Union of Retaliation (Polish: ''Związek Odwetu'' or ''Z.O.'') was a Polish

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

resistance organisation established on 20 April 1940. It was created by General Stefan Rowecki, head of the

Armed Resistance A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

, as that organization's branch dedicated to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

and

covert operations A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. US law Under US law, the Central Intelligence Ag ...

Early history

The ZO was formed out of a variety of previously existent sabotage groups which were then merged into the ZWZ. Initially a part of the ZWZ, all of them were then separated. Thus the risk of eliminating the whole ZWZ by destruction of one of its sabotage cells was eliminated. Initially headed by Maj. Franciszek Niepokólczycki ''Teodor'', the organization was aimed at diminishing the German military and industrial potential by means of active and passive sabotage. It also carried out a number of revenge actions as a reprisal for particularly brutal German mass shootings, łapankas or other actions aimed at Polish civilians. The net of sabotage and intelligence cells organized by the ZO included almost every major German-controlled factory in occupied Poland, as well as a number of ''special detachments'', used by the ZO's headquarters for particularly difficult actions.

Increased resistance measures

In February 1942, the commander in chief of the Polish forces and the prime minister of Poland, Gen.

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, withdrew his order of limiting armed resistance in Poland, the ZO's network started to grow significantly. It also organized a number of spectacular actions against the German war effort. Out of several hundred thousand actions (mainly in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

, Holy Cross Mountains and

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

), perhaps the best known is the '' Wieniec''. During that action, carried out in October 1942, the Polish resistance blew up all railways leading from and to Warsaw, destroyed 4 German supply trains going for the Eastern Front and disrupted the supply transport for several days (with the Warsaw train hub being cut out for roughly 15 hours). In December, the action was continued by the ZO in Eastern Poland, as a reprisal for the German terror in the area around

Zamość Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...

Merger into Armia Krajowa

After the ZWZ was reformed into the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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 ...

, the ZO was again incorporated into it, merged with the Wachlarz and OSA units and formed the backbone of the Kedyw organization. During the later stages of its existence, the ZO was headed by Maj. Jan Wojciech Kiwerski.

References

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Związek Odwetu
{{Armia Krajowa 1940 establishments in Poland Units and formations of Polish resistance during World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Reprisals