The 2nd Legions Home Army Infantry Division “Pogon” (Polish: 2 Dywizja Piechoty Legionow AK "Pogon", 2 DP Leg. AK) was a unit of the Polish

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance movement in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed i ...

(AK), created in 1944 in the Home Army District

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ba ...

. Creation of the division was based on a September 1942 order of the AK headquarters, which stated that in the future

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 ...

, the Home Army units were to be named after pre-September 1939 units of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

. Therefore, the Second Legions Home Army Infantry Division was based on and named after the

2nd Legions Infantry Division Polish 2nd Legions Infantry Division (''2. Dywizja Piechoty Legionów'') was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 21, 1919, in the towns of Zegrze and Jablonna near Warsaw, and composed mostly of veterans of ...

, which until the

Invasion of Poland 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 af ...

had its headquarters in Kielce.

Structure

The Division was commanded by Colonel Antoni Zolkiewski (

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

“Lin”), while his chief of staff was Captain Michal Mandziara “Siwy”. The Second Legions Home Army Infantry Division “Pogon” consisted of the following subunits: * 2nd Legions Infantry Regiment of the Home Army, under Major Antoni Wiktorowski “Kruk, * 3rd Legions Infantry Regiment of the Home Army, under Major Stanislaw Poreda “Swiatek”, * 4th Legions Infantry Regiment of the Home Army, under Major Jozef Wlodarczyk “Wyrwa”, * reconnaissance squadron, under

rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typi ...

Karol Wickenhagen “Pobog”, * platoon of military police under Colonel Dionizy Medrzycki “Reder”, * divisional services.

Operation Tempest

In mid-August 1944, when the Division concentrated for the

, it had 3,075 soldiers, with 1,107 serving in the largest subunit, the 2nd Legions Infantry Regiment. On August 20, the Division, concentrated near Przysucha, set off towards

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

, to fight in the

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 ...

. Since this turned out to be impossible, as the route northwards was blocked by strong German units, on August 23 the Division headed towards Checiny, planning to capture

. On August 26, it fought the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

in the village of Dziebaldow. In September 1944, it took part in a number of skirmishes and battles. On October 8, 1944, following the order of headquarters of the Home Army District Radom - Kielce, the division was disbanded due to deteriorating general situation, shortage of food and autumn conditions. After this order, its subunits acted independently, fighting the Wehrmacht until late autumn 1944.

Murder of Jews

The "Wybraniecki" unit, commanded by Marian Sołtysiak ("Barabasz") which was part of the 4th Legions Infantry Regiment, murdered hiding Jews and their helpers on a number of occasions. In order to purge their own ranks of Jews in hiding, the unit examined the genitalia of members, executing on the basis of

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Topic ...

.https://www.academia.edu/8619787/Barabasz_and_the_Jews?email_work_card=title Holocaust Studies and Materials, “Barabasz” and the Jews: From the history of the “Wybraniecki” Home Army Partisan Detachment, Alina Skibińska and Joanna Tokarska-Bakir

Structure

Operation Tempest

Murder of Jews

References

Further reading