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Joined: 10 Sep 2013
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Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:18 pm
Post subject: KOP - Border Guard
TEXT LIFTED OFF Wikipedia:
KOP
Poland re-appeard in 1918 after having been occupied and annexed by its neighbours for the last 123 years. In the chaotic region that was Eastern Europe at the time, the Poles strove to not only regaing their independence, but also reaching their former strength as an Eastern European superpower, stretching from the Baltic Sea and far into the Ukarainian steppes. By doing so, they not only gained in power, but also in enemies, and the inter-war years saw Poland wedged between two large enemies, Germany and Russia. In the beginning danger was not too gross, as Germany was demilitarised to a large extent, and Russia (now the Soviet Union) was weakened by WWI and the Civil War. During the 30s, however, both countries gained considerably in power, and ultimately the seizure of lands from Germany and Russia spelled doom for inter-war Poland. It was partitioned for the 5th time in 1939, and disappeared once more fromt he face of the earth. Poles then rallied in the Allied countries, to fight for a return to their homeland.
Armed Forces
The prewar Polish Armed Forces - Germany having been mostly demilitarised in 1918, the Polish armed forces were at first mostly concerned with a possible resurgence of the Russo-Polish War of the early 20s. As Germany rearmed, Poland saw itself surrounded, and ultimately crushed in the space of one month, under double attack from both East and West.
The Polish Exile Armed Forces in France 1939-40 - The Polish Soldiers that made it to the France to continue the fight. Crushed during theGerman invasion of France, their remnants went to England.
The Polish Exile Armed Forces in the UK 1940-45 - including the forces in the Middle East and Italy under nominal English control. Also including Anders´ army after its transfer to the Middle East from the USSR in 1942.
The Polish Army of the East 1941-1942 - also known as "Anders´Army", it was formed during 1941 in the USSR as part of the Polish exile armed forces subordinate to the UK-based Polish exile government. They were evacuated to the Middle East in 1942, when Soviet-Polish relations soured, and fought in Northern Africa and Italy.
The Polish Peoples Army - Formed from 1943 on as response to the ever-worsening Polish-Soviet relations, so the Soviets had a counter-weight to the UK-based Polish armed forces. It went on to become the armored forces of Poland after WWII.
The Armia Krajowa - The Home Army, the nationalist partisans on Polish soil during the German ocupation.....and for a time also under the Soviet one. Known under various names during that period.
The Gwardia Ludowa - Later Armija Ludova, the communist-dominated Polish Partisans.
The NSZ - The ultra-nationalist, anti-communist and anti-jewish Polish partisans
The BCh - The "Peasant Battalions", the armed wing ot the Peasant Party. In the end put under the command of the Armia Krajowa, but never merged into it.
Combat
The Polish-Soviet War in September 1939 - The less well known companion to the German invasion of Poland, that triggered WWII.
The KOP (the Corps for Frontier Area Protection) was formed in 1924 in reaction to a host of incursions into Polish territory by Soviet raiding parties. Withing a short time after its organisation, KOP counter-raids had almost brought the Soviet raiding to a stop, and the organisation settled in as the guardinan of the Polish border towards the USSR, Latvia and Lithuania. With the final dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939 (Poland had shared in the process in 1938), Poland suddenly saw itself practically surrounded by hostile territory, and the KOP was greatly expanded, to also cover the borders with Eastern Prussia, Hungary and Slovakia. As WWII came, the KOP was called upon to supply a number of infantry divisions to the defence against the Germans, and eventually also provided most of the forces that tried to stop the Soviet invasion of 17 September 1939.
KOP - Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza (Corps for Frontier Area Protection) was an elite military formation originally organised in 1924 to protect the border agains the Soviet Union. At the time, the Polish areas bordering the Soviet union were subject to continuous raids from the Soviet Union, in which bands of 15 to 25 men would cross the border, rob the civilian population, attack trains and kidnap Polish border guards. The situation came to a head in 1924, when Soviet raiders captured the city of Stolpce, the center of one of the border counties, by surprise.
As a response, the same year the KOP was formed to watch the border with the USSR. The KOP was a military force, that was funded under a special budget from the Ministry of the Interior, and received better wages and living conditions than the regular army. In addition, the KOP also had more experienced officers: All young lieutenants of the Army after 2-4 years service at Army units were timely transferred to KOP for 2-years duty tour.
With the KOP, Poland finally had a weapon with which to respond in kind. Each raid on Polish territory was answered with one on Soviet territory, where Soviet border guard stations were burned, and the Soviet border area disrupted in general. Soon the Soviet raids dropped appreciably. In the following years, the KOP established along the border with the Soviet Union what can almost be called a predecessor of the Iron curtain: except for a few official crossing points, the border concisted of a fresh-ploughed area, there to reveal the path of any would-be border-crosser, then a network of barbed-wires, then another second fresh-ploughed tract. The border was patrolled by the KOP, using dogs, sentries and watch-towers. In addition to the above, a forest belt was also maintained 20 kms behind the Polish border, to prevent any observation deep into Poland from the USSR.
In case of war, a system of earth dams was created that, if opened, would create a body of water 20 kilometers wide and 200 kilometers long, running north-south. In connection with the Pinsk Marches, that were effectively dividing the Polish-Soviet border into two halves, would impede any enemy transit across the border. The system of dams was constructed in deep secrecey, with the workers that built them being blindfolded when transported to and from the construction sites.
For all of its history, the KOP was also present in the mobilisation plans, with the task of mobilising a corps of 3 KOP infatry divisions.
By the end of 1938, the KOP had been considerably expanded, and not only watched the border with the USSR, but also with Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Hungaria and the portion of the border with Germany, that ran along Eastern Prussia. It consisted of the following personnel:
935 Officers
3.502 NCOs
21.770 Privates
At the time the organisation of the KOP was as follows (subunits listed from north to south):
Corps Command - Warsaw (Mjr-Gen.Jan Kruszewski)
Brigade "Grodno"
Regiment "Wilno"
Regiment "Glebokie"
Regiment "Wilejka"
Regiment "Wolozyn"
Regiment "Snow"
Brigade "Polesie"
Regiment "Sarny"
Regiment "Zdolbunow"
Brigade "Podole"
A more detailed OB as of late 1938 can be found here . After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, the KOP was expanded to meet the increase in international tension. 6 numbered KOP regiments (2 mountain, 3 infantry and 1 cavalry) were formed to watch the borders with Slovakia, Hungary and Germany:
1st KOP Mountain Regiment "Karpaty" - watching the border with Hungary
2nd KOP Mountain Regiment "Karpaty" - watching the border with Slovakia
1st KOP Infantry Regiment
2nd KOP Infantry Regiment
3rd KOP Infantry Regiment "Glebokie" - watching the border with Germany around Eastern Prussia
1st KOP Cavalry Regiment - formed around Wielun on the border with Germany around Silesia
The regients were formed mostly from entire units taken from the frontier with the USSR. The cavalry regiment was thus formed by joining the cavalry squadrons of the normal KOP regiments and brigades, while 3rd KOP Infantry Regiment was practically the old "Glebokie" KOP Regiment renamed, after which a new one was formed in the east. A detailed OB after this expansion can se found here . As of August 1939, the KOP consisted of 900 officers and 26.000 men.
Ever since its formation, the KOP had been tasked with the formation of a corps of 3 infantry divisions in the mobilisation plans. During the summer of 1939, when the Polish army was mobilised, the KOP was asked to provide more. Thus, the following units were formed:
4 infantry division commands (33rd, 35th, 36th and 38th reserve infantry divisions)
3 mountain brigade commands (1st, 2nd and 3rd)
10 infantry regiments (96th, 97th, 98th, 133rd, 134th, 135th, 163rd, 207th and two others)
2 mountain regiments (1st and 2nd)
The infantry regiments (as far as is known to me) were formed by their KOP parent units as follows:
96th Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the "Baranowicze" KOP regiment at Baranowicze)
I Bn (mobilised by the "Stolpce" KOP battalion at Stolpce)
II Bn (mobilised by the "Kleck" KOP battalion at Kleck)
III Bn (mobilised by the "Ludwikowo" KOP battalion at Ludwikowo)
97th Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the "Sarny" KOP regiment at Sarny)
I Bn (mobilised by the "Dawidgrodek" KOP battalion at Dawidgrodek)
II Bn (mobilised by the "Rokitno" KOP battalion at Rokitno)
III Bn (mobilised by the "Berezne" KOP battalion at Berezne)
98th Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the "Rowne" KOP regiment at Rowne)
I Bn (mobilised by the "Hoszcza" KOP battalion at Hoszcza)
II Bn (mobilised by the "Ostrog" KOP battalion at Ostrog)
III Bn (mobilised by the "Dederkaly" KOP battalion at Dederkaly)
133 Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the "Wilno" KOP Regiment at Wilno)
I Bn (mobilised by the "Nowe Swieciany" KOP battalion at Nowe Swieciany)
II Bn (mobilised by the "Niemenczyn" KOP battalion at Niemenczyn)
III Bn (mobilised by the "Troki" KOP battalion at Troki)
134 Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mob by the "Orany" KOP regiment at Orany)
I Bn (mobilised by the "Orany" KOP battalion at Orany)
II Bn (mobilised by the "Sejny" KOP battalion at Sejny)
III Bn (mobilised by the "Suwalki" KOP battalion at Suwalki)
135th Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the Central KOP NCO School at Osowiec)
I Bn (mobilised by the Central KOP NCO School at Osowiec)
II Bn (mobilised by the Central KOP NCO School at Osowiec)
III Bn (mobilised by Central KOP NCO School at Osowiec)
163rd Reserve Infantry Regiment (HQ mobilised by the "Czortkow" KOP battalion)
"Czortkow" KOP Bn
"Borszczow" KOP Bn
"Kopyczynce" KOP Bn
207 Inf Rgt Reserve (35 Inf Div Reserve)(HQ mobiised by the "Wolozyn" KOP regiment)
"Budslaw" Bn KOP
"Krasne" Bn KOP
"Iwieniec" Bn KOP
With Polands borders thus laid bare by the transfer west of large sections of the KOP, it was judged safe enough to leave the borders towards the friendly states of Hungary and Romania reasonably unguarded. While the borders with Slovakia and Germany were by now guarded by the regular army, the borders with the USSR and Lithuania were then secured by re-forming or filling up most of the KOP units along those borders. These were, however, mostly manned by new recruits, and moreover they were equipped with second-hand materiel.
By the time the USSR invaded on 17 September 1939, the border with the USSR was covered by 18 KOP battalions grouped into 6 regiments and one understrengh brigade. Each unit was assigned to a border sector, 7 in all. The battalions were divided as such:
KOP Regiment Glebokie
KOP Regiment Wilejka
KOP Regiment Baranowicze
KOP Brigade Polesie
KOP Regiment Sarny
KOP Regiment Rowne
KOP RegimentPodole
2 battalions
3 battalions
2 battalions
3 battalions
2 battalions
3 battalions
3 battalions
In all 11.000 to 12.000 men. This would, in effect, mean, that each KOP battalion had to take on a Soviet army corps, or equivalent. Nevertheless, KOP forces generally delivered fierce resistance to the Soviets. In the case of the Sarny Regiment, with one of its 2 battalions being a pre-war unit, the Poles held out for 4 days in prepared positions. But more about the Polish-soviet war in another aticle.
In addition to the KOP units along the Polish-Soviet border, there were also let KOP units in place along the Polish-Lithuanian border, probably out of fear for a Lithuanian attack to re-take the ancient Lithuanian capital of Vilnius/Vilno/Vilna. For this purpose, the "Vilna" KOP regiment of 4 battalions, and an independent battalion kept watch on the Polish-Lithuanian border. For a more detailed OB of the KOP at the time of the Soviet attack on 17 September 1939, go here .
Though the KOP resisted this attack well, its fate was sealed. By 19-20 September, the border with Romania had been cut off, and a few days later also the border with Hungary was in enemy hands. Lithuanias border did not remain open much more longer, and all escape was barred. Though fighting continued on into October 1939, most KOP members finally ended up in captivi ty.
Corps Command - Warsaw (Mjr-Gen.Jan Kruszewski)
Brigade "Grodno"
Infantry Battalion "Suwalki"
Infantry Battalion "Sejny"
Infantry Battalion "Orany"
1 x Cavalry Squadron
1 x Engineer Company
Regiment "Wilno"
Infantry Battalion "Troki"
Infantry Battalion "Niemenczyn"
Infantry Battalion "Nowe Swieciany"
1 x Cavalry Squadron
Regiment "Glebokie"
Infantry Battalion "Slobodka"
Infantry Battalion "Luzki"
Infantry Battalion "Podwisle"
Infantry Battalion "Berezwecz"
3 x Cavalry Squadrons
Regiment "Wilejka"
Infantry Battalion "Budslaw"
Infantry Battalion "Krasne"
Infantry Battalion "Wilejka"
2 x Cavalry Squadrons
1 x Engineer Company
Regiment "Wolozyn"
Infantry Battalion "Iwieniec"
Infantry Battalion "Wolozyn"
1 x Cavalry Squadron
Regiment "Snow"
Infantry Battalion "Stolpce"
Infantry Battalion "Kleck"
Infantry Battalion "Snow"
2 x Cavalry Squadrons
1 x Engineer Company
Brigade "Polesie"
Infantry Battalion "Ludwikowo"
Infantry Battalion "Sienkiewicze"
Infantry Battalion "Dawidgrodek"
1 x Cavalry Squadron
1 x Engineer Company
Regiment "Sarny"
Infantry Battalion "Rokitno"
Infantry Battalion "Berezne"
1 x Infantry Company
3 x Cavalry Squadrons
Regiment "Zdolbunow"
Infantry Battalion "Hoszcza"
Infantry Battalion "Ostrog"
Infantry Battalion "Dederkaly"
Infantry Battalion "Zytyn"
3 x Cavalry Squadrons
1 x Engineer Company
Brigade "Podole"
Infantry Battalion "Skalat"
Infantry Battalion "Kopyczynce"
Infantry Battalion "Borszczow"
Infantry Battalion "Czortkow"
1 x Artillery Battalion
3 x Cavalry Squadrons
1 x Engineer Company
Buildup to war
Though the pre-history of the Polish-Soviet war of September 1939 stretches back to the early 1920s, when the first Soviet-Polish war had ended in Polish conquest of large tracts of territory inhabited by Ukrainians and Belorussians, the actual foundation for the war did not come about until only a few weeks before it actually broke out.
Small-scale raiding and skirmishing had taken place during the 20s and 30s, but Soviet weakness after the civil war, and later the fear, that a Soviet invasion of Poland would trigger an alliance of the enemies of the USSR and another round of foreign intervention, had kept the USSR from trying anything aggressive. Though the late 1930s saw an increase in Soviet strength, and attempts to use this (for example offering Soviet forces to back up Czechoslovakian resolve in the face of German threats in 1938), it was clearly evident, that a deal had to be struck with one of the W- or Central European powers, to keep the others in check, while the USSR increased its power. Following the German occupation of the rest of Czechia in March 1939, and subsequent pressure on Poland for a return of the free city of Danczig as well as an ex-territorial highway and railroad to E-Prussia, both Germany and the two western powers France and UK tried the same tactic to gain Soviet support for their aims. When negotiations between the USSR and the western powers had essentially produced no results, the Soviets turned to the Germans, where they found much more will to offer E-European territory. Though the treaty signed between Germany and the USSR on 23 August 1939 was officially only a non-aggression pact, secret clauses also stipulated the division of E-Europe into interest-spheres, that essentially gave the two powers a free hand in their spheres.
Though other countries were included in the division (Lithuania going to Germany, Estonia, Latvia and parts of Finland and Romania going to the USSR), the main gain for both powers lay in their agreement upon which parts of Poland that would be int he sphere of the other power.
Having thus surrounded Poland, Germany went to work on obtaining its aims, if need be through resort to force, like it had in Austria in 1938 and Czechoslovakia in 1939. Unlike in the two earlier cases, not only did the Poles fight back, when Germany sent 5 armies into Poland on 1 September 1939, but two days later, France and Great Britain also declared war on Germany.
The subsequent defeat of the Poles, outmaneuvered in a new kind of warfare, they were not prepared to fight, caught the Soviets unaware.
Initially the Soviets had chosen to keep all options open and not officially commiting to anything. For one thing, the reaction of the western powers had to be observed first, as did the resolve of the Polish army. Not least, the Soviet Union was also still engaged in a war with Japan, that had by now lasted several months. Though the Soviets had thoroughly defeated the Japanese in late August, no armisice had yet been concluded. This came on 15 September. By that time, preparation for an eventual soviet invasion of Poland were under way: on 5 September, an additional call-up had brought 1,5 million men into the armed forces, supplemented by 145.000 men of the 1920-21 class. At the same time, the men in the western military distrcits, that had been called up in 1937 and were due to be discharged on 20 September 1939, would not be demobilised for another month after that.
An armistice was finally signed between Japan and the USSR on 15 September. At the same time, the Soviets became increasingly worried about the German troops, that were nearing the Soviet border. On 17 september the German troops were in most places 100 to 150 kilometers fromt he Soviet border.
That same day, the Red Army invaded Poland.
The Opponents
At the time the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border, in the early hours of 17 September 1939, the Soviets had concentrated an impressive force (see a detailed OB here ) : The Belorussian and Ukrainian fronts, fielding together 7 armies (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th, 11th and 12th), 1 KMG (Cavalry-Mechanised Group) and one independent corps (the 23rd), contained in all 617.588 men with 4.959 guns and mortars and 4.733 tanks.
By this time, the Poles had employed their forces according to their "Plan West", the plan for dealing with a war with Germany. Having depended upon the Soviets and Germans to be fierce ideological enemies, as to make any cooperation between the two impossible, few troops were left in the east.
The pre-war Border Protection Corps (or KOP ), had deployed most of its units to the west, to fight against Germany, and they had only been partially reformed, using reservists and older weaponry. In all, perhaps 11 to 12.000 men in 18 battalions constituted the only fighting force actually pointed at the Soviets. The OB of the KOP units at the Soviet border look like this (a more detailed OB, also including the KOP units facing the Lithuanian border can be found here ):
KOP Glebokie (2 battalions)
KOP Wilejka (3 battalions)
KOP Baranowicze (2 battalions)
KOP Polesie (3 battalions)
KOP Sarny (2 battalions)
KOP Rowne (3 battalions)
KOP Podole (3 battalions)
Other than that, a host of rear area troops, reserve units undergoing training, troops shattered by the advancing troops trying to reorganise, and small garrisons in the towns of E-Poland were also in the path of the Soviets, as well as local ON (homeguard) units, most notably the "Dzisnienska" Half-Brigade ON in the far North. To that came troops caught on their way to the bridgehead, that the Polish General Staff planned to hold in SE-Poland, a plan that was totally smashed by the Soviet invasion. Among the latter were the 3rd KOP Regiment, that had been placed at the border with E Prussia, but was later moved south by rail. The KOP regiment "Wilno" was also pulled back from the Lithuanian border to fight the Soviets. All in all (including the KOP ), probably up to between 100 and 150.000 Polish soldiers were in the way of the Soviet onslaught.
Given, that Soviet power was so overwhelming (see a detailed OB here ), and that the main reason for actually launching the invasion prematurely was to keep the German army from the Soviet border, the goal was to meet the Germans so far to the West as possible. To achieve this, each soviet army formed mobile groups of what cavalry and tank units it had, that were to race ahead and meet the Germans.
The Belorussian Front formed the following:
- 3rd Army formed the "Polotsk" Mobile Group, with 24th Cavalry Division and 22nd and 25th Tank Brigades
- 11th Army formed the "Minsk" Mobile Group, with 3rd Cavalry Corps and 6th Tank Brigade
- The KMG formed the "Dzerzhinsk" Mobile Group, with 6th Cavalry Corps, 15th Tank Corps and 21st Tank Brigade
The "Polotsk" Mobile Group was to take Swieciany and Michaliszki by the evening of 18 September, and would push on to Wilno/Vilius, while the "Minsk" Mobile Group would charge towards Grodno, and the "Dzerzhinsk" Mobile Group was to advance to the line of the river Szczaro, then to Wolkowysk.
The Ukrainian Front set up the following Mobile Detachments:
- 5th Army detached 2 tank brigades (though I can only find one in the army, the 36th Tank brigade)
- 6th Army detached a cavalry corps (the 2nd) and a tank brigade
12th Army was a special case, as it constituted the "Front Mobile Group" with 2 cavalry corps (4th and 5th), one tank corps (25th) and two tank brigades (23rd and 26th).
The Air War
The Polish Air Force (PAF) only saw limited combat against the Red Air Force, but nevertheless it deserves mention.
When the Red Army struck on 17 September 1939, the remnants of the PAF (more specifically, the Bomber and Pursuit Brigades and the Army "Karpaty" Air Force) had been moved to the air bases at Dubno, Luck and Kowel in the region of Polissia, from where they were to support the building of the planned bridgehead in SE-Poland. When the Soviets struck, the PAF was in the middle of a process of getting ready to receive the much delayed aerial help promised by Great Britain. Skeletal crews had for some time been gathering in the vicinnity of the Romanian border to prepare bases for the reception of 111 British planes on their way by ship to the Romanian harbor of Galatz. These included 11 Hurricane fighters and 100 Fairey Battle bombers, the latter among others destined to equip II Wing/2nd Air Regiment of the Bomber Brigade.
The Soviet attack scattered these plans, however. The morning of 17 September 1939 saw the Red Air Force launch surprise attacks on the airfields of Dubno, Luck and Kowel, where they claimed 7 fighters and 3 bombers destroyed on the ground. The Polish planes of the Pursuit Brigade, that managed to get off the ground fought back with a vengeance, though, and claimed to have downed two SB-2 bombers as well as 5 I-16 fighters.
After that, the chief of the PAF, seing the futility of the situation, ordered all planes in flying condition to make for Romania. During the next two days, in all 98 planes from combat units (43 P.7 and P.11 fighters from the Pursuit Brigade, 11 Karas bombers from the Bomber Brigade and 7 P.7 and P.11 fighters, 11 Karas recce bombers and 18 Lublin R-XIII and RWD 14 "Czapla" observation monoplanes of the army air forces) and more than 150 planes from other units (among others 40-50 Los and Karas bombers from training and fitting-out units and some 60 civilian civil trainers and tourers) managed to fly to Romania, there to be interned. In the case of the Los and Karas bombers, to be handed over to the Romanian Air Force and used against the USSR from 1941 on. By this time, Poland and the USSR had become allies, however. History in the end is not, it seems, without irony.
In the north, about 40 trainers and light aircraft of the 5th air regiment and the Wilno/Vilna/Vilnius aero club made it to Latvia, where they were also interned, to be taken over by the Soviets when they invaded that country in 1940. A number of civilian airliners also made it out to Sweden.
Finally, 10 planes of the armies´ air forces were unaccounted for, though some are known to have landed in Hungary.
While the airplanes took off for more friendly airfields, the surplus air-personnel and ground crews also launched their own forced marches, to try and reach Romania. Many did, like the pilots being interned, but over time "escaping" with Romanian help, to eventually reach Great Britain and join the exile PAF there.
In the North
In the early hours of 17 September 1939 (between 2 and 4 in the morning, Polish time), the first Soviet units crossed the border. Given the very spread-out nature of the Polish troops, most fighting that took place was of a rather small nature, but larger battles did also take place. The Pripjet Marches effectively dividind the border region in two, the northern half only saw a limited ammount of fighting. The north was defended by the KOP regiments "Glebokie", "Wilejka" and "Baranowicze", and these it was, that were the first to engage the Soviet troops all along the border. To the far north, in the small town of Dzisna, 40 kilometers from the border with Latvia, the KOP fought the Soviets along with an odd assortment of police and volunteers, among them even high school students. Resisting fiercely, the battalion "Podswile" of the KOP regiment "Glebokie" lost almost half its number in killed and wounded, the remainder mostly being taken prisoner.
To the South-West, the town of Wilno/Vilnius initially provided a focus for Polish nationalism (the city had been wrested from Lithuania in 1920), and a prolonged defence was planned. Its garrison of 10.000, supplemented by volunteers, would indeed have been able to hold out for some time, but arms were needed. Only half the garrison was armed, and there could be not talk of arming the volunteers. Thus, the plans for a prolonged defence of the city were given up in the morning of 18 September, and most of the garrison was ordered to evacuate in the evening, to seek refuge in internment in Lithuania.
When the Soviet 6th Tank Brigade approached Vilnius from the South in the late evening, it was met at the outskirts of the city and engaged in fierce street fighting, among others by the KOP Regiment "Wilno", that had been moved to Wilno/Vilnius from the Lithuanian border, and an anti-aircraft battery, that was brought in to provide direct fire against the Soviet troops. Supplemented by volunteers, the fighting went on into the night of 18/19 September.
In the morning of 19 September, mobile units of the Soviet 3rd Army approached from the West (!), and they, together with the 6th Tank Brigade and advance elements of the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the 11th Army, assaulted the city and occupied it by 1300 hours. The Soviet 11th Army claimed its own losses to be 13 killed and 24 wounded.
When Wilno/Vilnius was thus lost, two regiments of the "Wolkowysk" Reserve Cavalry Brigade (4 regiments), that had originally been on their way to that city were re-routed farther south, to the city of Grodno. There, a local revolt by communists had been crushed on 19 September, just in time: Soviet troops approached the town in the early morning of 20 September. At the time, the defence of the city consisted of local troops, supplemented by hundreds of volunteers, the police, and event he fire brigade, but with 24 heavy machine-guns as their heaviest weaponry. Still, when the Soviets managed to break through the outer defenses, and a Soviet armored unit of up to 10 tanks got into the city centre, it was destroyed in heavy street fighting, mostly using molotov cocktails. Leter fighting on that day was concentrated along the river Niemen, that runs through the city, with the Polish defenders being reinforced by some troops arriving by train from the direction of Wilno. In the late eveneing, two cavalry regiments of the above-mentioned "Wolkowysk" Reserve Cavalry Brigade also arrived. Fighting the next day proved so heavy, and the soviet power so overwhelming, that the order to evacuate the city was given in the afternoon. A later Polish report would talk about 800 killed Soviets in this battle.
From Grodno the 101st Uhlan Regimen (a reserve formation) of the before-mentioned cavalry brigade retreated to the NW, towards the Lithuanian border. There, at Kodziowce, it was attacked by strong Soviet forces during the night of 22 September. Heavy fighting ensued, where the Poles repelled all attacks, but with heavy losses, among other its commander, Major Stanislaw Zukowski. They later claimed to have destroyed 12 tanks by tthe use of molotov cocktails and bundles of grenades, and inclicted a loss of 500 killed upon the Soviets. When left almost without ammunition, and having suffered heavy losses, it retreated across the Lithuanian border, to be interned.
Battles also took place at Orany and Skidel, along the Southen part of the Lithuanian border.
In the South
The region South of the Pripjet Marches saw a much more mixed picture than the region to the north. While the Soviets also here saw swift Soviet advances, the region also met the only case of large masses of Polish troops being able to put up a prolonged fight, and it was also here, that the pre-war Polish Air Force saw its last combat (see above). This was primarily due to four reasons:
- Terrain (the pripjet Marches)
- Soviet goals
- The direction of the Polish retreat
- Tenacious defensive fighting by the KOP at the border
The reatreat of the Polish army towards the planned bridgehead, that was to be held against any German attacks in SE-Poland, had brought a lot of troops into the region of Polesie in the southern part of E-Poland. The Pripjet Marches here provided a vast expanse of ground too soft for the Soviets to send mechanised troops through, so these had to pass either to the north or to the south of the marches. As the Soviets were primarily interested in meeting the Germans as far west as possible, they kept to the main lanes of traffic, and were thus in the North directed past the Polish troops in Polissia. In the south, tenacious fighting by the KOP units around Sarnyj imposed a like delay on the Soviet troops, which gave them Polish forces time to organise into the so-called Operational Group "Polissia" (Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna "Polesie", for short SGO "Polesie". I will use the Polish term for the unit. This was in the beginning organised as follows:
"Brzesc" Group - (Brzesc/Brest garrison/depot troops as well as retreating troops in the vicinnity)
"Kobryn" Group - (same, for the city of Kobryn and surroundings)
"Drohiczyn" Group - (same, for Drohiczyn and surroundings)
"Jasiolda" Group - (same, for Jasiolda and surroundings)
KOP Group - under general W. Orlick-Rückemann
Pinsk River Flotilla
Though most forces of the regon were thus organised under one HQ, there was barely any communication between the KOP Group, initially fighting at the border, later reatreating to the West, and the rest of SGO "Polesie", that initially faced north, later withdrew south of the Pripjet River, before retreating west. Therefore, I will in the following treat them apart, the KOP Group first, as it was engaged from day one.
The KOP Group
In the Sarny region right south of the marches, for example, the Sarny KOP Regiment included one of the pre-war KOP battalions, several thousand strong, that had been trained to fight in the fortifications in the Sarmy region. They were reinforced by troops that had been on their way south by rail, but unloaded to fight the Soviets, a squadron of reconnaissance planes, and even the armored train "Bartosz Glowacki", and thus held out for up to 4 days. Soviet casualties were heavy in comparison to the rest of the front, and the armored train even managed to shoot down a few Soviet planes. To avoid being surrounded by Soviet troops, the majority retreated westwards in the end, though, later joining the group commanded personally by the commander-in-chief of the KOP, general Wilhelm Orlick-Rückemann. Of regular troops, the following units were under the command of gen. Orlick-Rückemann:
"Polesie" KOP Brigade
"Sarny" KOP Regiment
"Davigrodek" KOP Battalion
"Rokitno" KOP Battalion
"Berezne KOP Battalion
"Sarny" Fortification Battalion
"Malynsk" Fortification Battalion
"Tyszycka" Fortification Company
This group, joined by policemen, forest guards and other volunteers, covered almost 450 km in the next two weeks, fighting on its way against Soviet troops and what communist 5th column troops it encountered. During the retreat, the town of Ratno was taken on 27 September, and on 29 September, the Poles defeated a Soviet reconnaissance unit near the town of Szack, claiming to have destroyed 8 tanks and a reinforces infantry company on trucks. After that, the town was taken by assault. Moving further west, the group then crossed the Bug river and fought another engagement with Soviet forces at Wytyczno on 1 October 1939. Ammunition running short, and there seeming to be no way out (the capital of Warszaw had fallen), general Rückemann ordered the dispersal of his group. Some of the men (one company) until then under his command refused to give up, however, and marched west, to join the rest of SGO "Polesie" under general Franciszek Kleeberg. Here they took part in the last two days of the battle of Kock, before that group surrendered.
SGO "Polesie"
The main concentration of SGO "Polesie" fought farther west, and was lead by general Franciszek Kleeberg. It had been formed on 9 September, though its main units did not join it until later. The initial OB of the group was (as mentioned before like this:
"Brzesc" Group (Brzesc/Brest garrison/depot troops)
"Kobryn" Group (same, just of the city of Kobryn and its surroundinng region)
"Drohiczyn" Group (same, just for Drohiczyn)
"Jasiolda" Group (same, just for Jasiolda)
KOP grouping
Pinsk River Flotilla
The "Drohiczyn" and "Brzesc" groups were later organised into the 50th Infantry Division (22 to 26 September), while the two other groups were reorganised into the 60th Infantry division (9 to 14 September). Thus, the following organisation was produced:
50th Infantry Division "Brzoza"
60th Infantry Division "Kobryn"
"Zaza" Cavalry Division
"Podlaska" Cavalry Brigade
KOP grouping
Pinsk River Flotilla
The crews of the Pinsk Flotilla were also later, reorganised into two marine battalions, added to the 50th and 60th Infantry Divisions, when their vessels had been sunk. At its peak, the group included 17.000 men.
Its involvement in the war against the USSR began around 18/19 September, from when it exclusively fought against the Soviets until 30 September. Its "Kobryn" Division fought two victorious battles against soviets units at Jablon on 29 September, and at Milanow on 30 September. In the latter, the 79th Infantry Regiment, consisting of only one battalion, reported sighting Soviet cavalry at the village of Milanow. Later, Soviet infantry appeared from Milanow and the village of Kostry, after which heavy hand-to-hand fighting developded, during which the regiment took 60 prisoners. Another (Polish) source reports the Soviets lost 100 men killed. This was to prove the last battle of SGO "Polesie" against the Soviets, as it retreated westwards to fight the Germans for another couple of days, until it capitulated 5 October.
3rd KOP Regiment
Not far from the previously mentioned region of Sarny, the 3rd KOP Regiment also saw combat. It was initially stationed at the border with Eastern Prussia, but as the Germans did not attack there, it began its transport by rail to the SE on 13 September, to guard the planned bridgehead, that was to hold out until the French offensive, that would draw German troops away to the west would begin. The Soviet invasion found it in the vicinnity of Rowne, not far from the Soviet border, where it was unloaded, and began moving westwards, to join other Polish units. It took the small town of Kolki by assault from local communists on 20 September, and on the next day ran into Soviet units in the triangle formed by the three Polish villages of Borowicze, Hruziatyn and Nawoz. Fighting raged from 21 to 23 September, by which time the regiments commander ordered it to surrender. In one sector alone, a Polish lieutenant told about 200 Soviet dead and wounded, mainly from Polish mortar fire.
Almost 200 km to the west, another group under colonel Tadeusz Zielinski fought the Soviets. After fighting off the Germans on 29 September, the group became locked in combat with Soviet troops on 30 September and 1 October in the vicinnity of the villages of Krzemien, Flisy and Momoty, not far from the town of Janow Lubielski and the San river. Though the unit threw the Soviets out of the former village, they had to surrender to them on 1 October.
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