Stanisław Dunin-Wąsowicz


Count Stanisław Dunin-Wąsowicz was a Ukrainian-born Polish general of the November Uprising, Captain of the 1st Polish Lancers, Napoleon's bodyguard and aide-de-camp during his 1812 Russian Campaign.
On December 5, 1812, with Napoleon's troops in disarray and freezing temperatures taking a heavy toll, Napoleon abandoned his Grand Army at Smarhon and retreated to Paris. Napoleon was accompanied only by a Mameluke bodyguard and Captain Dunin-Wąsowicz. Napoleon ordered that he should never be allowed to be captured alive and handed Count Dunin-Wąsowicz a set of pistols.