Battle of Kuryłówka
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The Battle of Kuryłówka, fought between the Polish anti-communist resistance organization, National Military Alliance (NZW) and the Soviet Union's
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. ...
units, took place on May 7, 1945, in the village of
Kuryłówka Kuryłówka is a village in Leżajsk County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kuryłówka. It lies on the navigable San River, approximately north-east of ...
, southeastern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The battle ended in a victory for the underground Polish forces.


Background

In May 1945 World War II ended in Europe. But as
Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...
wrote in '' No Simple Victory'', even after
Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...
the war was not completely over: "In all Soviet-occupied countries the NKVD was hunting down a variety of political opponents and freedom fighters (...)
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
and
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...
were still in place - unregenerate, as murderous as ever, and victorious". On May 7, a major battle between the Polish anti-communist resistance organization, National Military Alliance (Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe, NZW) and NKVD units took place in the village of
Kuryłówka Kuryłówka is a village in Leżajsk County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kuryłówka. It lies on the navigable San River, approximately north-east of ...
, located near
Leżajsk Leżajsk (; yi, ליזשענסק-Lizhensk; uk, Лежа́йськ, Lezháysʹk), officially the Free Royal City of Leżajsk ( pl, Wolne Królewskie Miasto Leżajsk), is a town in southeastern Poland with 13,871 inhabitants. It has been situated ...
(
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it is ...
). According to several sources, this was the biggest battle in the history of the Polish anti-communist movement, in which reportedly up to 70 NKVD agents died. Polish units were commanded by Major
Franciszek Przysiężniak Franciszek Przysiężniak (nom de guerre "Ojciec Jan", "Father John") (September 22, 1909 in the village of Krupe, near Krasnystaw – September 30, 1975 in Jarosław) - was a lieutenant in the Polish Army, an officer of anti-communist resista ...
(
noms 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 individua ...
"Marek", "Ojciec Jan").


1944-1945 in the area of Rzeszów

Most of the area of today's
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it is ...
was captured by the Red Army in the summer of 1944. The Soviets immediately started to persecute members of the
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
, loyal to the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
, and their actions sparked resistance (see:
Łukasz Ciepliński Łukasz Ciepliński [] (26 November 1913 – 1 March 1951) was a Polish soldier who fought in the Polish Polish resistance movement in World War II, anti-Nazi and Cursed soldiers, anti-communist resistance movements. He used various aliases: ''P ...
,
Adam Lazarowicz Major Adam Lazarowicz (noms de guerre "Klamra", "Pomorski", "Zygmunt", "Jadzik", "Aleksander", 1902 – 1 March 1951) was a Polish military officer who played a prominent role in the Polish resistance movement in the German-occupied Poland in th ...
). On January 19, 1945, General
Leopold Okulicki General Leopold Okulicki (noms de guerre ''Kobra'', ''Niedźwiadek''; 1898 – 1946) was a general of the Polish Army and the last commander of the anti-Nazi underground Home Army during World War II. He was arrested after the war by the Sovi ...
formally disbanded the Home Army, however several members of the organization decided to continue struggle for free Poland, seeing the Soviet forces as new occupiers. New movements were created, such as
Wolność i Niezawisłość 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 ...
,
Narodowe Siły Zbrojne National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...
, NIE or Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe. These organizations were oppressed mainly by the NKVD and later by the newly created Polish secret police,
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 ...
. In the area of Rzeszów, the most important and the strongest of anti-Communist movements was Wolnosc i Niezawislosc, but other organizations such as Narodowe Zjednoczenie Wojskowe also were present. Rzeszów's district of NZW was run by several people including Kazimierz Mirecki, Józef Salabun, Kazimierz Nizieński, and Piotr Woźniak. In March 1945, Rzeszów's NZW created the so-called Command of the Forest Units, which oversaw partisan troops in the area. These units were commanded by Major Franciszek Przysiężniak.


Battle

In early May, an NZW unit numbering some 200 soldiers was stationed in the village of Kuryłówka, near the town of
Leżajsk Leżajsk (; yi, ליזשענסק-Lizhensk; uk, Лежа́йськ, Lezháysʹk), officially the Free Royal City of Leżajsk ( pl, Wolne Królewskie Miasto Leżajsk), is a town in southeastern Poland with 13,871 inhabitants. It has been situated ...
. It was commanded by Major Przysiężniak. NKVD troops, stationed in
Biłgoraj Biłgoraj ( yi, בילגאריי, ''Bilgoray'', ua, Білґорай) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,838 inhabitants as of December 2021. Since 1999 it has been situated in Lublin Voivodeship; it was previously located in Zamość Vo ...
, found out about the Poles and sent two companies there, which probably were part of the 2nd Border Regiment of the NKVD (establishing Soviet sources on this matter is very difficult). According to other sources, the NKVD troops came to Kuryłówka searching for a group of deserters from Polish People's Army (
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Peo ...
) who had decided to join the anti-Communist forces. The battle took place on May 7. The Polish unit numbered some 200 soldiers; the exact number of NKVD troops is unknown, but most probably there were up to 300 of them. The skirmish ended in the NKVD unit's retreat. It is difficult to establish the number of NKVD victims; some sources claim that 56 agents died, some say up to 70. The number of Polish victims is unknown.


The next day

After the battle, the Polish unit, fearing reprisals, left the area of Kuryłówka. The next day, a strong NKVD force appeared in the village. The village of Kuryłówka was burned, more than 200 houses were razed to the ground. The Soviets then shot six persons, and two more died in the blaze. 920 people became homeless.


Aftermath

The Battle of Kuryłówka is commemorated on the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...
,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, with the inscription “KURYŁÓWKA 7 V 1945"


See also

*
Cursed soldiers The "cursed soldiers" (also known as "doomed soldiers", "accursed soldiers" or "damned soldiers"; pl, żołnierze wyklęci) or "indomitable soldiers" ( pl, żołnierze niezłomni) is a term applied to a variety of anti-Soviet and anti-communist ...
*
Raid on Kielce Prison The Raid on Kielce Prison, which took place in Kielce, Poland, in the night of 4/5 August 1945, was carried out by members of anti-Communist resistance, the so-called Cursed soldiers. Their target was a Urzad Bezpieczenstwa, Communist secret servic ...


References

*
Wystawa „Żołnierze wyklęci. Antykomunistyczne podziemie na Rzeszowszczyźnie po 1944 roku” – Rzeszów, 1 marca 2001 r.
*
Description of the Kuryłówka village, mentioning the battle
* Dionizy Garbacz "Zolnierze Wolyniaka", Stalowa Wola 1999, * Dariusz Iwaneczko, Zbigniew Nawrocki "Rok pierwszy. Powstanie i dzialanosc aparatu Bezpieczenstwa Publicznego na Rzeszowszczyznie (sierpien 1944 – lipiec 1945)", Rzeszów 2005. * Norman Davies, "No Simple Victory", Viking Penguin 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurylowka Anti-communism in Poland Kurylowka Kurylowka Conflicts in 1945 1945 in Poland
Battle of A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
NKVD Soviet World War II crimes in Poland May 1945 events