|
Wachlarz
Wachlarz (, '' folding fan'') was a Polish World War II resistance organization formed by the Armia Krajowa for sabotage duties behind the German Eastern Front, outside of the Polish borders. Its commanders were Lieutenant Colonel Jan Włodarkiewicz (until 1942) and Lieutenant Colonel Adam Remigiusz Grocholski. Originally formed in 1941, shortly after the outbreak (22 June 1941) of the German-Soviet War, the organisation was subordinate to Związek Walki Zbrojnej and bore the cryptonym ''18'', later changed to ''27''. The final name, ''Wachlarz'', resulted from the subdivision of the organisation into several branches, each trying to spread its influence from certain portions of the Polish border deep into Soviet territory. Wachlarz had five different sectors, each acting independently and forming along several main supply-lines of the German war machine: # Lwów-Tarnopol- Zhmerynka-Dnipropetrovsk # Równe- Zhytomir-Kiev # Brześć nad Bugiem- Pińsk- Homel # Lida-Minsk- Bori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Włodarkiewicz
Lieutenant Colonel Jan Włodarkiewicz (28 May 190019 March 1942; ; noms de guerre ''Damian'', ''Darwicz'' and ''Odważny'') was a Polish soldier, an officer of the Polish Army and a freedom fighter during World War II. He is notable as the first commander of the Wachlarz, the first secret service formed by an underground resistance organization in occupied Europe. Jan Włodarkiewicz was born on 28 May 1900 in Warsaw. A graduate of the prestigious ''Stanisław Staszic'' gymnasium in Warsaw, in his youth Włodarkiewicz took part in several anti-tsarist youth organizations. After the outbreak of World War I he joined the clandestine Polish Military Organization, where he received basic military training. After the war he remained in the Polish Army and since 1918 served in all conflicts Poland fought in. Initially in the Nieśwież-based Polish 27th Uhlan Regiment, in 1929 he was assigned to the staff of the 9th Independent Cavalry brigade in Baranowicze. After his successful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Remigiusz Grocholski
Adam Remigiusz Grocholski war names "Brochwicz", "Doktor", "Inżynier", "Miś", "Waligóra", and pseudonym Żukowski (3 September 1888 – 17 March 1965) was a Lieutenant Colonel (''Podpułkownik'') of the Polish Army. He retired from active service in 1934. Biography Early years Adam Remigiusz Grocholski was born on 3 September 1888 in Strzyżawka, the Ukrainian district of Winnica (Vinnytsia), to Tadeusz Grocholski, a landowner, and Zofia Grocholska, maiden name Zamoyska. He completed his secondary education in Odessa and went on to read History and Law at Saint Petersburg University. After completing his studies, he was treated for tuberculosis in Zakopane and Davos. World War I In July 1915, Adam Remigiusz, as a plenipotentiary of the Red Cross, was co-opted as an Officer of Special Missions under the auspices of the Governor of the Caucasus. In March 1917, he organised and directed the Association of the Polish Military in Russia (''Związek Wojskowych Polaków w Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cichociemni
''Cichociemni'' (; the "Silent Unseen") were elite special-operations paratroopers of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland (''Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej''). Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki (pl), ''The Unseen and Silent: Adventures from the Underground Movement, Narrated by Paratroops of the Polish Home Army'', Sheed and Ward, 1954, p. 350. A total of 2,613 Polish Army soldiers volunteered for training by Polish and British SOE operatives. Only 606 people completed the training, and eventually 316 of them were secretly parachuted into occupied Poland. The first operation ("air bridge", as it was called) took place on 15 February 1941. This operation was conducted by Captain Józef Zabielski, Major Stanisław Krzymowski and political courier Czesław Raczkowski. After 27 December 1944 further operations were discontinued, as by then most of Poland had been occupied by the Red Army. Of 316 Cichociemni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armia Krajowa
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasions in September 1939. Over the next two years, the Home Army absorbed most of the other Polish partisans and underground forces. Its allegiance was to the Polish government-in-exile in London, and it constituted the armed wing of what came to be known as the Polish Underground State. Estimates of the Home Army's 1944 strength range between 200,000 and 600,000. The latter number made the Home Army not only Poland's largest underground resistance movement but, along with Soviet and Yugoslav partisans, one of Europe's largest World War II underground movements. The Home Army sabotaged German transports bound for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union, destroying German supplies and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Tempest
file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Army (''Armia Krajowa'', abbreviated ''AK''), the dominant force in the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish resistance. Operation Tempest's objective was to seize control of German-occupied cities and areas while the Germans were preparing their defenses against the advancing Soviet Red Army. Polish underground civil authorities hoped to take power before the Soviets arrived. A goal of the Polish Government-in-Exile, in London, was to restore Poland's 1939 borders with the USSR, rejecting the Curzon Line border. According to Jan. M. Ciechanowski, "The [exiled] Polish Cabinet believed that by refusing to accept the Curzon Line they were defending their country's right to exist as a national entity. They were determined that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the city north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region of Latgale, and those to the south lie in Selonia. It is the second-largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some to its north-west. Daugavpils is located relatively close to Belarus and Lithuania (distances of and respectively), and some from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a major railway junction and industrial centre and was an historically important garrison city lying approximately midway between Riga and Minsk, and between Warsaw and Saint Petersburg. Daugavpils, then Dyneburg, was the capital of Polish Livonia while in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following the first partition of Poland in 1772, the city becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region ( voblast) and Minsk District (raion). As of January 2021, its population was 2 million, making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. Minsk is one of the administrative capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). First documented in 1067, Minsk became the capital of the Principality of Minsk before being annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242. It received town privileges in 1499. From 1569, it was the capital of the Minsk Voivodeship, an administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barysaŭ
Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in the Laurentian Codex as being founded (as Borisov) in 1102 by the Prince of Polotsk Rogvolod Vseslavich, who had the baptismal name of Boris. During the next two centuries, it was burned and then rebuilt south of where it was before. Half a millennium as part of Lithuania From the late 13th century to 1795, the town was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was itself involved in many unions – the Union of Krewo (1385) and Union of Lublin (1569). In 1500, during the Lithuanian–Muscovite War, Alexander Jagiellon resided in Barysaw Castle. In 1563, it was granted Magdeburg town rights by King Sigismund II Augustus. 1790s In the last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, troops were stationed here, including the 4th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orsha
Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha, making it one of the oldest towns in Belarus. The town was named after the river, which was originally also named Rsha, probably from a Baltic root *''rus'' 'slowly flowing.' In 1320, Orsha became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Between 1398–1407, the Orsha castle was built. On 8 September 1514 the famous Battle of Orsha occurred, between allied Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Kingdom of Poland and Muscovite army. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilno
Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urban area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 718,507 (as of 2020), while according to the Vilnius territorial health insurance fund, there were 753,875 permanent inhabitants as of November 2022 in Vilnius city and Vilnius district municipalities combined. Vilnius is situated in southeastern Lithuania and is the second-largest city in the Baltic states, but according to the Bank of Latvia is expected to become the largest before 2025. It is the seat of Lithuania's national government and the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is known for the architecture in its Old Town of Vilnius, Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The city was #Po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, it was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. It is also bordered by Belarus to the north; by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and by Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south. During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polotsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk District in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people. It is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. Nomenclature The Old East Slavic name, ''Polotesk'', derives from the Polota river, which flows into the neighboring Western Dvina. The Vikings rendered that name as ''Palteskja''. History Polotsk is one of the most ancient cities of the Eastern Slavs. The ''Primary Chronicle'' (a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, compiled in Kiev about 1113) listed Polotsk in 862 (as Полотескъ, /poloteskŭ/), together with Murom and Belozersk. However, an archaeological expedition from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed in the firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_early_20th_century.jpg "Click for more on -> Daugavpils")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Barysaŭ")
_(1781).png "Click for more on -> Orsha")
