Tuchola Forest
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The Tuchola Forest (Polish: Bory Tucholskie; Kashubian: Tëchòlsczé Bòrë; German: Tucheler Heide) is a large forest near the town of Tuchola in northern Poland, and lies between the Brda and Wda Rivers.
The area was formed during the last glacial age and is covered with low hills and more than 900 post-glacial lakes. With 1,200 km² of dense spruce and pine forest, the area is one of the biggest forests in Poland and Central Europe. Since 1996 part of the area is protected in Bory Tucholskie National Park, covering 129.81 km². Approximately 30% of the area is inhabitated by the Kociewiacy.
The largest towns in the area are Czersk and Tuchola.
[edit] History
Parts of Prussia were ceded to Poland as a result of part of the provisions in the Treaty of Versailles. During World War II, the area was the site of several notable events. In 1939, during the Polish Defensive War at the beginning of World War II, the major Battle of Tuchola Forest was fought in the area, with Polish units retreating through the region from Pomerania.
Between August 1944 and January 1945, SS troops under Hans Kammler and Walter Dornberger carried out extensive tests of the V-4 missiles, after their primary test site in Blizna was discovered by the Home Army and then bombed by the Allies (see Operation Most III); approximately 107 missiles were test-fired. In January 1945 the site had to be evacuated before the Red Army offensive overran the area. Dornberger sought other testing sites and tried to establish secret test facilities near Wolgast and in the proximity of Liebenau near Nienburg, but only two test launches were carried out in the new spots in early April 1945.
After World War II the forest was a safe haven for many anti-communist partisans, among them Zygmunt Szendzielarz.
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