Bartosz "Iskra" Modrzewski
General Bartosz Modrzewski (a.k.a. Iskra)
Bartosz "Iskra" Modrzewski was the commander of the Union of Polish Mages at the time of the Warsaw Uprising. He was a decorated battle mage who served in the Polish Army before World War 2 and continued the fight against the Germans in the underground.
Although the Union of Polish Mages closely cooperated with the Home Army, "Iskra" was against starting the Warsaw Uprising. He was saying that the Polish forces are too weak to defeat the Germans. He even said that in case of an uprising he would forbid his mages from taking part in it. However, once the uprising started he understood that neutrality was not an option and the Union of Polish Mages joined the fight alongside the Home Army.
In 1945, General Modrzewski was kidnapped by the NKVD and brought to Moscow where he was falsely accused of "illegal activity" against the Red Army. He was the part of the so-called Trial of the Seventeen, a staged trial of several leaders of the Polish Underground State. He was sentenced for 10 years in prison, where he died just one year after the trial.
Military History
Before World War 2
As a young man, Bartosz joined one of the volunteer units during the Battle of Warsaw in 1920. During the battle he presented himself as a talented magic-user. After the Polish-Soviet War he decided to enroll at the Military Academy. Thanks to that he received an officer commission. For most of the interwar period Bartosz was stationed in Warsaw. In late 1938, he was relocated to the 25th Infantry Division stationed in the city of Kalisz.
The September Campaign
In the September Campaign of 1939, Bartosz had the rank of captain and served in the 25th Infantry Division which was the part of the Army "Poznań". The beginning of the campaign was very calm for him as Army "Poznań" was located between the two main routes of the german advance. Only on the 9th of September when they met with the troops of the Army "Pomorze" which was fighting north of them, Army "Poznań" started to really fight. Bartosz took part in the biggest battle of the September Campaign, the Battle of the Bzura. Later, he fought in the defence of Warsaw and thanks to the help of his friends he avoided being captured and sent to a POW camp after the capitulation.
In the Underground
Bartosz was active in the underground movement from the very beginning. First, he joined the Service for Poland's Victory but quickly left it for the Union of Polish Mages (UPM). He quickly rose through the ranks. By the year 1942 he had the rank of colonel and was the commander of the Warsaw District of the UPM. In the beginning of 1944 by the order of the Polish government in exile, he was promoted to the rank of general and placed in command of the whole Union of Polish Mages. He remained in his position until January of 1945 when, following the disbandment of the Home Army, he disbanded the Union.
Nickname
The general's nickname "Iskra" comes from the fact that he was a battle mage trained in using Pyromancy. The word "iskra" means spark in Polish and relates to the fact that things tended to start burning when he used his magic.
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