Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy
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The Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy (Polish: Flotylla Rzeczna Marynarki Wojennej), better known as the Pinsk Flotilla, was the inland branch of the Polish naval forces operating on Vistula river and the Pinsk Marshes area between the Polish-Bolshevik War and the World War II. Under the command of Cmdr. Witold Zajączkowski it was active in the invasion of Poland and fought both against German and Soviet invaders.
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[edit] History
During the Polish-Bolshevik War the Pinsk Marshes in modern Belarus proved to be almost impassable to troops of both sides. Lack of roads and railways posed a serious danger to infantry and cavalry that could easily be cut off both by the enemy and the weather. Because of that, a number of river monitors were either constructed or acquired from private owners and armed. They were used on the Pripiat River, as well as its extensive river basin. After the war, some of the ships were returned to their owners, while the rest remained in active service and were pressed into the so-called Pinsk Flotilla.
In the peace time the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy, as it was officially called, operated on the Pina River, as well as on Pripyat and Strumień. It served as a mobile reserve of the Border Defence Corps and was to support the front in case of a war with the Soviet Union. Prior to the invasion of Poland, a number of ships and detachments of the Riverine Flotilla were moved to the Vistula River as a Separated Detachment of the Vistula River (Oddział Wydzielony Rzeki Wisły), better known as the Vistula Flotilla.
In the Polish operational plans, the Pinsk flotilla was to form a mobile strategic reserve of the Polish Army in the area and was to constitute the core of the forces defending the area of the Pinsk Marshes. Polish commander in chief Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły envisioned that the area was to become a last stand for the Polish Army, where it would await the relief on the western front from Poland's Allies. However, the Soviet invasion of September 17, 1939, made the plans obsolete.
During the fights against the Soviets and the Germans, most of the ships were sunk by the crews to avoid capture.
[edit] References
- Cristino Castroviejo Vicente (2001). "The Baltic in Flames: the 1939 naval campaign". SERGA (March-April 2001): 28–37.
[edit] See also
- Polish Navy
- Order of Battle of the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy
- Vessels of Polish Riverine Flotilla
