Operation Wieniec

Last updated

Operation Wieniec (Polish : Akcja Wieniec, "Operation Garland") was a large-scale World War II anti-Nazi Home Army operation. It took place on the night of 7 to 8 October 1942, targeting rail infrastructure near Warsaw. Similar operations, aimed at disrupting German transport and communications in occupied Poland, occurred in subsequent months and years, targeting railroads, bridges and supply depots, primarily near transport hubs such as Warsaw and Lublin. [1]

Contents

History

Permission to carry out the operation was granted on 5 August 1942 by General Wladyslaw Sikorski. Preparations were started immediately, upon order of General Stefan Rowecki, who obliged Colonel Antoni Chrusciel to make the pioneers ready. The Home Army headquarters selected Colonel Zbigniew Lewandowski as commandant of the operation, together with Colonel Józef Pszenny, Colonel Leon Tarajkiewicz and Zofia Franio. The purpose of the action was to paralyse rail transports in the area of Warsaw, and it was to be carried out by 40 men, divided into eight teams. General Rowecki decided that Wieniec would take place in the night of October 7–8, 1942. [2]

The eight teams were divided into two groups. The first one, under Jozef Pszenny, operated on the right bank of the Vistula, the second one, under Zbigniew Lewandowski, operated on the left bank of the river. Pszenny's team, consisting of four groups, began the operation on October 8, at 0:25, when the group of Sergeant Waclaw Klosiewicz blew up rail tracks on the route from Warsaw to Malkinia (near Zielonka). Two minutes later, the group of Colonel Mieczyslaw Zborowicz blew up tracks on a concrete bridge near Anin, on the route from Warsaw to Dęblin. At 1:10, the group of Colonel Jozef Pszenny blew up tracks on the route Warsaw - Siedlce, near Rembertow. At the same time, the group of Colonel Wladyslaw Babczynski blew up tracks on the route Warsaw - Dzialdowo, north of Warsaw. [3]

The team of Colonel Lewandowski, also consisting of four groups, operated on the left bank of the Vistula. It began its action app. 90 minutes later. At 2:10, the group of Lewandowski blew up tracks between stations Warsaw West and Warsaw Wlochy. Nearby operating group of Colonel Leon Tarajkiewicz blew up tracks towards Radom. A female group of Antonina Mijal blew tracks on the route towards Piaseczno, and finally, at 2:45, the group of Colonel Stanislaw Gasiorowski destroyed tracks on the route towards Skierniewice. [4]

As a result of the operation, rail traffic in Warsaw was stopped for almost 12 hours. No losses were reported by Polish groups, and fearing German reprisals, the Home Army tried to present the operation as the work of Soviet saboteurs, sent to Poland by air. The Germans, however, punished Polish civilians, shooting 39 inmates of the Pawiak prison (Oct 15.), and publicly hanging further 50 inmates. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Transport in Poland involves air, water, road and rail transportation. The country has a large network of municipal public transport, such as buses, trams and the metro. As a country located at the 'cross-roads' of Europe, Poland, with its highly developed economy, is a nation with a large and increasingly modern network of transport infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otwock</span> Place in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland

Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some 23 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is home to a unique architectural style called Swidermajer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefan Rowecki</span> Polish general

Stefan Paweł Rowecki was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison on the personal order of Heinrich Himmler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Tempest</span> 1944–1945 anti-Nazi uprising in Poland

Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Army, the dominant force in the Polish resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Łapanka</span> World War II roundups by Germans in Poland

Łapanka ( )(English: "roundup" or "catching") was the Polish name for a World War II practice in German-occupied Poland, whereby the German SS, Wehrmacht and Gestapo rounded up civilians on the streets of Polish cities. The civilians arrested were in most cases chosen at random from among passers-by or inhabitants of city quarters surrounded by German forces prior to the action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union of Armed Struggle</span> Polish resistance movement during World War II

The Union of Armed Struggle, also known as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle, was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II. It existed from 13 November 1939 until 14 February 1942, when it was renamed into Home Army.

Kraków Army was one of the Polish armies which took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939 as the main pivot of Polish defence. It was commanded by Gen. Antoni Szylling. Originally, Kraków Army was to be made of seven infantry divisions, two cavalry brigades and one mountain brigade. On September 1, 1939, General Szylling had the force which consisted of five infantry divisions, two cavalry brigades and one brigade of mountain infantry. Altogether, the army was made of 59 battalions, 29 squadrons, 352 cannons, 90 tanks, two armoured trains and 44 planes. These forces were not enough to halt German advance, especially in the area north of Częstochowa, where Kraków Army connected with Łódź Army. Main thrust of Wehrmacht panzer units was directed there, and this area was defended only by the Polish 7th I.D., which was destroyed in the early days of September 1939, opening the way towards central Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish resistance movement in World War II</span> Combatant organizations opposed to Nazi Germany

The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Polish Home Army at its forefront covered both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish resistance is notable among others for disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern Front, and providing intelligence reports to the British intelligence agencies. It was a part of the Polish Underground State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union of Retaliation</span>

Union of Retaliation was a Polish World War II resistance organization established on 20 April 1940. It was created by General Stefan Rowecki, head of the Armed Resistance, as that organization's branch dedicated to sabotage and covert operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maciej Kalenkiewicz</span>

Maciej Kalenkiewicz was a Polish engineer and lieutenant colonel of the Polish Army. During World War II was a soldier of Henryk Dobrzański's military unit, member of cichociemni, officer of the Home Army, partisan commander in the Nowogródek District of the Home Army.

The 8th Infantry Division was a tactical unit of the Polish Army. It was active in the Polish-Bolshevik War, as well as during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. During World War II, the division was reformed twice as part of two distinct armed forces: once as part of the Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising and again as part of the Polish Army in the East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">13th Infantry Division (Poland)</span>

13th Kresy Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. Its origins go back to the World War I, when in June 1918 the 1st Division of Polish Rifles was formed in the French town of Villers-Marmery. On July 8, 1918, the Division consisted of 227 officers and 10.000 soldiers, and it had been planned to be used in French attack on the German town of Saarbrücken, in the fall of 1918. Armistice, signed in November 1918, changed those plans.

5th Lwów Infantry Division was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, with headquarters stationed in Lwów. It was created on May 20, 1919, during the Polish–Ukrainian War in Eastern Galicia. Originally, it consisted of three infantry regiments, but later it was strengthened with additional two. During Polish September Campaign it was commanded by General Juliusz Zulauf. The Division consisted in September 1939 of these regiments:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Kutschera</span>

Operation Kutschera was the code name for the successful execution of Franz Kutschera, SS and Reich's Police Chief in German-occupied Warsaw, who was shot on 1 February 1944 by a combat sabotage unit of Kedyw of the Home Army primarily composed by members of scouting and guiding Gray Ranks. This special action was a part of the larger Operation Heads - the code name of a series of executions of Nazi officials by the Polish Resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kierbedź Bridge</span> Bridge in Warsaw

The Kierbedź Bridge was the first steel bridge over the Vistula River in Warsaw. It was designed by Stanisław Kierbedź and built between 1859 and 1864. The bridge had six spans and was 474 m long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment</span>

21st Vistula Uhlan Regiment was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in 1920, it fought both in the Polish–Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. The regiment was garrisoned in the town of Rowne, Volhynia, and in 1939 belonged to Volhynian Cavalry Brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 Pinsk Prison raid</span>

The 1943 Pinsk Prison raid was one of the most spectacular raids in the history of the Home Army and the Polish Underground State. It took place on 18 January 1943 in Pinsk, the town in Eastern Poland, which at that time was under German occupation as part of Reichskommissariat Ukraine. The purpose of the raid was to release a Cichociemni agent and his comrades, who had been captured by the Germans while trying to blow up the Horyn river bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghetto Action</span>

Action Ghetto was the code name for the armed actions of the Polish Underground State during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising aimed at helping the insurgents. The name was given to a series of combat actions carried out by the Home Army during the uprising between 19 April 1943 and May 16, 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Józef Pszenny</span>

Józef Pszenny - Polish military commander, sapper captain of Polish Army, head of the Sapper Department of "XII-s" Warsaw District of Home Army.

References

  1. ↑ Strzembosz (1983)
  2. ↑ Strzembosz (1983)
  3. ↑ Strzembosz (1983)
  4. ↑ Strzembosz (1983)
  5. ↑ Strzembosz (1983)

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.