Border Protection Corps

Last updated
KOP soldier's uniform, to 1939 Uniform of soldier of Polish Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza (KOP), before 1939.PNG
KOP soldier's uniform, to 1939
Poland's borders from 1922 to 1938. Rzeczpospolita 1937.svg
Poland's borders from 1922 to 1938.

The Border Protection Corps (Polish : Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza, KOP) was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other borders were under the jurisdiction of a separate, regular Border Guard state security agency.

Contents

Though the corps was part of the Polish Army, it was commanded directly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs rather than the Ministry of Military Affairs. It consisted of elite soldiers from all parts of Poland. Initially KOP comprised 6 brigades and 5 regiments, each guarding part of the borders with the Soviet Union. KOP ceased to exist with the fall of Poland in September 1939. In 1940, some of its former officers formed an underground armed resistance organization fighting against the German occupiers, the Komenda Obrońców Polski.

History

Founding

After the Polish–Soviet War, the Polish eastern frontier was stretched from the border with Latvia to the north, to the Prut river and Romanian border to the south. Although the peace treaty had been signed, the eastern border of Poland was insecure. Armed bands of saboteurs were crossing the border on a daily basis and the weak police forces in the area could not cope with the problem. In 1924 the town of Stołpce located 20 kilometres from the border was seized by Soviet saboteurs and pillaged. Polish Minister of War Affairs, Władysław Sikorski, decided that the regular police could not cope with the problem and suggested that the control of the border be handed over to the Polish Army.

In one of the reports it was stated that the police waits for the army, while the army waits for the police. To prevent such problems in the future it was decided to combine the police with the army. On August 8, the Council of Ministers decided that a special militarised border police be created for the defence of the eastern frontier. It also granted significant amounts of money for construction of fortified barracks and police stations in the area. Until November of the same year more than 3,5 million zlotys were spent on that purpose. On September 17, 1924, the new formation was officially created under the name of Border Defence Corps.

In November 1924 the three first brigades of KOP arrived to the eastern border of Poland, in the areas of Volhynia and Polesie. In April 1925 additional two brigades took over the frontier in Southern Polesie and Galicia. Finally, in March 1926 the sixth brigade took over the border with Lithuania and Latvia. Altogether the forces of KOP included 24 battalions of infantry and 20 squadrons of cavalry.

The soldiers of KOP were trained to combine the tactics of the army, police forces and border guards. They guarded the borders actively, not only by patrols, but also through reconnaissance, ambushes, provocation and intelligence gathering. During the first year of its existence, the KOP arrested more than 5,000 people trying to cross the border illegally. In addition, 89 armed skirmishes were fought, mainly against the bandits from the Soviet Union. To maintain the high morale and skills, the soldiers allowed into the KOP were carefully examined. Most of them were inhabitants of western voivodships, many of them were of German nationality. All volunteers had to gather experience in the regular units of the Polish Army before they were allowed in.

Piłsudski's reforms (1929–35)

In July 1929, the Border Defence Corps was reorganised. Six additional regiments were created, and all the existing units were renamed. Each brigade was attached to part of the Polish border which was further divided into battalion areas organised around small forts along the border. In turn, each of the battalions commanded several smaller strongholds and outposts organised by companies. All the rear troops (including the engineers, artillery and cavalry) formed the second line of the defence and were to be used as a mobile reserve. The brigades were given new names, after the area they were stationed in:

  1. Grodno
  2. Wilno
  3. Nowogródek
  4. Polesie
  5. Wołyń
  6. Podole

The newly created regiments were named as follows:

  1. Głębokie
  2. Wołożyn
  3. Wilejka
  4. Suwałki
  5. Sarny
  6. Czortków

Modernisation (1937–39)

In early 1937 the organisation was modified. Wilno, Nowogródek and Wołyń brigades were disbanded and reorganised into three regiments:

  1. Wilno
  2. Snów
  3. Zdołbunów

"Czortków" regiment was also disbanded and split onto two separate battalions ("Wilejka" and "Berezwecz"). Also, several new units were created and were pressed into the existing structure. After 1937 the KOP had 3 brigade headquarters and 7 regiments. It was composed of 32 battalions of infantry and 21 squadrons of cavalry. As the war was nearing and the crisis in Czechoslovakia exposed the Polish southern border to enemy threat, in 1939 two additional regiments were created. Those were 1st and 2nd KOP Infantry Regiments "Karpaty", each composed of two battalions of infantry (named "Skole", "Delatyn", "Komańcza" and "Dukla"). Soon three additional mountain infantry brigades were formed ("Sanok", "Nowy Sącz", "Sucha") as well as the area command in Jasło.

In March KOP reached the peak of its strength. However, soon the formation started to be stripped of various units sent to the western border. At first four infantry battalions and most of the artillery were sent to Łódź area. Soon they were joined by the KOP cavalry regiment. In April three additional battalions were sent to the West and in May yet another battalion was sent to Hel, Poland. Although most of the units were later reconstructed at the eastern border, their combat value was much lower. The recruits lacked experience and training and the units of KOP were deprived of almost all heavy weaponry.

On August 30 the KOP was formally mobilised. General Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann became its commander. According to the Polish plans for the forthcoming war, the KOP was to become the backbone of reserve divisions formed behind the Polish lines.

September Campaign

In the fight against the German invasion, KOP units took part among other battles in the battle of Węgierska Górka. After Soviet invasion on 17 September, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza which had 25 battalions [1] were unable to defend the eastern border and were further ordered by Edward Rydz-Śmigły to fall back and not to engage the Soviets. This however did not prevent some clashes and small battles, including Battle of Szack (28 September) and Battle of Wytyczno (1 October).

Commanders

Support forces

Order of battle

KOP in March 1939:Infantry battalionsCavalry squadronsartillery commandsartillery batteriescompanies of engineers
  Brigades
Grodno 211
Polesie 311
Podole 4311
  Regiments
Wilno 31
Głębokie 43
Wilejka 321
Wołożyn21
Snów3211
Sarny 33
Zdołbunów441
1st KOP Regiment2
2nd KOP Regiment2
  Other units
KOP NCOs School31
Total3821126

See also

Related Research Articles

<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">Battle of Kock (1939)</span> Final battle of the Nazi invasion of Poland, World War II

The Battle of Kock was the final battle in the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in Europe. It took place between 2–5 October 1939, near the town of Kock, in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish army order of battle in 1939</span>

This article discusses the Polish order of battle during the invasion of Poland. In the late 1930s Polish headquarters prepared "Plan Zachód", a plan of mobilization of Polish Army in case of war with Germany. Earlier, the Poles did not regard the Germans as their main threat, priority was given to threat from the Soviets.

Independent Operational Group Polesie was one of the Polish Army Corps that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It was created on 11 September 1939 and was commanded by general Franciszek Kleeberg. The SGO is most notable for fighting in the battle of Kock, the last battle of the Invasion of Poland.

Battle of Szack (Shatsk) was one of the battles between the Polish Army and the Red Army fought in 1939 in the beginning of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wilno (1939)</span>

The Battle of Wilno was fought by the Polish Army against the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, which accompanied the German Invasion of Poland in accordance with Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. On 18–19 September, Soviet forces took over the city of Wilno. Polish forces, concentrated in the west, were relatively weak in the east. The Polish commanders, unsure whether to actively oppose the Soviet entry into Poland, did not use the full defensive capabilities of the town and nearby fortifications, although the outcome of the battle would not have been likely any different, given the overwhelming Soviet numerical superiority.

Plan East was a Polish defensive military plan that was created in the 1920s and the 1930s in case of war against the Soviet Union. Unlike Plan West, it was being prepared during the whole interwar period, as the government of the Second Polish Republic treated the Soviet Union as the greatest potential military threat that was capable of initiating a full-scale war. However, only a few loose historical documents remain of the original plan today.

The 1st Mountain Brigade was a unit of the Polish Army during the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. Commanded by Colonel Janusz Galadyk, it was part of the Bielsko Operational Group of the Army Kraków. It consisted mostly of units of the Border Defence Corps (KOP), sent to southwestern Poland from the Eastern Borderlands. Created on July 7, 1939, its task was to defend the southern wing of the Army, in the section between Żywiec and Rabka.

Sarny Fortified Area was a line of bunkers and trenches along both sides of the Sluch River, in the area of the town of Sarny, northern Volhynia, in Ukraine. During the interbellum period, Sarny belonged to the Second Polish Republic and was near the border with the Soviet Union. As the Polish military authorities regarded the Soviets as the main threat, construction of fortifications began in 1936. It was planned to be fully operational in the spring of 1940. The total length of the defence works was some 170 km, with 358 objects.

Border Defense Corps Regiment Sarny was a unit of the Second Polish Republic's Border Defence Corps, stationed in Sarny, Wołyń Voivodeship, near pre-1939 Polish – Soviet border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dowództwo Okręgu Korpusu</span> Military district of the Second Polish Republic

A Dowództwo Okręgu Korpusu was a military district of the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Second Polish Republic. It served as an organizational, mobilisational, and administrative body of the Polish Army and all local military units of the country were subject to the Corps commands. Also, the DOKs ran all Military Draft Offices of Poland. The system of DOKs was modeled after the French Army, and according to Polish planners, each district located along either Soviet or German border was supposed to field one army. It meant that all districts except for District X, were subject to this rule. The borders of the DOKs did not reflect the Administrative division of Second Polish Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikodem Sulik-Sarnowski</span>

Nikodem Sulik-Sarnowski was an officer of the Russian Imperial Army, and Generał brygady of the Polish Army.

The 13th Wilno Uhlan Regiment was a unit of the Polish army during the interwar period and the Polish Defence War of 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soviet raid on Stołpce</span> 1924 border incident in Poland

On the night of August 3/4, 1924, when a group of 150 Soviet agents, commanded by Lieutenant Boryshkevich, raided the town of Stołpce, which back then was a railroad border crossing between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union. The raid ended in temporary capture of the town, and destruction of a police station, railroad station, and several houses.

35th Infantry Division was a reserve unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. It did not exist in peacetime organization of the army, and was formed between August 31 – September 4, 1939, during the Invasion of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Grochow Uhlan Regiment</span>

The 2nd Grochów Uhlan Regiment of General Jozef Dwernicki was a cavalry regiment of Polish I Corps in Russia, Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, and the Home Army during Operation Tempest (1944). The regiment was formed in November 1917 in Volhynia, and in 1921–1939, it was garrisoned in Suwałki, in the barracks of former Imperial Russian Army's 2nd Pskov Dragoons Regiment. In the 1939 Invasion of Poland it was part of Suwalska Cavalry Brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Legions Uhlan Regiment</span>

11th Legions Infantry Regiment of Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army, which existed in 1918–1939. It fought in the Polish–Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. In the Second Polish Republic, the regiment was garrisoned in Ciechanów, and in 1939, belonged to Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade.

The Battle of Kodziowce was a battle that took place at Kodziowce that occurred on 23-24 September 1939 during the Soviet invasion of Poland. It was fought between the Polish Wołkowysk Cavalry Brigade commanded by Wacław Przeździecki and Edmund Heldut-Tarnasiewicz who were retreating from the Battle of Grodno (1939) and the Soviet 2nd Light Armoured Brigade under Col. Alexey Kurkin. The 2nd Light Tank Brigade was mainly composed of BT-7 light fast tanks and a small amount of BA-I armoured cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tadeusz Semik</span>

Tadeusz Franciszek Semik was a Polish lieutenant colonel of the Polish Armed Forces who was most notable during his service in World War II.

References

  1. ↑ The Fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989" by Tomasz Piesakowski ISBN   0-901342-24-6 p. 36
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.