The Northern Group of Forces (; ) was the military formation of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

stationed in

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 ...

from the end of

Second World War 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 ...

in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. Although officially considered Polish allies under the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

treaty, they were seen by some Poles as a Soviet occupation force.

History

Early years

Soviet forces entered

as they were advancing towards

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the course of the

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

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

in the summer of 1944. Following the Vistula-Oder Offensive in early 1945, all of Poland was liberated from Nazi occupation by Soviet forces. While formal Polish sovereignty was almost immediately restored, the territory of Poland fell under ''de facto'' Soviet control as the Soviet military and security forces acted to ensure that Poland would be ruled by the Soviet-installed communist puppet government of Poland. As the war ended, the structure of the Soviet military was reorganized from a war-time to a peace-time mode. Directive No. 11097 of 10 June 1945 created several new formations, known as ''Groups of Forces'', equivalent to

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

s, but used for command and administration of Soviet forces outside the Soviet Union itself. One of those new formations, at that time 300,000-400,000 strong, was to be stationed in Poland. It was mostly based on the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...

of General

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...

(formerly stationed around

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

).Jerzy Domagała,
Bratnia straż
', Rzeczpospolita, 28.04.04 Nr 100. Retrieved on 15 June 2008 With the exception of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

(Stettin), which fell under the operational territory of the Western Group of Forces, the Northern Group of Forces was located entirely within the territory of Poland. The

Polish communist Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Królest ...

government, which largely owed its existence to the Soviets (see

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the lat ...

1946 Polish people's referendum The people's referendum ( pl, referendum ludowe) of 1946, also known as the Three Times Yes referendum (''Trzy razy tak'', often abbreviated as 3×TAK), was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of the State National Council ...

1947 Polish legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 19 January 1947, Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 the first since World War II. According to the official results, the Democratic Bloc (''Blok De ...

), signed several agreements with the Soviet Union regulating the status and purpose of the Soviet troops. In the early years, the Soviet forces aided the Polish communists in establishing their government and combating anti-communist resistance, such as the Polish ''

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 ...

'' or the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

(see

Operation Vistula Operation Vistula ( pl, Akcja Wisła; uk, Опера́ція «Ві́сла») was a codename for the 1947 forced resettlement of 150,000 Ukrainians (Boykos and Lemkos) from the south-eastern provinces of post-war Poland, to the Recovered Te ...

). Another major task of the Northern Group was to organize and transport

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...

from the

former eastern territories of Germany The former eastern territories of Germany (german: Ehemalige deutsche Ostgebiete) refer in present-day Germany to those territories east of the current eastern border of Germany i.e. Oder–Neisse line which historically had been considered Ger ...

attached to Poland after World War II (the so-called

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

) to the Soviet Union. These actions, often involving the complete stripping down of industrial facilities, sometimes also took place in traditionally Polish territories. This caused tensions between the Soviets and the Polish government, which intended to use the resources of those territories to rebuild Poland.

Cold War

By 1949 the Soviet Union had concluded twenty-year bilateral treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with Poland and several other countries, which usually granted the Soviet Union rights to a continued military presence on their territory. The Polish government, however, had no operational control over the Soviet forces. On December 17, 1956, as one of the agreements of the

Polish October Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the ...

period, the Polish and Soviet governments signed the dedicated treaty that would finally fully regulate the Soviet military presence in Poland, the "Agreement on Legal Status of Soviet Troops Temporarily Stationed in Poland"."The Polish-Soviet Treaty of December 17, 1956 formalized for the first time a situation which had existed in fact since World War II.".
Nish Jamgotch,''Soviet-East European Dialogue: International Relations of a New Type?'', Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University
Google Print, p.64
/ref> David B. Michaels, ''International Privileges And Immunities: A Case for a Universal Statute'', Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1971,
Google Print, p.144
/ref> According to the 1956 treaty (which was further developed by later, more specific amendments), the Soviet military in Poland was limited to 66,000 troops, although the Soviets never fully disclosed the actual number of personnel of the Northern Group to the Polish government, and the Polish government had no right to inspect the Soviet bases. The treaty also limited the number of Soviet bases in Poland to 39, while the actual number of bases reached 79.
(history). Official municipal website of the town. The Soviets also installed nuclear weapons in Poland, without informing the Polish government of that fact. The treaty's name declared the Soviet military presence to be temporary, while in fact the treaty did not contain any limitations to the duration of their stay, nor any provisions on their withdrawal.Jaromír Navrátil, ''The Prague Spring 1968: a national security archive documents reader'', Central European University Press, 1998,
Google Print, p.533
/ref> Until the 1956 agreement, the Soviet troops stationed in Poland were seen by some Poles as occupying Polish territory; even afterwards they were ''de facto'' exempt from any Polish oversight and their role of an 'allied force' stationed in the territory was viewed by many as a mere

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

claim. Mirosław Golon
Północna Grupa Wojsk Armii Radzieckiej w Polsce w latach 1945-1956. Okupant w roli sojusznika
(Northern Group of Soviet Army Forces in Poland in the years 1945-1956. Occupant in the role of an ally), 2004, Historicus - Portal Historyczny (Historical Portal). An online initiative of

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU ( pl, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473.Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne. Last accessed on 30 May 2007. The issue of Polish-Soviet military cooperation was further regulated the next year, and in the 1965 Polish-Soviet friendship treaty that reflected the Soviet domination of Polish military policy. The Northern Group of Forces had several objectives. With the beginning of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, it was to act, together with other Groups of Forces, as a counterpart to the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...

(particularly the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) forces in Europe. Later, in that regard it represented part of the

forces, countering the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

troops. Its second objective was much less stressed in public Soviet sources, but nonetheless crucial: it was to ensure the loyalty of the

government, and its

Polish People's Army 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 ...

; a policy consistent with that of the

Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy that proclaimed any threat to socialist rule in any state of the Soviet Bloc in Central and Eastern Europe was a threat to them all, and therefore justified the intervention of fellow socialist sta ...

, and enforced during events such as the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

or the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

of 1968.APPENDIX C: THE WARSAW PACT -- Soviet Union
US Library of Congress study.
at globalsecurity.org Soviet forces were mobilized and actually advanced on

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 ...

during

in 1956, and there were threats that they could be similarly used before the martial law in Poland was introduced to stem the progress of the

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

movement in 1980. All of the objectives of the Northern Group were shared with the

Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

in the

German Democratic Republic 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 to a lesser extent with the two Groups with a shorter history: the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(from 1968 on) and the

Southern Group of Forces Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and (only until 1958)

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. The presence of Soviet forces on Polish territory caused several problems, in addition to the war reparations issue. Although not supported by the Soviet High Command, excesses by individual soldiers of the Red Army led to mounting tensions between Soviet forces and the Polish population.

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 ...

, ''

God's Playground ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'' is a history book in two volumes written by Norman Davies, covering a 1000-year history of Poland. Volume 1: ''The origins to 1795'', and Volume 2: ''1795 to the present'' first appeared as the Oxford Cla ...

, a History of Poland'', Columbia University Press, 2005,
Google Print, p.359
/ref>

Richard C. Raack Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, ''Stalin's Drive to the West, 1938-1945: the origins of the Cold War'', Stanford University Press, 1995,
Google Print, p.90
/ref> Contemporary archives contained many reports of mugging, burglary, rape and murder attributed to Soviet soldiers in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War; Padraic Kenney, ''Rebuilding Poland: Workers and Communists, 1945-1950'', Cornell University Press, 1997,
Google Print, p.155
/ref> even

Polish Communists Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Królest ...

were uneasy, as in 1945 the future Chairman of the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rada Państwa) was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland as chairman, the Marsh ...

, Aleksander Zawadzki, worried that "raping and looting of the Soviet army would provoke a civil war".

, ''

, a History of Poland'', Columbia University Press, 1982,
Google Print, p.558
/ref> In the early years, the Red Army appropriated any resources it needed from the Polish government with no thought of compensation, or treating Poles as their allies. For example, when the Northern Group commander,

, decided that it should be headquartered in

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

, he ordered all Poles, including communist officials who were organizing the city and provincial government, to vacate one third of the city within 24 hours, later requisitioning any of their private belongings (like furniture) left behind. This incident was perceived by contemporaries as a particularly brutal action, and rumors circulated exaggerating its severity.Paweł Piotrowski of the

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...

, Wrocław, writes that the report of Polish Secret Police notes that "in certain aspects" the resettlement brought about the associations with the Nazis' forced resettlement of Jews into

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

s; and for a time a rumour spread through Poland that the Soviets were massacring Polish population around Legnica; though no evidence of anyone being killed in the course of it has come to light. Se
cited article
Later, Polish settlements in which Soviet garrisons were placed were inconvenienced in other ways, for example by being removed from all official maps or by the low flying Soviet jets, training at night. Approximately 600 Polish citizens died over the years 1945–1993 in crimes or accidents for which the Soviet soldiers were responsible. The Soviet army, which was subject to many financial privileges (reduced taxation, import tariffs, etc.), often refused to pay for municipal resources it consumed, particularly water, gas or electricity. On the other hand, Soviet units did also aid the locals with infrastructure projects, harvests, or during environmental disasters. After the

fall of communism in Poland Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( South ...

in 1989, and with the signs of the

, the new Polish government wanted the Soviet troops to leave Poland. By that time the Northern Group had already shrunk to 58,000 troops, but its military installations were still spread over about 700 square kilometres of Polish territory. After a new treaty in late 1991 and May 1992, and Poland's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet agreed to withdraw military units by 1992 and support units by 1993. Soviet troops had already begun leaving Poland, with the first group exiting in 1991. All troops left Poland by the end of 1993, the last leaving on 18 September.Wyjście Sowietów

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. With a circulation of 200,050 (as of April 2011), it was the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of ''Newsweek''s Polish edition, ''Newsweek Polska'', and ''Wpr ...

, 'Rok 1993', 27 stycznia 2007 Symbolically,

Polish President The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

saw them off on 17 September, the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

Structure

Post War

The Group was headquartered in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

, where Soviet military took over a third of the city as their

extraterritorial In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cla ...

enclave (although for six years the operational headquarters was in

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...

). Other major Soviet military bases were located in Bagicz,

Białogard Białogard (pronounced , german: Belgard, ; Pomeranian: ''Biôłogard'') is a historic town in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 23,614 inhabitants as of December 2021. The capital of Białogard County in the West Pomeranian Voivode ...

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the ...

Borne Sulinowo Borne Sulinowo (german: Groß Born; ) is a town in north-western Poland, within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is a capital of a separate gmina (municipality). As of June 2021, the town has a population of 5,008; the surrounding commune is i ...

(one of the two largest), Burzykowo,

Chojna Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczeci ...

, Dębice, Kęszyca Leśna, Kluczewo, Kłomino,

Nowa Sól Nowa Sól is a city on the Oder River in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the capital of Nowa Sól County and had a population of 38,763 (2019). History The first settlement in the region of modern Nowa Sól dates to the 14th century, wh ...

Oława Oława (pronounced , , szl, Oława) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wrocław Voivodeship), within the Wrocław me ...

Przemków Przemków (german: Primkenau) is a town in Polkowice County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Przemków. The town lies approximately west of Polkowice, and northwest of ...

- Trzebień (may refer to the same base as Strachów/Pstrąże), Strachów (now - deserted town shown as Pstrąże on maps),

Świętoszów Świętoszów (; german: Neuhammer am Queis) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Osiecznica, within Bolesławiec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Wilderness, on the river Kwisa. It ...

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

(military harbor),

Szprotawa Szprotawa (german: Sprottau) is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019). History The region was part of Poland after the emergence of the Piast monarchy in the 10th century. The first me ...

Wschowa Wschowa (pronounced , german: Fraustadt) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. His ...

Żagań Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielon ...

. Those bases included 15 airfields, 1 large and 11 smaller ports, In the late 1940s the NGF's forces included: * 43rd Army was stationed in the region

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Szczecinek Szczecinek ( ; German until 1945: ''Neustettin'') is a historic city in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with a population of more than 40,000 (2011). Formerly in the Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998), it has been the capital of Szczecine ...

; one of its corps was stationed on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

island of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. However, it was disbanded in the summer of 1946. * 65th Army was stationed in the region

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. 7th Red Banner Tank Army was created in 1946 from HQ, 65th Army and in 1947 was transferred to the

Belorussian Military District , image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991. , dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992 , country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...

. After the creation of 7th Tank Army, 18th Rifle Corps was transferred to the control of the Northern Group of Forces, where it remained from 12 June 1946 until it was disbanded in July 1952. * 52nd Army was stationed in the region

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. * 96th Rifle Corps was stationed in the region

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

Mława Mława (; yi, מלאווע ''Mlave'') is a town in north-east Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of Mława County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława wa ...

Pułtusk Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...

. * 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps was stationed in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. * 3rd Guards Tank Corps was stationed in

. *

5th Tank Corps Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...

was stationed in

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 ...

. *

10th Tank Corps The 10th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army, formed twice. First Formation In May–June 1938, the 7th Mechanized Corps headquarters was relocated from Novy Petergof to Luga and converted into the 10th Tank Corps when the Red Army m ...

was stationed in

Krotoszyn Krotoszyn (german: Krotoschin, yi, קראטאשין ''Krotoshin'') is a town in west-central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. ...

. * 20th Tank Corps was stationed in

. This formation became the 20th Tank Division later in 1945. * Elements of the Soviet 4th Air Army were also stationed in Poland: 8th Fighter Corps, Soviet 4th Air Assault Corps and

Soviet 5th Bomber Corps 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 nationa ...

. Altogether the Northern Group of Forces had three ground and one air army, four tank corps (from July 1945 reorganized into tank divisions), 30 rifle

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

s, 12 air divisions, one cavalry corps and 10 artillery divisions. The formation had a strength of around 300,000-400,000 soldiers stationed in Poland. This large number of formations was quickly reduced as the post war demobilisation took place.

Mid 1950s

By 1955 the force had been reduced to the

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

, 26th, and 27th Rifle Divisions, the 20th Tank Division, and the

26th Mechanised Division 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

- probably numbering no more than 100,000 troops.

1980s and Early 1990s

The 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade was formed at

in 1986. The

6th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 6th Guards Motor Rifle Vitebsk-Novgorod Twice Red Banner Division (; Military Unit Number 68434) was a Soviet motor rifle division, which after the end of World War II was stationed on the Polish territory as part of Northern Group of Forces. ...

(1982-) and 20th Tank Division were the principal Soviet formations stationed in the Group in the 1980s and early 1990s. Air support was provided by the 4th Air Army. In the 1990s, when the Group was preparing to leave Poland, it had the strength of approximately 56,000 soldiers, with 600 tanks, 400 artillery pieces and 200 planes. The Northern Group had its own newspaper, the ''Znamia Pobiedy'' (Flag of Victory). The Northern Group had

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

deployed in at least three bases in Poland with some 178 nuclear assets, growing to 250 in the late 1980s.

Personnel

Soviet

;Commanders of Northern Group of Forces * June 1945 - October 1949:

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

* October 1949 - August 1950: colonel general

Kuzma Trubnikov Kuzma Petrovich Trubnikov (russian: Кузьма́ Петро́вич Тру́бников; 27 October 1888 – 16 January 1974) was a Soviet military commander, reaching the rank of colonel-general in the Red Army. Early life, World War I, and ...

* September 1950 - July 1952: lieutenant general Alexei Radziyevsky * July 1952 - June 1955: lieutenant general

Mikhail Konstantinov Mikhail Petrovich Konstantinov (russian: Михаил Петрович Константинов; – 30 May 1990) was a Soviet Army colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Konstantinov joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, be ...

* June 1955 - February 1958: army general

Kuzma Galitsky Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky (russian: Кузьма́ Ники́тович Гали́цкий; 24 October 189714 March 1973) was a Soviet army general who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Biography Kuzma Galitsky was born on 24 October 189 ...

* February 1958 - March 1963: colonel general

Georgy Khetagurov Georgy Ivanovich Khetagurov (; – 3 September 1975) was an Ossetian army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Early life and Russian Civil War Khetagurov was born on 25 April 1903 in the village of Tsmi, Terek Oblast. ...

* March 1963 - June 1964: colonel general

Sergei Maryakhin Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honor of Saint Sergius, or in Russia, of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, and ...

* June 1964 - October 1964: lieutenant general

Alexander Rudakov Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

* October 1964 - June 1967: colonel general

Gleb Baklanov , birth_date = , death_date = , image = , image_size = , birth_place = Moscow, Russian Empire , death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union , placeofburial = Novodevichy Cemetery , placeofburial_label = , nickname = ...

* June 1967 - November 1968: army general

Ivan Shkadov Ivan Nikolaevich Shkadov (russian: Иван Николаевич Шкадов; 15 February 1991) was an Army General (Soviet rank), army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Shkadov served in tank units from the late 193 ...

* December 1968 - May 1973: colonel general Magomed Tankayev * June 1973 - July 1975: colonel general Ivan Gerasimov * July 1975 - January 1978: colonel general Oleg Kulishev * February 1978 - August 1984: colonel general

Yuri Zarudin Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name * Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Ja ...

* August 1984 - February 1987: colonel general Alexander Kovtunov * February 1987 - June 1989: colonel general

Ivan Korbutov Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

* July 1989 - June 1992: colonel general

Viktor Dubynin Viktor Petrovich Dubynin (russian: Виктор Петрович Дубынин) was a prominent Soviet and Russian military figure, an Army General, and a Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously). Born in 1943, Viktor Dubynin had been in se ...

* June 1992 - September 1993: colonel general

Leonid Kovalyov Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: * Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright an ...

Polish

;Representative of Polish Council of Ministers * June 1945 - 1946: colonel Antoni Alster ;Delegates of Economical Committee of Council of Ministers * December 1946 - July 1947: colonel Julian Tokarski * July 1947 - May 1949: colonel Wojciech Wilkoński * May 1949 - 1952: colonel Teodor Kusznierek * 1952 - 1957: colonel Jan Kogut ;Representatives of the Polish People's Army in the matter of stay of Soviet forces in Poland * April 1957 - April 1968: brigadier general

Leszek Krzemień Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * L ...

(also known as Maks Wolf) * April 1968 - November 1972: major general Czesław Jan Czubryt-Borkowski * November 1972 - March 1977: major general Józef Stebelski * April 1977 - 1986: major general Michał Stryga * 1986 - December 1988: major general Zbigniew Ohanowicz * January 1989 - October 1990: brigadier general Mieczysław Dębicki * October 1990 - February 1995: brigadier general Zdzisław Ostrowski

Aftermath

The Soviet Army was stationed in Poland for 48 years; it is estimated that its stay cost the Polish state 62.6

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i.e ...

złoty (in 1993 prices, approx. 3.5 billion

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

s, not counting items removed from Polish territory after World War II); however, the Polish government decided to waive any claims to ensure a quicker evacuation of Soviet troops.Drodzy towarzysze. Koszty pobytu Armii Radzieckiej w PRL
Polityka. Pomocnik historyczny. Nr 1(6) - nr 4 (2589) z dnia 27-01-2007; s. 15
(official Polish government estimate from 1995) The Soviets also claimed that any costs Poland incurred were balanced by the various aid (ex. infrastructure construction) provided over the years by the Soviet troops, as well as by the liberation from the Nazi occupation and later security. In 1994 the Polish government passed legislation covering the use of the territories formerly used by the Soviet forces.
Retrieved on 15 June 2008 Most of those territories have been put on sale by the Polish government. Some of the Soviet administered areas were subject to ecological contamination and pollution (by oil products, heavy metals, unexploded ordnance).International Experience and Expertise in Registration Investigation, Assessment, and Clean-Up of Contaminated Military Sites: Poland
by Karl Wolfram Schäfer a.o. Retrieved on 15 June 2008 They were also damaged by years of disrepair and poor maintenance.

References

External links

Group of Soviet Forces in Poland Northern Group of Forces (NGF)

* Mirosław Golon
Północna Grupa Wojsk Armii Radzieckiej w Polsce w latach 1945-1956. Okupant w roli sojusznika
2004, Historicus - Portal Historyczny