The Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy ( pl, Flotylla Rzeczna Marynarki Wojennej), better known as the ''Pinsk Flotilla'', was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river and in the area of the

Pinsk Marshes __NOTOC__ The Pinsk Marshes ( be, Пінскія балоты, ''Pinskiya baloty''), also known as the Pripet Marshes ( be, Прыпяцкія балоты, ''Prypiackija baloty''), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural ...

(

Dnieper–Bug Canal , image = Селішча._Дняпроўска-Бугскі_канал._Водападзел_(15).jpg , image_caption = , original_owner = , engineer = , other_engineer ...

) between the Polish–Bolshevik War and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Under Commodore

Witold Zajączkowski Witold may refer to: *Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ' ...

, it was active in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

and fought against both

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces.

History

During the Polish-Bolshevik War the

proved to be almost impassable to troops of both sides. Lack of roads and railways posed a serious danger to infantry and cavalry that could easily be cut off both by the enemy and the weather. Because of that, a number of

river monitor River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's , which made her first appearance in ...

s were either constructed or acquired from private owners and armed. They were used on the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat ( , uk, Прип'ять, ; be, Прыпяць, translit=Prypiać}, ; pl, Prypeć, ; russian: Припять, ) is a river in Eastern Europe, approximately long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine ag ...

, as well as its extensive river basin. After the war, some of the ships were returned to their owners, the rest remained on active service and were pressed into the so-called Pinsk Flotilla. In peace-time the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy, as it was officially called, operated on the

Pina River The Pina ( be, Піна, russian: Пи́на) is a river in Ivanava and Pinsk Raions in Belarus. The length of the river is 40 kilometers. The river flows into the city of Pinsk and is a left tributary of the Pripyat. The average gradient of Pina i ...

(

Dnieper–Bug Canal , image = Селішча._Дняпроўска-Бугскі_канал._Водападзел_(15).jpg , image_caption = , original_owner = , engineer = , other_engineer ...

), as well as on the

Pripyat Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 19 ...

and the

Strumień Strumień (german: Schwarzwasser, cs, Strumeň) is a town and the seat of Gmina Strumień, in Cieszyn County, in the Silesian Voivodeship (province) of southern Poland, on the Vistula River. It is located in the north-eastern part of the hist ...

rivers. It served as a mobile

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

of the Border Defense Corps and was to support the front in case of a war with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Prior to the

, a number of ships of the Riverine Flotilla were moved to the

as a detachment and became ''Oddział Wydzielony Rzeki Wisły'', better known as the Vistula Flotilla. In the Polish operational plans, the Pinsk flotilla was to form a mobile strategic reserve of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

in the area and was to constitute the core of the forces defending the area of the Pinsk Marshes. The Polish commander-in-chief and

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941; nom de guerre ''Śmigły, Tarłowski, Adam Zawisza''), also called Edward Śmigły-Rydz, was a Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's ...

, forecast that the area would be used for a last stand by the Polish Army, where it would await the relief on the western front from Poland's allies. However the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

on September 1, 1939 made the plans obsolete. During actions against the Soviets and the Germans, most of the ships were

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

by their crews to avoid capture. In 1939-40 most of them were refloated, repaired, rearmed and included in the Soviet Pinsk Naval Flotilla (1940). They took an active part in battles of

but were mostly destroyed in 1941.

References

* {{cite journal , author=Cristino Castroviejo Vicente , title=The Baltic in Flames: the 1939 naval campaign , journal=SERGA , year=2001 , issue=March–April 2001 , pages=28–37 , url=http://www.libreria-almena.com

External links

Interesting and detailed polish page about the Pinsk River FleetMap of the Pinsk River Fleet area during the 1920s
Invasion of Poland Polish Navy Riverine warfare Western Belorussia (1918–1939)

History

See also

References

External links