Battle of Murowana Oszmianka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Murowana Oszmianka
Part of World War II
Date May 13 - May 14, 1944
Location Murowana Oszmianka and Tołminowo, Nazi-occupied territories (Reichskommissariat Ostland) (modern Muravanaya Ashmyanka, Belarus)
Result Polish victory
Belligerents
Flag of Poland Home Army (Polish Secret State) Flag of Lithuania Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force
Commanders
mjr Czesław Dębicki "Jarema"[1]
Strength
5 partisan brigades (3rd, 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th) of the Home Army
about 600 strong[2]		 elements of the 301st Battalion of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force
about 750 strong[2]
Casualties and losses
13 killed, 25 wounded[2]
15 killed, 6 wounded[1]		 over 50 killed, over 60 wounded, over 300 taken prisoner[2]
60-70 killed, 130 wounded, 150 taken prisoner (the rest escaped)[1]

The Battle of Murowana Oszmianka of May 13–May 14, 1944 was the largest clash between the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) and the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (Lietuvos vietinė rinktinė, LVR) which was a Lithuanian volunteer security force subordinated to Nazi Germany. The battle took place in and near the village of Murowana Oszmianka in Nazi-occupied Poland (modern Muravanaya Ashmyanka, Belarus). The outcome of the battle was that the 301st LVR battalion was routed and the entire force was disbanded by the Germans soon afterwards. [3]

Contents

[edit] Prelude

In late April and early May, the Germans decided to transfer a significant part of the police duties in Lithuania to the newly created LVR formation,[2] which was to initiate a wide anti-partisan operation against the Polish and Soviet partisans in the area.[4][2] Three battalions were dispatched to man the garrisons in and around the towns of Oszmiany (modern Ashmyany, Belarus)[5] The AK commander for the Vilnius (Wilno) region, Aleksander Krzyżanowski "Wilk" mobilized the reguion's partisan troops in response, but they were ordered not to engage the Lithuanian forces in order to prevent the escalation of the Polish-Lithuanian hostilities.[2] The Lithuanian troops, however, satisfied by their perceived superiority, started pacifying the local Polish communities suspected of harboring the partisans;[2] numerous war crimes were committed by the Lithuanians,[6] notably the atrocities against the Polish civilians in Pawłów, Graużyszki and Sieńkowszczyzna.[3][7] Faced with the need to protect the civilians, in early May the Polish resistance fought decided to fight back and organize a concentrated assault against the fortified Lithuanian positions around the village of Murowana Oszmianka and on the 10th of May were ordered to prepare an assault against one of the Lithuanian larger units in the region.[2]

[edit] The plan

Major Czesław Dębicki "Jarema" was chosen as the commander of the five AK brigades (3rd, 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th) that were to assault the Lithuanian positions in Murowana Oszmianka.[1] The AK reconnaissance judged enemy's strenth as 4 companies in Murowana Oszmianka (with the local Lithuanian headquasters), two companies in Tołominowo and a strong German garrison (with armored elements) in Oszmiany.[1] Numbers and quality of the enemy's forces were judged higher than those of the AK forces, hence the surprise element was key in the Polish plan.[1]

On May 12 a detailed plan was created. It called for:[1]

  • 4 platoons of the 8th brigade will assault Murowana Oszmianka from the south-east, converging on the church
  • 3rd brigade will assault Murowana Oszmianka from the north-west
  • 13th brigade will secure the Murowana Oszmianka-Tołominowo road, possibly assault Tołominowo, prevent cooperation between enemy's forces and prevent any attempt of them to unite
  • 9th brigade will secure the Murowana Oszmianka-Oszmiany road
  • the Oszmiana-Murowana Oszmianka bridge will be blown up to prevent German armor from crossing
  • communications lines on Wilno-Oszmiana will be cut
  • 12th brigade and remaining cavalry platoon of the 8th brigade will be in reserve
  • field hospital will be established in the village of Wasiowce
  • positions will be taken at dusk; all units will disengage by dawn to avoid German airforce
  • assault will begin at 2300

[edit] The battle

Overnight between May 13 and May 14, the 3rd Brigade of the Home Army assaulted the village from the west and north-west, while the 8th and 12th Brigades attacked from the south and east. The remainder of the Polish forces (13th and 9th Brigades) secured the Murowana Oszmianka-Tołminowo road.[2] The defences, reinforced with concrete bunkers and trenches, were manned by elements of the 301st (1st and 2nd company[2]) of the LVR, the latter detachment already wavering after having suffered a defeat at Graużyszki on May 5, where it suffered 47 casualties and was dispersed by the 8th and 12th Brigades of the Home Army[8] The assault proved successful as the Lithuanian garrisons in nearby towns did not move from their posts; [5] the German reinforcements were stopped by sabotage of the bridges and delaying actions (carried out primarily by the 9th Brigade).[2]

The 3rd company of the 301st battalion was also engaged in the vicinity of the nearby Tołminowo village by the 13th Brigade.[2] This battle ended with a decisive Polish victory as well.[2]

[edit] Aftermath

During the battles in Murowana Oszmianka and Tołminowo the 301st battalion was practically wiped out;[2] only the 4th company of the 301st battalion managed to evade Polish forces and retreat.[2]. Lithuanian force lost at least 50 men, with 60 more wounded and more than 300 were taken prisoner of war (117 Lithuanian of them in Tołminowo[9]).[2] After the battle all Lithuanian prisoners of war were disarmed (the Polish resistance was able to capture 1 mortar and 7 machine guns) and released with only their long johns and helmets on.[5][2][10][11][12] The Lithuanian officers were given letters from Vilnius region AK top commander, Aleksander "Wilk" Krzyżanowski, addressed to LVR top commander, general Povilas Plechavičius, appealing for a stop to Lithuanian-German collaboration, end of Lithuanian anti-Polish policies and joint effort to combat the Germans; he received no reply.[2]

After the defeat in the battle of Murowana Oszmianka, and other skirmishes against the Home Army, the LVR became so weakened that Povilas Plechavičius and his officers were judged useless by the Germans, were relieved of command and arrested by the Germans soon afterwards, and their unit was dissolved.[2][3][13][14]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d e f g (Polish) Edmund Banasikowski (1988). Na zew ziemi wileńskiej. Paris: Editions Spotkania, p. 128-135. ISBN 28690355. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t (Polish) Henryk Piaskunowicz, Działalnośc zbrojna Armi Krajowej na Wileńszczyśnie w latach 1942-1944 in Zygmunt Boradyn; Andrzej Chmielarz, Henryk Piskunowicz (1997). in Tomasz Strzembosz: Armia Krajowa na Nowogródczyźnie i Wileńszczyźnie (1941-1945). Warsaw: Institute of Political Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, p. 40-45. ISBN 8390716803. 
  3. ^ a b c (English) Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide.... McFarland & Company, p. 165-166. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.  See also review
  4. ^ (Polish) Jacek J. Komar (09 2004). "W Wilnie pojednają się dziś weterani litewskiej armii i polskiej AK (Reconciliation of the veterans of Lithuanian army and the Polish Home Army today in Vilna)". Gazeta Wyborcza (2004-09-01). 
  5. ^ a b c (Polish) Edmund Banasikowski (1988). Na zew ziemi wileńskiej. Paris: Editions Spotkania, p. 123-127. ISBN 28690355. Retrieved on 2008-03-15. 
  6. ^ (Polish) various authors (1976). in Halina Czarnocka: Armia Krajowa w Dokumentach. London: Studium Polski Podziemnej, p. 473. ISBN 0950134821. Retrieved on 2008-03-15. 
  7. ^ (Polish) Stanisław Ciesielski; Włodzimierz Borodziej (1999). Przesiedlenie ludności polskiej z kresów wschodnich do Polski, 1944-1947. Warsaw: Instytut Historii PAN, 129, 130. ISBN 8386842563. 
  8. ^ (Polish) Piotr Łossowski (1991). Polska - Litwa: ostanie sto lat. Warsaw: Oskar, p. 110. ISBN 8385239065. , also cited in: Dymitri. "Konflikty polsko-litewskie w latach 1918-45". . Koło Naukowe Studentów Socjologii, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
  9. ^ (Polish) Komisja Historyczna b. Sztabu Głównego w Londynie (corporate author). Polskie Siły Zbrojne w drugiej wojnie światowej III. London: Adiutor, Instytut Historyczny im. gen. Sikorskiego, p. 602. ISBN 8386100338. 
  10. ^ (Polish) Jerzy Urbankiewicz (03 2004). "Kto kogo rozgromi?...". Dziennik łódzki (2004-03-07). 
  11. ^ (Polish) Krzysztof Buchowski (2006). Litwomani i polonizatorzy: mity, wzajemne postrzeganie i stereotypy w stosunkach polsko-litewskich w pierwszej połowie XX wieku (pdf), Białystok: University of Białystok Press, 348. ISBN 9788374310758. Retrieved on 2008-03-18. , see also review
  12. ^ (Lithuanian) Rimantas Zizas (1995). Armijos Krajovos veikla Lietuvoje 1942-1944 metais, 32. , as cited in Buchowski, op.cit., p. 348
  13. ^ (English) Włodzimierz Borodziej (2005). "The Dress Rehearsal", The Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 54. ISBN 0299207307. Retrieved on 2008-03-18. “In several battles in April and May, the "Lithuanian special units" (Vietine Rikitne), just established by the Germans under General Povilas Plechavicius, were beaten and disarmed, which led to their rapid dissolution;” 
  14. ^ (German) Bernard Chiari; Jerzy Kochanowski (2003). Die polnische Heimatarmee: Geschichte und Mythos der Armia Krajowa seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Munich: Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt; Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 630-631. ISBN 3486567152. Retrieved on 2008-03-18. 
Languages