Kedyw

Kedyw

Kedyw (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkɛdɨf], from Kierownictwo Dywersji, "Directorate for Diversion"), was an underground movement - Armia Krajowa organization during World War II, which specialized in active and passive sabotage, propaganda and armed action against Nazi German forces and collaborators.[1]

Contents

Operations

Kedyw was created on January 22, 1943, from two pre-existing Armia Krajowa organizations: Związek Odwetu, and Wachlarz. Initially the units were small and town-based. Eventually, as more were formed, some moved into forested areas to begin partisan warfare. Kedyw organized weapon and munition factories, military schools, intelligence, counter-intelligence, field hospitals, and a communication network.

Soldiers from Kolegium "A" of w:Kedyw on Stawki Street in Wola district - Warsaw Uprising 1944

Most members of Kedyw were Boy Scouts from Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego and its wartime organization, Szare Szeregi. Many of the officers were cichociemni, special agents trained in the United Kingdom and parachuted into occupied Poland. Selected Kedyw groups (patrole) carried out operations all over occupied Poland. Notable types of operations included:

  • the sabotaging of rail lines, bridges and roads
    • the burning of trains and fuel depots
  • the destruction or damaging of weapon factories working for the Wehrmacht
  • the liberation of hundreds of prisoners and hostages
    • a famous operation of this type, which took place on March 26, 1943, is known as "Akcja pod Arsenałem"
  • executions of Nazi collaborators and traitors sentenced by an underground court
    • one of these involved Igo Sym, a Polish actor who had been informing the Germans about Home Army operations
  • executions of particularly brutal individuals among the German occupation troops, Gestapo, SS and police known as Operation Heads[2]
    • those executed included SS and police General Franz Kutschera, killed on February 2, 1944, SS-Hauptscharfuehrer August Kretschmann, commandant of the Gęsiówka concentration camp, SS-Rottenführer Ewald Lange , SS-Obersturmführer Herbert Schultz, SS-Oberscharführer Franz Bürkl and many others (more than 2,000 people). It should be noted, that such individuals were officially sentenced to death for their crimes by Polish Underground State court and such sentence had been delivered to those individuals - many could not stand the pressure and returned to Reich.

Warsaw Uprising

Prior to the Warsaw Uprising, most of the Kedyw units in the Warsaw area were moved into the city and grouped into infantry battalions. Notable among them were "Zośka", "Parasol" and "Miotła". After fighting broke out, most of the Kedyw forces joined the Radosław group. Kedyw units were among the most successful in the Uprising. The boy scouts not only had more experience than many regular soldiers, they had also managed to collect more supplies and arms.

Kedyw units first took part in seizing control of Warsaw's Wola district. After 10 days' heavy fighting in the Powązki Cemetery, in which all German attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties, the units withdrew overnight to the city center and Starówka (the old town), where they regrouped and defended their sectors until the capitulation of the Uprising in October 1944.

Commanders

Bibliography

  • HENRYK WITKOWSKI "KEDYW" OKRĘGU WARSZAWSKIEGO ARMII KRAJOWEJ W LATACH 1943 - 1944", Instytut Wydawniczy Związków Zawodowych 1985, ISBN 83-202-0217-5,
  • Rybicka Hanna "Kedyw okręgu Warszawa Armii Krajowej Dokumenty - rok 1944", Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego 2009, ISBN 9788323505082
  • Drzyzga Bernard "Kedyw Okręgu AK Łódź i 60 Pułk AK", 1988,
  • Jan Gozdawa-Gołębiowski "Kedyw "Białowieży", Książka i Wiedza 1990, ISBN10 8305119688, ISBN13 9788305119689,

See also

References

  1. ^ (Polish) Konflikty Zbrojne, Artykuły, Historia, II wojna światowa: Kedyw
  2. ^ Tomasz Strzembosz, Akcje zbrojne podziemnej Warszawy 1939-1944, Warszawa, 1978
  • Struktura Organizacyjna Armii Krajowej, Marek Ney-Krwawicz w: Mówią wieki nr 9/1986.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • kedyw — m IV, DB. a, Ms. kedywwie; lm M. owie ( i), DB. ów «dziedziczny tytuł władców Egiptu 1864 1914» ‹tur.› …   Słownik języka polskiego

  • Cichociemni — (Polish pronunciation: [t͡ɕixɔˈt͡ɕɛmɲi]; the Silent Dark Ones or The Unseen and Silent [1]) were elite special operations paratroops of the Polish Home Army (Polish: Cichociemnych Spadochroniarzy A K)[1] of the Polish Army in exile, created… …   Wikipedia

  • Hieronim Dekutowski — (noms de guerre Zapora , Odra , Rezu , Stary , Henryk Zagon ) was a Polish boyscout and soldier, who fought in Polish September Campaign, was a member of the elite forces Cichociemni, fought in the Home Army and after World War Two, resisted the… …   Wikipedia

  • Warsaw Uprising — Warbox conflict=Warsaw Uprising partof= Operation Tempest , World War II caption=Polish Home Army positions, outlined in red, on day 4 (4 August 1944). date=1 August 2 October 1944 place=Warsaw, Poland result=German victory… …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Belt — (Polish Akcja Taśma) was one of the large scale anti Nazi operations of the Armia Krajowa Kedyw during the World War II. In August 1943 the headquarters of the Armia Krajowa ordered Kedyw to prepare an armed action against German border guarding… …   Wikipedia

  • Szare Szeregi — Grey Ranks ( pl. Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground Polish Scouting Association ( pl. Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego ) during World War II. The organisation was created on September 27, 1939, actively resisted and fought German… …   Wikipedia

  • Błyskawica submachine gun — Infobox Weapon|is ranged=yes The Błyskawica (Lightning) was a submachine gun produced by the Armia Krajowa, or Home Army, a Polish resistance movement fighting the Germans in occupied Poland. A successful construction, it was most probably the… …   Wikipedia

  • Franz Kutschera — (22 February 1904 in Oberwaltersdorf in Lower Austria ndash; 1 February 1944 in Warsaw, Poland) was an SS general and Gauleiter of Carinthia. As SS and Police Leader of the Warsaw district, he was sentenced to death by high command of the Polish… …   Wikipedia

  • Emil August Fieldorf — (1895 ndash;1953) was a Polish brigadier general. He was Deputy Commander in Chief of the Polish Home Army during World War II. He commanded KeDyw and ordered the execution of German police General Franz Kutschera. Operation Kutschera was carried …   Wikipedia

  • Błyskawica (Maschinenpistole) — Allgemeine Information Entwickler/Hersteller: Polnische Heimatarmee …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”