Fort Beniaminów is a military installation in Beniaminów, some east of Warsaw. Designed by a Polish-born Russian General Konstanty Wieliczko, the fort was constructed in 1904 as part of the outer ring of defences of the

Warsaw Fortress Warsaw Fortress (, ) was a system of fortifications built in Warsaw, Poland during the 19th century when the city was part of the Russian Empire. The fortress belonged to a Western Russian fortresses, chain of fortresses built in Congress Poland an ...

. Conveniently located near the southern bank of Bugonarew, it was to shield the then-Russian city of Warsaw from an enemy force trying to attack it from the East: possibly a German Army trying to outflank the Russian army from

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. It was to cooperate with two earlier forts in

Wawer Wawer () is one of the dzielnica, districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on 27 October 2002 (previously it was a part of Praga Południ ...

and Kawęczyn (built between 1892 and 1893) and two more modern forts in Pustelniki and Maciołki (their construction never started). The fort was almost finished in 1909, when - in the effect of the lost

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

a set of military reforms was passed by the Russian government. As a consequence the Warsaw Fortress was disbanded and the Russian Army started dismantling all the forts in the vicinity of Warsaw. Fort Beniaminów was not demolished, but all armaments and supplies were removed and the construction abandoned in 1913. Consequently the fort did not play any part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in 1915 was captured by the Imperial German Army without a fight. The Germans re-militarised the construction and used its

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

as a military prison housing, among others, the soldiers of the Polish Legions following the

Oath Crisis The Oath crisis (; German language, German: ''Eidkrise'') was a World War I political conflict between the Imperial German Army command and the Józef Piłsudski-led Polish Legions in World War I, Polish Legions. Initially supporting the Central P ...

. During the Polish-Bolshevist War of 1920 the Polish Army used the fort in the Battle of Radzymin (part of the Battle of Warsaw), but the construction was not involved in direct combat as the Russian forces never reached it. Between the World Wars the barracks of the fort, located some away in Białobrzegi, were used by the 2nd Radio-telegraphic Battalion. Following the German and Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939 the fort was taken over by the

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

and slightly modernised. The barracks again served as a prison, this time in the form of Stalag 368 for

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

prisoners of war. In 1944 the fort was captured by Soviet forces and partially blown up (all gun

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s for flanking fire and the

caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning ...

s). Currently the fort is in private hands. Parts of the military infrastructure of the barracks houses the 9th Command Regiment, while the rest were transformed into apartment houses.

References

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Forty.waw.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Beniaminow Beniaminow