Border Protection Corps
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
military formation that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
incursions and local bandits.
Though the Corps was part of the Polish Army, it was commanded directly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs rather than the Ministry of National Defence. It consisted of elite soldiers from all parts of Poland. Initially KOP comprised 6 brigades and 5 regiments, each guarding part of the borders with the Soviet Union.
Founding
After the Polish-Bolshevik War the Polish eastern frontier was stretched from the border with LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
to the north, to the Prut
Prut
The Prut is a long river in Eastern Europe. In part of its course it forms the border between Romania and Moldova.-Overview:...
river and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n border to the south. Although the peace treaty had been signed, the eastern border of Poland was insecure. Armed bands of saboteurs were crossing the border on a daily basis and the weak police forces in the area could not cope with the problem. In 1924 the town of Stołpce located 20 kilometres from the border was seized by Soviet saboteurs and pillaged
Soviet raid on Stołpce
Soviet raid on Stołpce refers to the events of the night of August 3/4, 1924, when a group of 150 Soviet agents, commanded by Lieutnant Boryshkevich, raided the town of Stołpce , which back then was a railroad border crossing between Second Polish Republic, and Soviet Union...
. Polish Minister of War Affairs, Władysław Sikorski, decided that the regular police
Policja
Policja is the generic name for the police in Poland. The Polish police force was known as policja throughout the Second Polish Republic , and in modern post-communist Republic of Poland since 1990. Its current size is 103.309 officers and ca. 12.000 civilian employees...
cannot cope with the problem and suggested that the control of the border be handed over to the Polish Army.
In one of the reports it was stated that the police waits for the army, while the army waits for the police. To prevent such problems in the future it was decided to combine the police with the army. On August 8 the Council of Ministers decided that a special unit, a militarised border police be created for the defence of the eastern frontier. It also granted significant amounts of money for construction of fortified barracks and police stations in the area. Until November of the same year more than 3,5 million PLZ were spent on that purpose. On September 17, 1924, the new formation was officially created under the name of Border Defence Corps.
In November 1924 the three first brigades of KOP arrived to the eastern border of Poland, in the areas of Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
and Polesie. In April 1925 additional two brigades took over the frontier in Southern Polesie and Galicia. Finally, in March 1926 the sixth brigade took over the border with Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. Altogether the forces of KOP included 24 battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of infantry and 20 squadrons of cavalry.
The soldiers of KOP were trained to combine the tactics of the army, police forces and border guards. They guarded the borders actively, not only by patrols, but also through reconnaissance, ambushes, provocation and intelligence. During the first year of its existence, the KOP arrested more than 5 000 people trying to cross the border illegally. In addition, 89 armed skirmishes were fought, mainly against the bandits from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. To maintain the high morale and skills, the soldiers allowed into the KOP were carefully examined. Most of them were inhabitants of western voivodships, many of them were of German nationality. All volunteers had to gather experience in the line units of the Polish Army before they were allowed in.
Piłsudski's reforms (1929-35)
In July 1929 the Border Defence Corps was reorganised. Six additional regiments were created, and all the existing units were renamed. Each brigade was attached to part of the Polish border which was further divided onto battalion areas organised around small forts along the border. In turn, each of the battalions commanded several smaller strongholds and outposts organised by companies. All the rear troops (including the engineers, artillery and cavalry) formed the second line of the defence and were to be used as a mobile reserve. The brigades were given new names, after the area they were stationed in:- Grodno
- Wilno
- Nowogródek
- Polesie
- WołyńVolhyniaVolhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
- PodolePodoliaThe region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
The newly-created regiments were named as follows:
- Głębokie
- Wołożyn
- Wilejka
- Suwałki
- SarnySarnySarny translated as Deer, is a small city in the Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Sarny Raion , and is a major railway node on the Sluch River.The current estimated population is 27,700....
- Czortków
Modernisation (1937-39)
In early 1937 the organisation was modified. Wilno, Nowogródek and Wołyń brigades were disbanded and reorganised into three regiments:- Wilno
- Snów
- Zdołbunów
"Czortków" regiment was also disbanded and split onto two separate battalions ("Wilejka" and "Berezwecz"). Also, several new units were created and were pressed into the existing structure. After 1937 the KOP had 3 brigade headquarters and 7 regiments. It was composed of 32 battalions of infantry and 21 squadrons of cavalry. As the war was nearing and the crisis in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
exposed the Polish southern border to enemy threat, in 1939 two additional regiments were created. Those were 1st and 2nd KOP Infantry Regiments "Karpaty", each composed of two battalions of infantry (named "Skole", "Delatyn", "Komańcza
Komancza
Komańcza is a village in the Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern Poland. It is situated in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located near the towns of Medzilaborce and Palota .-History:...
" and "Dukla
Dukla
Dukla ; , Duklya] is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodship. The town is populated by 2,127 people . while the total population of the commune containing the town and the villages surrounding it is 16,640...
"). Soon three additional mountain infantry brigades were formed ("Sanok
Sanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
", "Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
", "Sucha
Sucha Beskidzka
-Famous people from Sucha Beskidzka:* Billy Wilder* Walery Goetel - geologist and palaeontologist; researcher of geological structure of the Tatra Mountains-Twin towns — sister cities:...
") as well as the area command in Jasło.
In March KOP reached the peak of its strength. However, soon the formation started to be stripped of various units sent to the western border. At first four infantry battalions and most of the artillery were sent to Łódź area. Soon they were joined by the KOP cavalry regiment. In April three additional battalions were sent to the West and in May yet another battalion was sent to Hel, Poland
Hel, Poland
Hel is a town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres from the Polish mainland.-Early developments:...
. Although most of the units were later reconstructed at the eastern border, their combat value was much lower. The recruits lacked experience and training and the units of KOP were deprived of almost all heavy weaponry.
On August 30 the KOP was formally mobilised. General Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann became its commander. According to the Polish plans for the forthcoming war, the KOP was to become the backbone of reserve divisions formed behind the Polish lines.
September Campaign
In the fight against Germans, KOP units took part among other battles in the battle of Węgierska GórkaBattle of Wegierska Górka
The Battle of Węgierska Górka was a two-day-long defence of a Polish fortified area in south of Silesia during the opening stages of the Polish Defensive War of 1939....
. After Soviet invasion on 17 September, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza which had 25 battalions were unable to defend the eastern border and were further ordered by Edward Rydz-Śmigły to fall back and not to engage the Soviets. This however did not prevent some clashes and small battles, including Battle of Szack
Battle of Szack
Battle of Szack was one of the major battles between the Polish Army and the Red Army fought in 1939 in the beginning the Second World War.- Eve of the Battle :...
(29–30 August) and Battle of Wytyczno
Battle of Wytyczno
The battle of Wytyczno took place on October 1, 1939 near the village of Wytyczno near Włodawa in Poland. It was a struggle between the Polish forces of the Border Defence Corps of Gen...
(1 October).
Commanders
- gen. dyw.GeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Henryk MinkiewiczHenryk MinkiewiczHenryk Minkiewicz was a Polish socialist politician and a General of the Polish Army. Former commander of the Border Defence Corps, he was among the Polish officers murdered in the Katyń massacre.-Early life:... - płkColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Stanisław Tessaro (since April 8, 1929) - gen. bryg.Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Jan Kruszewski (since 1930) - gen. bryg.Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Wilhelm Orlik-RueckemannWilhelm Orlik-RueckemannWilhelm Orlik-Rückemann was a Polish general, military commander and one of the pioneers of armoured warfare in Poland.- Early life :...
(since August 30, 1939)
Support forces
- Flotylla PińskaRiverine Flotilla of the Polish NavyThe Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy , better known as the Pinsk Flotilla, was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the Vistula river and in the area of the Pinsk Marshes between the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II...
(Pinsk Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy)
Order of battle
| KOP in March 1939: | Infantry battalions | Cavalry squadrons | artillery commands | artillery batteries | companies of engineers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigades | |||||||||||||
| Grodno | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Polesie | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Podole Podole Podole may refer to:*Podolia, a region in Ukraine*Podole, Aleksandrów County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Podole, Lipno County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship... |
4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Regiments | |||||||||||||
| Wilno | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Głębokie | 4 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Wilejka | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Wołożyn | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Snów | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Sarny Sarny Sarny translated as Deer, is a small city in the Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Sarny Raion , and is a major railway node on the Sluch River.The current estimated population is 27,700.... |
3 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Zdołbunów | 4 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1st KOP Regiment | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2nd KOP Regiment | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Other units | |||||||||||||
| KOP NCOs Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission... School |
3 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Total | 38 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||