The Battle of Porytowe Wzgórze (Porytowe Hill) took place on June 14, 1944, between Polish and Russian partisans and Nazi German forces. It was the largest battle between underground anti-Nazi resistance and German occupation forces in occupied Europe.
In the Spring of 1944 numerous partisan units operated in the Lublin region, including those associated with the Home Army (AK), Bataliony Chłopskie (BCh), National Military Organization (NOW) as well as the communist Armia Ludowa (AL) and Russian partisans. These fighters kept being pushed westward by the Germans, as the front approached from the east. The activities of the partisan units mostly consisted of attacks on German supply lines and convoys. As a result, in May 1944, the Germans developed a detailed plan of an anti-partisan action, code named "Sturmwind" (Storm-wind) which they put into effect in early June. The purpose of the operation was the elimination of Polish and Russian partisan units from the area of Janów Forests.
The German commander in charge was General Siegfried Haenicke. The Russian partisans were under the command of Nikolai Prokopiuk. The NOW-AK forces were commanded by Bolesław Usow (the top commander of the unit, Franciszek Przysiężniak was not present until later) and the AL units by Stanisław Szelest. There were also several "mixed" units under various commanders.
The battle
On 14 June the Polish and Russian partisans, numbering around 3,000 in total, found themselves tightly surrounded by German forces. The German units consisted of between 25,000 and 30,000 soldiers, with artillery, tanks, armored cars and air support.
After an artillery and mortar barrage, the Germans managed to make two breaks in the partisans' line of defense. However, these attacks were eventually driven back, although at a high cost to the Poles and Russians. The Germans, relying on their superior numbers and armaments, managed to take control of a small wood nearby from which they could keep the partisans under constant fire, causing high casualties among them. Using this as a base for further attacks, German forces managed to seize the western side of the Porytowe Hill which breached the main line of defense. However, the Poles and Russians soon counterattacked, recovered the lost positions and, that night (of 14 June), made an attempt to break out from the trap. The main columns of partisans, after fierce fighting, many casualties and a forced 40 kilometer march, managed to reach the relative safety of the Solska Forest.
Partisan casualties were about 170, including around 100 killed and 70 wounded. 495 Wehrmacht soldiers also died, as well as an unknown number of German police and auxiliary forces.
Aftermath
While the partisans managed to break out of the trap and effectively win a temporary victory, the Germans had already planned a follow up operation, "Sturmwind II", centered on the Solska Forest, which led to the Battle of Osuchy at the end of June. The Wehrmacht managed to accomplish in Sturmwind II/Osuchy what they failed to do in Sturmwind I/Porytowe Wzgórze.
Bibliography
Włodzimierz Wójcikowski "Janów Lubelski i okolice" Wojewódzki Ośrodek Informacji Turystycznej, Lublin 1980.
battle, porytowe, wzgórze, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2009, learn, wh. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Battle of Porytowe Wzgorze news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle of Porytowe Wzgorze Porytowe Hill took place on June 14 1944 between Polish and Russian partisans and Nazi German forces It was the largest battle between underground anti Nazi resistance and German occupation forces in occupied Europe Battle of Porytowe WzgorzePart of Operation Tempest in the Eastern Front of World War IIA monument to the battle by Bronislaw ChromyDateJune 14 15 1944LocationSolska ForestResulttemporary Polish and Russian victory see Battle of Osuchy BelligerentsPolish resistance Armia Krajowa National Military Organization Armia Ludowa Soviet Union partisans Nazi GermanyCommanders and leadersNikolai ProkopiukFranciszek PrzysiezniakBoleslaw UsowStanislaw SzelestSiegfried HaenickeStrength3 00025 000 30 000Casualties and losses170500 Contents 1 Prelude 2 The battle 3 Aftermath 4 Bibliography 5 ReferencesPrelude EditIn the Spring of 1944 numerous partisan units operated in the Lublin region including those associated with the Home Army AK Bataliony Chlopskie BCh National Military Organization NOW as well as the communist Armia Ludowa AL and Russian partisans These fighters kept being pushed westward by the Germans as the front approached from the east The activities of the partisan units mostly consisted of attacks on German supply lines and convoys As a result in May 1944 the Germans developed a detailed plan of an anti partisan action code named Sturmwind Storm wind which they put into effect in early June The purpose of the operation was the elimination of Polish and Russian partisan units from the area of Janow Forests The German commander in charge was General Siegfried Haenicke The Russian partisans were under the command of Nikolai Prokopiuk The NOW AK forces were commanded by Boleslaw Usow the top commander of the unit Franciszek Przysiezniak was not present until later and the AL units by Stanislaw Szelest There were also several mixed units under various commanders The battle EditOn 14 June the Polish and Russian partisans numbering around 3 000 in total found themselves tightly surrounded by German forces The German units consisted of between 25 000 and 30 000 soldiers with artillery tanks armored cars and air support After an artillery and mortar barrage the Germans managed to make two breaks in the partisans line of defense However these attacks were eventually driven back although at a high cost to the Poles and Russians The Germans relying on their superior numbers and armaments managed to take control of a small wood nearby from which they could keep the partisans under constant fire causing high casualties among them Using this as a base for further attacks German forces managed to seize the western side of the Porytowe Hill which breached the main line of defense However the Poles and Russians soon counterattacked recovered the lost positions and that night of 14 June made an attempt to break out from the trap The main columns of partisans after fierce fighting many casualties and a forced 40 kilometer march managed to reach the relative safety of the Solska Forest Partisan casualties were about 170 including around 100 killed and 70 wounded 495 Wehrmacht soldiers also died as well as an unknown number of German police and auxiliary forces Aftermath EditWhile the partisans managed to break out of the trap and effectively win a temporary victory the Germans had already planned a follow up operation Sturmwind II centered on the Solska Forest which led to the Battle of Osuchy at the end of June The Wehrmacht managed to accomplish in Sturmwind II Osuchy what they failed to do in Sturmwind I Porytowe Wzgorze Bibliography EditWlodzimierz Wojcikowski Janow Lubelski i okolice Wojewodzki Osrodek Informacji Turystycznej Lublin 1980 http michalw narod ru index ZiemiLubelskiej htmlReferences EditCoordinates 50 30 00 N 23 00 00 E 50 499973 N 23 000086 E 50 499973 23 000086 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Porytowe Wzgorze amp oldid 1000086853, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
