hours the headquarters of II. tactical group had to leave Brezno and through Kozí Chrbát-Prašivá-Latiborská hora-Hiadeľ to retreat.

During the retreat, he put at Col. Širica's untreated gall bladder and after a short hiding in the Čerpiator shepherd's hut and in the evangelical orphanage in Liptovský Mikuláš, his health deteriorated so much that he had to be hospitalized in the hospital in Martin. Even here, however, he did not hide from the tracking dogs, and on 5 January 1945 he was tracked down and arrested by members of a search party of the Central State Security Bureau (ÚŠB). Due to his high position in the rebel army, he was investigated by the head of the ÚŠB himself, Dr. Pavol Denk. After the investigation was completed, he was handed over to the Military Field Court in Bratislava. At the same time, the Military Prosecutor's Office drew up an indictment against Col. Shirica for the crimes of treason against the Republic, contact with the enemy armed forces, military treason and many others.

Fortunately, the movement of the front was faster than the movement of the official machinery and the liberation of Bratislava on 4.4.1945 brought freedom not only to the inhabitants of the capital but also to the imprisoned Col. Shiric. The very next day he set off for Košice, where he reported to the Ministry of National Defence on 13.4.1945. He is immediately appointed to the post of Commander of the Eastern Area Command, based in Košice. On 1.6.1945 he is promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and on 15.6.1945 he is appointed temporary commander of VII Corps in Trenčín. He held this post until 20.10.1945, when he took over the command of the 4th Area in Bratislava as its temporary commander. He was subsequently appointed to this post on 28.10.1945 and less than a year later he was promoted to the rank of division general.

However, it was not the last promotion, because on 1.9.1947 he is promoted to the second highest general rank - corps general (followed only by army general). During his tenure as commander of the 4th Area, units under his command took part in one of the largest combat performances of the Czechoslovak armed forces in the post-war period - "Action B". Under this designation was hidden the deployment of the army, units of the National Security Corps and partisans called up for service against the members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, better known in our territory as the Banderaites.

At the head of the 4th region remained Div. Gen. Shirica until 20.9.1950, when he was sent on leave. On the basis of a trumped-up charge he was, like many other fighters, transferred to retirement, subsequently stripped of his military rank and unjustly imprisoned between 1954 and 1956. After his release from prison, he was employed in the tourist office Turista and earned his living in a boat rental company and later in a tourist dormitory at Bratislava Castle.

His rehabilitation did not take place until 1964, when his military rank was restored. General Michal Širica died in Bratislava at the age of 76.

Honour his memory!


Tlach, J. et al.: Zabudnutí velitelia (Forgotten Commanders), Pramene Bratislava for the SNP Museum in Banská Bystrica, 1991, ISBN 80-85-193-06-X
www.vojenstvi.cz
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Sirica-Michal-t46998#183830 Version : 0

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www.muzeumsnp.sk

Širica, Michal - Parte (oznámenie o úmrtí)

Parte (oznámenie o úmrtí)
Širica, Michal - 60-te roky, po rehabilitácii

60-te roky, po rehabilitácii
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Sirica-Michal-t46998#183862 Version : 0
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