The Citizens' Home Army (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

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

Home Army The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

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

Władysław Liniarski Władysław Liniarski, alias Mścisław, Wuj, Jan (born November 23, 1897 in Małachowice-Gustawów - April 12, 1984 in Warsaw) was a colonel of the Polish Armed Forces, commander of the Białystok District of the Union of Armed Struggle from Febru ...

(

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

"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 List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

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, around

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

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

Wilno Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

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, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

(62nd I.D.) and

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

troops as well as Polish

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security ...

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 Grajewo (; ) is a town in north-eastern Poland with 21,499 inhabitants (2016). It is the capital of Grajewo County within the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located within the historic region of Masovia, near the border with Podlachia and Masuria. H ...

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

, the rest of the

Białystok Voivodeship (1919-1939) Białystok Voivodeship may refer to the following administrative districts of Poland: *Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939), as defined before World War II *Białystok Voivodeship (1945–1975) Białystok Voivodeship may refer to the following admi ...

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.

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-communist organisations in Poland Anti-communist guerrilla organizations Anti-communist resistance movements in Eastern Europe Polish dissident organisations National liberation movements 1945 disestablishments in Poland

See also

References

Sources