Armia Krajowa Obywatelska (AKO, Citizens' Home Army) was a Polish military anticommunist organization, and a successor of the disbanded Polish anti-Nazi resistance

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance movement in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed i ...

(Armia Krajowa, AK). It was founded in February 1945 by Colonel

Władysław Liniarski Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym *W ...

(

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

"Mścisław"), who had previously been commandant of the

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

District of the Home Army. AK in the Białystok area was a powerful force. In early 1945 it had almost 30,000 soldiers, together with units that remained east of the

Curzon Line The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, to th ...

, around

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish ...

and

Wolkowysk Vawkavysk ( be, Ваўкавы́ск, ; russian: Волковы́ск; pl, Wołkowysk; lt, Valkaviskas; yi, וואלקאוויסק; names in other languages) is one of the oldest towns in southwestern Belarus and the capital of the Vawkavysk ...

. The number of soldiers grew steadily in the first half of 1945, as numerous AK brigades from Districts of

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

and

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

were coming to Białystok to continue fighting the Communists. AKO was concentrated on military action, between February and September 1945 it fought several battles and skirmishes with

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

(62nd I.D.) and

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

troops as well as Polish

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it w ...

units. In early summer of 1945 the Soviets and Polish Communists de facto controlled only the city of Białystok and a few major towns, like Grajewo or

Ostrołęka , image_flag = POL Ostrołęka flag.svg , image_shield = POL Ostrołęka COA.svg , pushpin_map = Poland Masovian Voivodeship#Poland , pushpin_label_position = bottom , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = ...

, the rest of the Białystok Voivodeship (1919-1939) remained in the hands of AKO. Soldiers of AKO liquidated hundreds of Soviet agents - only in May 1945 they killed some 200 of them. They also attacked almost all towns in the area, apart from Białystok. Armia Krajowa Obywatelska disbanded in late summer of 1945. The remaining structure was incorporated into

Wolnosc i Niezawislosc Freedom and Independence Association ( pl, Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość, or WiN) was a Polish underground anticommunist organisation founded on September 2, 1945 and active until 1952. Political goals and realities The main purpose of it ...

References

Sources

* http://powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl/zw_ako.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20071201104317/http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/zw_ako.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20111002153739/http://www.przeciek.pl/info-616.htm {{Authority control 1945 establishments in Poland Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Anti-communism in Poland Polish dissident organisations National liberation movements 1945 disestablishments in Poland

See also

References

Sources