Battalion Zośka (pronounced /'zɔɕ.ka/; 'Sophie' in Polish) was a paramilitary scouts battalion that specialized in field intelligence gathering, irregular warfare and scouting of the Polish resistance movement organisation - Home Army (

Armia Krajowa 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 ...

or "AK") during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It mainly consisted of members of the

Szare Szeregi Grey Ranks () was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association () during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation in Warsaw until 18 ...

paramilitary Boy Scouts. It was formed in late August 1943. A part of the

Radosław Group Radosław Group () was the codename of a group of Kedyw, a Polish World War II Armia Krajowa organization, units during World War II created shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. Organization The ''Radosław Group'' took its name fr ...

, the battalion played a major role in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

of 1944.Battalion Zośka
(Internet Archive) Zośka was named after

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki (; January 24, 1921 – August 20, 1943) was a Polish Scout leader, scout instructor, scoutmaster, Home Army second lieutenant, commander of Gray Ranks, assault groups in Warsaw, one of the protagonists of Aleksander ...

, who used the name as his pseudonym during the AK's early days. He was killed during a partisan action.

History

The battalion was formed in late August 1943 as part of the

, fighting in

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

and the

Starówka Warsaw Old Town, also known as Old Town, and historically known as Old Warsaw,''Encyklopedia Warszawy''. Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers PWN, 1994, p. 806. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. is a neighbourhood, and an area of the City Information System, ...

, from where they allowed the "Rudy"

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

to do a breakthrough to the centre of the city through the

Saxon Garden The Saxon Garden () is a 15.5–hectare public garden in central ('' Śródmieście'') Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city. Founded in the late 17th century, it was opened to the public in 1727 as on ...

which eventually failed. After capturing two

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw. V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatre of ...

s in 2 August, an armoured platoon was formed under the command of

Wacław Micuta Wacław Micuta (pseudonym ''Wacek''; 6 December 1915, in Petrograd, Russia – 21 September 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland) was a Polish economist, World War II veteran, and United Nations functionary. He took part in the September 1939 defense o ...

. The battalion gained the War Order of Virtuti Militari.

Liberation of the concentration camp "Gęsiówka"

Zośka fighters liberated prisoners of the concentration camp Gęsiówka in August 1944. The 383 able-bodied prisoners (including 348 Jews), both men and women who were left in Gęsiówka to assist with the destruction of the evidence of mass murder, were rescued from certain death. Most of these survivors joined the Zośka unit and fought in the Warsaw uprising. Other famous Home Army battalions were: Miotła, Czata, Pięść, and

Batalion Parasol Battalion Parasol () was a Scouting battalion of the Armia Krajowa, the primary Polish resistance movement in World War II. It consisted primarily of members of the Gray Ranks. The battalion distinguished itself in numerous underground operati ...

. Between 1944 and 1956, all surviving former members of Batalion Zośka were incarcerated in the Soviet

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 ...

prisons.Żołnierze Batalionu Armii Krajowej "Zośka" represjonowani w latach 1944-1956 ",

Instytut Pamięci Narodowej The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...

, Warsaw 2008,

Commanding officers during the Warsaw Uprising

Notable Battalion fighters

Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, (; nom de guerre: Jan Bugaj; 22 January 1921 – 4 August 1944) was a Polish poet and Home Army soldier, one of the most well known of the Generation of Columbuses, the young generation of Polish poets, of whom several ...

* Roger Barlet *

Ryszard Białous Ryszard Białous codename: Jerzy (b. 4 April 1914 in Warsaw - 24 March 1992 in Neuquén, Argentina) was a Polish scoutmaster (harcmistrz) captain of the Home Army, AK-Grey Ranks, Szare Szeregi. Commander of the Battalion Zośka, Batalion Zoś ...

* Andrzej Cielecki * Lidia Daniszewska * Aleksy Dawidowski * Juliusz Bogdan Deczkowski * Jerzy Gawin * Jerzy Jagiełło (porucznik) *

Jacek Karpiński Jacek Karpiński (9 April 1927 21 February 2010) was a Polish pioneer in computer engineering and computer science. During World War II, he was a soldier in the Batalion Zośka of the Polish Home Army, and was awarded multiple times with a C ...

* Tadeusz Kosudarski * Jan Kopałka * Andrzej Łukoski * Henryk Kozłowski * Zygmunt Kujawski *

* Tadeusz Maślonkowski * Wiktor Matulewicz * Krystyna Niżyńska * Konrad Okolski * Jerzy Ossowski * Jerzy Pepłowski * Jan Rodowicz * Eugeniusz Romański * Andrzej Romocki * Jan Romocki * Jan Rossman * Eugeniusz Stasiecki * Tadeusz Sumiński * Anna Wajcowicz * Kazimierz Wasiłowski * Jerzy Weil * Jan Wuttke * Anna Zakrzewska * Jan J. Więckowski

References

Bibliography

* "Pamiętniki żołnierzy baonu Zośka", Nasza Księgarnia, Warsaw 1986 . * Agnieszka Pietrzak: Żołnierze Batalionu Armii Krajowej "Zośka" represjonowani w latach 1944–1956. Warsaw: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2008. . * Aleksander Kamiński: Zośka i Parasol : opowieść o niektórych ludziach i niektórych akcjach dwóch batalionów harcerskich. Warsaw: Iskry, 2009. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battalion Zoska Battalions of Poland Military units and formations established in 1944 Units and formations of the Home Army Military units and formations of the Warsaw Uprising Guerrilla organizations *Zoska Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Paramilitary organisations based in Poland