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Witold Pilecki
Witold Pilecki (13 May 190125 May 1948; ; codenames ''Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold'') was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader. As a youth, Pilecki joined Polish underground scouting, and in the aftermath of World War I, Polish militia and later, the Polish Army. He participated in the Polish-Soviet War which ended in 1921. In 1939 he participated in the unsuccessful defense of Poland against the German invasion and shortly afterward, joined the Polish resistance, co-founding the Secret Polish Army resistance movement. In 1940 Pilecki volunteered to allow himself to be captured by the occupying Germans in order to infiltrate the Auschwitz concentration camp. At Auschwitz he organized a resistance movement that eventually included hundreds of inmates, and he secretly drew up reports detailing German atrocities at the camp, which were smuggled out to Home Army headquarters and shared with the Western Allies. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olonets
Olonets (russian: Оло́нец; krl, Anus, olo, Anuksenlinnu; fi, Aunus, Aunuksenkaupunki or Aunuksenlinna) is a town and the administrative center of Olonetsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Olonka River to the east of Lake Ladoga. Population: History Olonets is the oldest documented settlement in Karelia, mentioned by Novgorodian sources as early as 1137. Its history is obscure until 1649, when a fortress was built there to protect the Grand Duchy of Moscow against the Swedes. The same year it was granted town privileges. Until the Great Northern War, Olonets developed as a principal market for Russian trade with Sweden. To the south from the town, there sprawled a belt of fortified abbeys, of which the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery was the most important. In the 18th century, Olonets' importance shifted from trade to ironworking industries. In 1773, it was made the seat of Olonets Governorate. Eleven years later, however, the seat was move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiev Offensive (1920)
The 1920 Kiev Offensive (or Kiev Expedition, ''wyprawa kijowska'' in Polish) was a major part of the Polish–Soviet War. It was an attempt by the armed forces of the recently established Second Polish Republic led by Józef Piłsudski, in alliance with Ukrainian leader Symon Petliura of the Ukrainian People's Republic, to seize the territories of modern-day Ukraine which mostly fell under Soviet control after the October Revolution as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Polish and Soviet forces fought in 1919 and the Poles advanced in the disputed borderlands. In early 1920, Piłsudski concentrated on preparations for a military invasion of central Ukraine. It would result, he anticipated, in destruction of the Soviet armies and force Soviet acceptance of unilateral Polish conditions. The Poles signed an alliance, known as the Treaty of Warsaw, with the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic led by Petliura. The Kiev Offensive was the central component of Piłsuds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross Of Valour (Poland)
The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the field of battle." It may be awarded to the same person up to four times.The only soldier ever to receive more than 4 Crosses of Valour was Stefan Grot-Rowecki, commander of the Polish Home Army during World War II, who had reached his quota of 4 crosses during World War I and the Polish-Soviet War, yet was awarded 4 more crosses on 1 May 1943. See: The medal is given only in wartime or shortly after.Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia: Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'', pp. 22–24, 41–42, 58. History Polish-Soviet War The medal was introduced in 1920 at the height of the Polish-Soviet War, shortly before the climactic Battle of Warsaw. Initially it had no Order Council and was awarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, national defense, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries. The Order of Polonia Restituta is sometimes regarded as Poland's successor to the ''Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr'', known as the Order of Saint Stanislaus, established in 1765 by Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to honor supporters of the Polish crown. History When Poland regained its independence from the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Russian Empire in 1918, the new Polish government abolished the activities of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of The White Eagle (Poland)
The Order of the White Eagle ( pl, Order Orła Białego) is Poland's highest order awarded to both civilians and the military for their merits. It was officially instituted on 1 November 1705 by Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, and bestowed on eight of his closest diplomatic and political supporters. It is one of the oldest distinctions in the world still in use. It is awarded to the most distinguished Poles and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries. The Order of the White Eagle is attached to a purple ribbon slung over the left shoulder to the right side. The star of the Order, once embroidered, is worn on the left side of the chest. History The badge of the Order of the White Eagle was originally a red enamel oval gold medal with an image of the Polish white eagle on its front side, and the royal cypher of Augustus II the Strong over crossed swords on its reverse side, worn on a light blue ribbon. The white eagle badge was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa). The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance. While approaching the eastern suburbs of the city, the Red Army temporarily halted combat operations, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance and to destroy the city in retaliation. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II. The Uprising began on 1 August 1944 as part of a nationwide Operation Tempest, launched at the time of the Soviet Lublin–Brest Offensive. The main Polish objectives were to drive the Germans out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
September Campaign
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty. The invasion is also known in Poland as the September campaign ( pl, kampania wrześniowa) or 1939 defensive war ( pl, wojna obronna 1939 roku, links=no) and known in Germany as the Poland campaign (german: Überfall auf Polen, Polenfeldzug). German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. Slovak military forces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Żeligowski's Mutiny
Żeligowski's Mutiny ( pl, bunt Żeligowskiego, also ''żeligiada'', lt, Želigovskio maištas) was a Polish false flag operation led by General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuania. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski surreptitiously ordered Żeligowski to carry out the operation, and revealed the truth only several years afterwards. The area was formally annexed by Poland in 1922 and recognized by the Conference of Ambassadors as Polish territory in 1923. The decision was not recognized by Lithuania, which continued to claim Vilnius and the Vilnius Region, and by the Soviet Union.Timothy Snyder, ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999'', p. 78, Yale University Press, New Haven @ London 2003, . Background In late 1920, the Polish-Soviet War was ending with the Soviets defeated at the Battle of Warsaw and in full retreat. The disputed Vilnius region centered on the L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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