Battalion Parasol

Battalion Parasol (Umbrella)

Soldiers of "Parasol" battalion after coming out of sewers at Warecka Street (North Śródmieście district). Center: Maria Stypułkowska-Chojecka "Kama", right: Krzysztof Palester "Krzych".
Active 1944
Country Poland
Allegiance Polish Underground
Branch Armia Krajowa (Home Army)
Type Underground and urban warfare
Engagements Warsaw Uprising
Decorations Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari V class
Commanders
Current
commander		 Józef Szczepański
Insignia
Emblem
Battalion Parasol during Warsaw Uprising 1944

Battalion Parasol (Polish: Batalion Parasol) (Umbrella) was a Scouting battalion of the Armia Krajowa, the primary Polish resistance movement in World War II. It consisted mainly of members of the Szare Szeregi, distinguishing itself in many underground operations, and in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (as a member of the Radosław Group, a codename for a group of Kedyw, Polish underground organization).

History

It was first organized as "Agat" ("Anti-Gestapo") unit by Adam Borys "Pług", a Cichociemni elite soldier parachuted from England, in fall 1943. Due to arrest of Tadeusz Kostrzewski "Niemira" on 2 January 1944 it changed its name to "Pegaz" ("Przeciw Gestapo - Against the Gestapo"), and after another arrest it was reorganized as "Parasol" (umbrella) battalion. The last name referred to a parachute, as the unit was intended to join Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade in free Poland.

The battalion is renowned for its numerous military actions in 1943–1944. "Parasol" organized assassination missions, during which key Gestapo officers and high-rank Nazi German officials, responsible for extreme terror in Poland's Warsaw District, were killed. One of the most famous assassinations was the Operation Kutschera - the execution of Franz Kutschera, the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District, who was shot in the center of Warsaw (in front of the SS Headquarters) in February 1944.[1]

Józef Szczepański, a poet, was the notable commander of this unit. The poet Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński fought in its ranks and was killed in action by a German sniper in the first few days of the Warsaw Uprising.

Heir to the tradition of the battalion is Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów and its detachment Zespół Bojowy C.

Battalion fighters

Losses during the Warsaw Uprising

References

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