On September 17, 1939 the Red Army crossed the eastern border of Poland fulfilling Stalin's pact with Hitler to partition Poland. The Red Army captured almost 60% of Poland's pre war territory including almost 1/3 of Poland's pre war population. Almost 350,000 Polish soldiers ended up in Soviet captivity. During the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland almost 1,000,000 Poles (some estimates say 1,800,000) were deported to Russia. The Poles were spread out all over Russia in the infamous Gulags.
The Soviets were not enthusiastic about a Polish London backed army on its territory. So from the very beginning the Soviets created difficulties for the Polish authorities. After the Poles refused to send any unprepared divisions to the front, the Soviets cut the food rations for the polish army and the civilians who were with the army. This forced the Poles to begin a slow evacuation of these troops to Persia. Stalin soon offered the entire army to Britain and ended the existence of the Polish Army on Soviet soil, much to the dismay of the Polish Government. By the summer of 1942 the entire Polish army was evacuated to the Middle East, later becoming the Polish 2nd Corps and distinguishing itself throughout the Italian campaign.
Although this Polish Army left the Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of other Polish laborers and prisoners who had never even heard about this polish army being organized remained in Soviet captivity. They were still working in Soviet death factories and died by the thousands.
When the Germans discovered the mass graves in Katyn they announced to the world that the Soviets were responsible for the murders. After its own investigation the Polish government in London reached the same conclusion. Stalin used this accusation as an excuse to break off all relations with the exiled Polish government. Soon after, he set up an organization of Polish communists who began work under NKVD supervision to organize a Polish Army in the USSR. To make things look legitimate the Polish communists even asked Stalin for permission to organize this army. On May 8, 1943 Stalin "generously" granted his permission. Soon after, the first Polish "volunteers" were gathered in a military camp in Sielce near Moscow. For the volunteers, joining this new Polish Army was the only chance of escaping exile their exile and returning to Poland. But from the very beginning it was clear that this army was created to fulfill Stalin's imperial ambitions.
Among the few professional officers who survived the NKVD massacres and the exodus of the Polish Army to Persia was a pre war colonel named Zygmunt Berling. He "volunteered" to take command of the Polish Army in the USSR. Unlike two years earlier, the Soviets readily provided for the new army. The 1st Division of the new army was ready only two months after Stalin first granted permission for its formation. On July 15, 1943 its troops swore an oath of allegiance. Soon after, Stalin allowed the Poles to expand the Polish army into a corps. By September 1, 1943 the 1st Division was on its way to the front line. Although not ready, it continued training and readying for it's baptism of fire. In early October 1943 it was attached to the Soviet 33rd Army. On October 9, 1943 it replaced the Soviet 42nd Infantry Division. The Poles were positioned against the heavily fortified positions of the German XXXIX Panzer Corps under general Martinek near Smolensk. The division was ordered into battle on October 12.
Battle of Lenino
After a short
artillery bombardment the 1st Division went forward and in two days of bloody
fighting in the Lenino area the Poles managed to break through the German lines,
inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans. However, the neighboring Soviet
divisions were repelled by the Germans leaving the Polish flanks exposed. On
October 14th, faced with the prospect of being cut off and destroyed the Poles
withdrew, giving up all the territory they had captured. For many years this
battle was portrayed in communist propaganda as the biggest Polish victory since
middle ages. In fact, the battle of Lenino was a meaningless slaughter of Polish
troops. For no gains whatsoever, the 1st Division suffered 510 killed, 765 missing,
116 captured and 1776 wounded. The division was decimated!
Operations in the Area of Lublin
After the Leniono battle, the 1st Division was moved
into reserve and remained inactive until the middle of 1944. In its next action
it moved along with the newly created Polish 1st Army, crossing the Bug River
and reaching Lublin, first major city in what was to become the new Poland after
the war. On July 26 units of the division triumphantly marched through the streets
of Lublin and two days later reached the Wisla River (Vistual) taking up defensive
positions on the eastern bank of the river between Deblin and Pulawy. The 1st
Division was responsible for the defense of 12 kilometers of the front line. Only
days after arriving, the division received orders to cross the river and establish
bridgeheads between Deblin and Pulawy. Rushed preparations, poor reconnaissance,
lack of sufficient artillery, boats and other equipment, inept leadership (Gen.
Swierczewski swam in the river in front of the German positions and wasn't shot
at, so he assumed that the Germans were not defending the river) led to heavy
loses during the attempted river crossing. The division was to reach combat readiness
by July 31 and be prepared for the assault on the morning of August 1. Because
of the lack of the crossing equipment 1st Division was not able to start the crossing
as scheduled, and watched helplessly as 2nd Division unsuccessfully tried to cross
the river. Late in the day the 1st division finally received some boats and prepared
to cross the river the following night. At 2.10 in the morning, the first elements
of the 2nd infantry regiment reached the western bank of the river and successfully
established a small bridgehead. Unfortunately, the leading elements of the crossing
company made too much noise resulting in the second company coming under heavy
fire, reaching the western bank with heavy casualties. The third company attempting
to cross the river was decimated and never even reached the western bank. Realizing
the criticalness of the situation the divisional commander ordered 3rd regiment
across the river. Despite several attempts 3rd regiment could not reach the west
bank. At 3.10 in the morning the divisional penal company made a final attempt
to cross the river over the blown bridge but was stopped by heavy German fire.
By noon of August 2 it was all over most of the soldiers who made it to the other
bank of the river. Most were either killed or taken prisoners, with only a few
swimming back to the other bank. Despite their initial failure, the neighboring
2nd Division managed to establish a bridgehead but they too were heavily counterattacked
and forced to abandon their bridgehead on August 5th. During the four days of
the fight the 1st and 2nd divisions lost 1443 killed and missing. Heavy losses
considering there were no gains whatsoever. However, they did tie down significant
German forces in the area which allowed the Soviet 8th Guards Army to establish
a bridgehead near Magnuszew.
After the failure of the crossing the 1st Division
along with remainder of the 1st Army was moved towards Magnuszewo (south of Warsaw)
into this new Soviet bridgehead. Because of the heavy losses the 1st Division
was kept in the reserve. However, by the middle of the August the Division took
up defensive positions on the eastern bank of the river just north of the bridgehead.
Once again the lack of reconnaissance and poor leadership lead to bloody and pointless
fighting for a strategically unimportant island on the Wisal River. The entire
3rd battalion of the 2nd regiment was destroyed (the battalion commander Maj.
Rembeza as well as 3 company commanders were killed). Fights for Rembeza Island
exposed all the shortcomings of the divisional and regimental command as well
as the poor coordination between the infantry and artillery. On several occasions
divisional artillery bombarded Polish troops on the island causing more casualties
than the Germans! By September 6, 1st Division was pulled back from the Maguneszewo
bridgehead and was sent towards Warsaw. During the battle for Rembeza Island the
division lost approximately 500 men killed, wounded and sick.
On August 1st 1944 the Warsaw uprising began. The Soviets were no more then 30 kilometers from the eastern suburbs of Warsaw and the liberation of the capital of Poland was expected any day. Units of the Polish underground -Home Army (Armia Krajowa) fought alone bravely for 40 days against overwhelming German forces before any serious attempt was made by the Soviets to come to their aid. By the end of August Stalin decided to demonstrate that he was willing to help the insurgents. The 1st Infantry Division was pulled out of the Magnuszewo bridgehead and was attached to the Soviet 47th Army, 125 Infantry Corps and along with two Soviet divisions was ordered to liberate the eastern part of the Polish capital - Praga (not be confused with Czech's capital). On September 10th after a 90 minute artillery bombardment they attacked the German lines. After a day and night of heavy fighting the Poles reached the line Zielona-Wawer. The next day the attack continued and the troops of the 1st Division captured several villages. During the fight a large group of Home Army partisans joined the 1st Infantry Regiment and continued to fight alongside them through the liberation of Praga. The following day the attack resumed but soon stalled near Kozia Gorka. The German defenses were based on a chain of bunkers which proved very difficult to break through. Gen Bewziuk (the divisional commander) decided to try and attack the German defenses without artillery and tank support. This was thrown back with heavy casualties. The assault groups from the 3rd battalion (under the command of Chorazy Kochan) made several attempts to break through the German lines but also failed with heavy losses. Finally, tanks arrived which were able to neutralize the German defenses. In the late afternoon lead elements of the 1st infantry regiment entered Praga. Fighting continued the remainder of the day and into the night. The next day companies of the 1st regiment could muster no more than 30 to 40 men each! On September 13th/14th 1st and 2nd regiments reached the banks of the Wisla river near the destroyed "Kierbedz" bridge. The 3rd regiment was stopped by heavy German fire at the railroad bridge but by the morning of the 15th it had cleared its sector of German defenders and reached the banks of the Wisla River too. On the other side of the river thousands of insurgents continued their fight against the Germans. For the first time in the almost 6 weeks there was a real opportunity to help the insurgents. During the fighting for the liberation of Praga the 1st Division had suffered 496 killed and almost 1300 wounded. After over a week of heavy fighting the troops of the 1st division were pulled back into reserve and the majority of the soldiers did not participate in the unsuccessful attempts to cross the Wisal River. Only one infantry company which was attached to the 1st Cavalry Brigade attempted to cross the Wisla. Although 1st Division did not participate in the crossing of the river in full strength it is worth mentioning that during the crossing the Soviet officers sabotaged the crossing of the Polish troops. In several instances Soviet officers showed up drunk or did not show at all! The Soviets pulled out from Warsaw all the battle worthy infantry and tank units as well as all artillery. In all between September 16-23 the Poles lost almost 5000 men killed, wounded and missing. On September 23 marshal Rokossowski ordered the entire army into defensive positions and to await further instructions. Meanwhile the uprising in Warsaw continued until October 2 when the remaining insurgents capitulated. 1st Division remained in the Warsaw area to train and refit until January 1945. For a short time between October 10th and 28th the division was engaged with Germans north of Warsaw near Legionowo.
The last
months of 1944 saw the 1st Division preparing for the next huge offensive which
was to take place in January 1945. 1st Army was station in front of Warsaw with
the majority of troops including 1st Division being moved south of the capital.
The division, along with other troops was supposed to move north towards Warsaw
cutting off the German garrison and destroying any German resistance in the city.
Hitler had declared Warsaw a "Festung" and the Polish command therefore expected
heavy fighting, not even establishing a timetable for the capture of the city.
But then to everyone's surprise the Germans pulled out of Warsaw offering no resistance.
It took 1st division almost two days to reach Warsaw with the first troops entering
the city two days after the last German troops were driven out under pressure
from the 6th and 2nd divisions.
Shortly after entering Warsaw the entire 1st army
was moved northwest towards Bydgoszcz, remaining in 1st Byelorussian Front reserve
under Marshal Zukov. 1st Division reached Bydgoszcz after a grueling two week
winter march. On January 28, Zukov ordered the Polish troops to cross the pre-war
Polish-German border to pursue the retreating Germans.
Without any rest or refitting the division was thrown
into action against the fortified line on the old Polish German border. The
so called Pommern Stellung was a line of fortification build in the 1930's by
Germany to defend Pommerania from a possible Polish attack. By 1945 some of
the fortifications were obsolete but with the addition of field works built
in the summer of 1944 they proved to be a very difficult obstacle to cross.
New army commander gen. Poplawski (after the disastrous river crossing in Warsaw
in September gen. Berling was removed from command of the army and sent to Moscow
to attend a military college) split the army into two assault groups with 1st
division spearheading the right column of the army. Due to a severe shortage
of gasoline the army had to rely on horse drawn wagons for transport.
On the January 29, 1st Division crossed the old Polish
German border at Sepolno-Krajewskie and Wiecbork. On the night of January 29/30
soldiers of the 1st army captured the first German prisoners and learned that
in front of the Polish troops lay a heavily fortified line. Despite this information
gen. Poplawski did not think it necessary to send any reconnaissance groups
to probe the German defenses. Instead the army command just ordered the tired
and hungry troops forward, resulting in unnecessary casualties. 1st division
advanced towards the German line and by late afternoon the leading 3rd infantry
regiment arrived at the Gwda River, crossing over at Grudna. However, instead
of continuing the march towards Jastrowie, the 3rd regiment marched toward Podgaje.
The initial attack on the village was repelled and 3rd regiment's 4th company
was cut off and decimated after fierce fighting, all the survivors being taken
prisoner. Gen. Bewziuk sent reinforcements and a fierce battle raged for three
days. Finally on Fabruary 3rd the last German troops pulled back and Podgaje
was taken.
Once again, poor reconnaissance and leadership lead to
unnecessary loss of life. During the 3 days of the combat 1st division suffered
233 killed, 520 wounded and 58 missing. Also, on entering Podgaje, the soldiers
of the division found a terrible sight. In an old barn, Germans of the 15th
Waffen SS Divison burned alive 32 soldiers of the 4th company who were taken
prisoner 3 days earlier.
For 3 days movement of the entire northern column was
halted. After the bloody battle for Podgaje the 1st division was again pulled
back into army reserve. However the division remained in reserve for only 3
days because on the February 6th gen. Poplawski ordered them to exploit the
initial success of the 4th Division which broke through German line at Dobrzyce.
Heavy fighting continued as the division moved forward, finally reaching Miroslawiec
on February 20th.
After taking Miroslawiec the entire army was again put
in reserve and wasn't called into battle until March 1st when the entire army
was used between the 1st and 2nd Byelorussian Fronts. The first division along
with the army engaged in heavy fighting until finally breaking the German front
after three days of attacks. Between March 5th and 7th the 1st, 2nd and 4th
divisions participated in the liquidation of the German cauldron south of Swidwina.
During this action Poles took captured the commander of the 10th SS Corp, Gen.
Leutn Gunther von Krappe and the commander of the "Barwalde" division Gen. Leutn
Wilhelm von Raithl.
By March 8th almost all of Western Pommerania was captured
and cleared of German troops. On March 9th 1st Division moved northeast together
with the remainder of the 1st army toward Szczecin, reaching the Odra River
by late afternoon on March 10th. When the 1st Division without any serious opposition
advanced towards the Oder, the rest of the 1st Army got involved in a bloody
battle for Kolobrzeg that lasted for 11 days. For almost a month, between March
10th and April 6th, 1st divison spent their time in defensive positions on the
Odra River, receiving reinforcements and awaiting orders for the last offensive
in the war.
The Berlin Operation
At 6:15 in the morning on April 16, 1945 after a
30 minute bombardment 1st division began crossing the Odra River at Siekierki.
Once again artillery failed to destroy German machine gun nests and artillery
positions. 1st and 2nd regiment crossed the river under heavy German fire and
sustained heavy losses. Despite these losses the crossing continued and by April
16 the entire 1st and 2nd regiments were on the west bank of the Odra River holding
a small bridgehead (about 1.5 by 3.0 kilometers). During the night of the 16th/17th
the 3rd regiment also crossed the river and reinforced the bridgehead. In the
first day of the crossing the division suffered 41 killed, 190 wounded and 10
missing
Between April 17 and 19 the rest of the 1st army crossed
the river and managed to break through the German lines to link up with the
heavily pressed 1st Division. Soon after they pushed the German forces further
west reaching Hohenzollern canal on April 24th. Here the division was ordered
to take up defensive positions to protect the rear of the troops that were encircling
Berlin. On April 25th 1st regiment was attached to the 2nd division and helped
to beat back a German counter attack at the Ruppiner canal. This German counter
attack is sometimes referred to as "Steiner's odsiecz".
In the last days of April it was decided that Polish
units should participate in the capture of Berlin. For Stalin and the Polish communists
it would be a huge propaganda victory. They could show the Poles in Poland and
the indeed the rest of the world that the Polish army created in the Soviet Union
was the army that defeated Hitler's Germany, and not the Polish armies of the
west.
On April 29, 1st Division was ordered into trucks and
quickly moved to Wittenau and then Charlottenburg, part of the northeastern
suburbs of Berlin. At 3:00 AM 3rd regiment loaded onto trucks and at 7:30 AM
on April 30 the leading elements reached Berlin. 1st Division was attached to
the 2nd Armored Guard Army and its regiments were split among brigades of the
12th Armor Guard Corps. The first to join the Soviets in the battle for Berlin
was 3rd regiment. During two days of bloody fighting the regiment attacked German
positions along Franklinstrasse towards Charlottenburg Chauussee and on May
2nd they linked up with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
2nd regiment arrived soon after the 3rd regiment and was
sent into the battle on May 1st. The regiment attacked German positions along
Berlinerstrasse working towards Tiergarten finally reaching buildings of the
Berlin's Politechnik (technical Institute), which was turned into a stronghold.
After capturing the Politechnik the regiment continued its assault through the
sport stadium and along Kurfurstenallee and by the middle of the day they had
linked up with the Soviet units assaulting from the south.
1st regiment was the last one to enter the battle for
Berlin. The regiment was sent to action at Schlossplatz between Neue Kanstrasse
and Bismarckstrasse and continued its assault towards the east. By late afternoon
they had captured Weimarerstrasse and the underground train station at Bismarckstrasse.
By the afternoon of May 2nd they had advanced to Herdenbergstrasse and reached
the Politechnik building, which was being held by 2nd regiment. By May 2nd the
German defenders of Berlin capitulated. The Poles received news of the capitulation
on May 2nd at 7:00 AM. However, fighting with remnants of the German defenders
continued until 1:00 PM. During three days of bloody fighting 1st Division lost
593 soldiers, suffering 98 killed, with 441 wounded. The youngest soldier of
the division killed during the battle for Berlin was Corporal Aleksander Bacerczyk
who was only 17 years old. Poles were also credited with eliminating 1000 German
defenders and capturing 2500, destroying 171 MG positions, 28 artillery pieces
and 3 tanks.
After the
war the division returned to Poland. Although the world war was over, the men
of the division found themselves fighting another enemy - their fellow countrymen.
Guerilla fighting in Poland raged as a civil war lasted until 1947.
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