Operation Tempest
Encyclopedia
Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II
by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa the Home Army, abbreviated "AK"), the dominant force in the Polish resistance
.
Operation Storm was aimed at seizing control of cities and areas occupied by the Germans
while they were preparing their defenses against the Soviet Red Army
. Polish underground civil authorities wanted to take power before the arrival of the Soviets.
in exile when the defeat of the Wehrmacht
on the Eastern Front
became apparent. The Uprising was to begin in Central Poland
: in the "General Gouvernement", Zagłębie, Kraków Voivodeship
, and the Białystok and Brześć areas.
The Uprising's basic objectives were to:
Reconstruction of a Polish regular army was to be based on the prewar Polish order of battle
. Home Army units were to be turned into regular divisions. Initially to be created were 16 infantry divisions, three cavalry brigades and one motorized brigade, to be equipped with captured weapons or with arms and supplies delivered by the Allies
. The second phase was to see the re-building of an additional 15 divisions and 5 cavalry brigades which, before World War II
, had been stationed in eastern and western Poland.
The plan was partly implemented. Beginning in 1943, Home Army units were grouped into larger units bearing the names and numbers of prewar Polish divisions, brigades and regiments.
, it was clear that the western Allies had made relatively little progress toward an invasion of the European continent, and that the planned Polish rising would face a still powerful German army rather than units retreating to an already defeated homeland.
In February 1943, the Home Army chief, General Stefan Rowecki
, amended the plan. The Uprising would take place in three stages. The first stage would be an armed rising in the east (with main centers of resistance at Lviv
and Vilnius
) in advance of the approaching Red Army
. In preparation, the "Wachlarz
" organization was formed. The second stage would be an armed struggle in the zone between the Curzon Line
and the Vistula River; and the third stage would be a national rising over the rest of Poland.
On April 25, 1943, Polish-Soviet diplomatic relations were broken by Joseph Stalin
due to Polish inquiries about the Katyn massacre
s, and it became clear that the advancing Red Army might not come to Poland as a liberator but rather, as General Rowecki put it, "our allies' ally." On November 26, 1943, the Polish government in exile
issued instructions that, if diplomatic relations had not resumed with the Soviet Union before the Soviets entered Poland, Home Army forces were to remain underground pending further decisions.
The Home Army's commander on the ground, however, took a different approach, and on November 30, 1943, a final version of the plan was drafted.
The plan was to cooperate with the advancing Red Army on a tactical level, while Polish civil authorities came out from underground and took power in Allied-controlled Polish territory. This plan was approved by the Delegate of the Polish government in exile
and by the Polish underground parliament (Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna).
On January 2, 1944, Red Army forces of the 2nd Belarusian Front crossed the prewar Polish border. At the same time, massacres of Poles in Volhynia
reached their peak and the 27th Polish Home Army Infantry Division was formed. Thus began Operation Storm. The Division managed to contact the commanders of the advancing Red Army and began successful joint operations against the Wehrmacht. Together they retook Kowel
(April 6) and Włodzimierz
. The Division was, however, soon forced to retreat west, and in the Polesie area was attacked by both German and Soviet forces. Polish soldiers taken prisoner by the Soviets were given the choice of joining the Red Army or being sent to Soviet forced-labor camps
. The remnants of the Division crossed the Bug River
, where they were attacked by Soviet partisan units. After liberating the towns of Lubartów
and Kock
, the Division (reduced to some 3,200 men) was surrounded by the Red Army and taken prisoner.
In the north, on July 7, 1944, the forces of the Vilnius
and Nowogródek Home Army districts (some 13,000 men under Colonel Aleksander Krzyżanowski
) launched an attack on German-held Vilnius, although the attack stalled until the arrival of Soviet forces. The AK and Soviet armies then jointly took the city on July 13. Prior to the assault, the surrounding countryside had also been liberated by Polish and Soviet partisans. Cooperation ended almost immediately after the liberation of Vilnius; on July 14, Krzyżanowski and his officers were disarmed and imprisoned, and AK units who resisted being disarmed were violently crushed by Soviet forces, with dozens of Polish fatalities.
) began an armed rising in cooperation with advancing Soviet forces. In four days the city was liberated. The Polish civil and military authorities were then summoned to "a meeting with Red Army commanders" and taken prisoner by the Soviet NKVD
. Colonel Władysław Filipkowski
's men were forcibly conscripted into the Red Army or sent to forced-labor camps
, or went back underground.
Seeing the fate of the Home Army forces that had taken part in Operation Storm, the Polish government in exile
and the Home Army's current commander, General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, decided that the last chance for regaining Poland's independence was to open an uprising in Warsaw. On July 21, 1944, Bór-Komorowski ordered that the Warsaw Uprising begin at 17:00 hours on August 1, 1944. The political goal was to emphasize for the Allies the existence of the Polish government and Polish civil authorities. Warsaw was to be taken in order to allow the legitimate Polish government
to return from exile to Poland.
At the same time, other Home Army districts were also mobilized. Units of the Kraków area were preparing an uprising, similar to the one in Wilno, Lwów and Warsaw, but it was cancelled due to several reasons (see: Krakow Uprising (1944)
). In the Kielce
and Radom
area, the 2nd Polish Home Army Division was formed and took control of the entire area except for the cities. Other units were also mustered in Kraków
, Łódź and Greater Poland
.
would not let the Polish government in exile
return and instead created a puppet Moscow-backed government, while arresting or killing Home Army personnel and members of the civil authorities. Also the strategic priority was focused to the south to oil fields in Romania. In autumn 1944 many Home Army units were disbanded, while remaining forces returned underground.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa the Home Army, abbreviated "AK"), the dominant force in the Polish resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
.
Operation Storm was aimed at seizing control of cities and areas occupied by the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
while they were preparing their defenses against the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Polish underground civil authorities wanted to take power before the arrival of the Soviets.
Plan
From its inception the Home Army had been preparing a national armed rising against the Germans. The basic framework of the future rising was created in September 1942. According to the plan, the Uprising was to be ordered by the Polish Commander-in-ChiefCommander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
in exile when the defeat of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
became apparent. The Uprising was to begin in Central Poland
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...
: in the "General Gouvernement", Zagłębie, Kraków Voivodeship
Kraków Voivodeship
Kraków Voivodeship, refers to several historical Voivodeships of Poland in the surrounding regions, with the city of Kraków as its capital.- Kraków Voivodeship 1975-1998 :...
, and the Białystok and Brześć areas.
The Uprising's basic objectives were to:
- end the German occupation;
- seize arms and supplies needed for a Polish regular army on Polish soil;
- counter the threat from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army;
- rebuild a regular Polish Army;
- rebuild civil authority, communications, and an arms industry;
- maintain peace and order behind the front lines; and
- begin offensive operations against Wehrmacht forces still on Polish soil.
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
. Home Army units were to be turned into regular divisions. Initially to be created were 16 infantry divisions, three cavalry brigades and one motorized brigade, to be equipped with captured weapons or with arms and supplies delivered by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. The second phase was to see the re-building of an additional 15 divisions and 5 cavalry brigades which, before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, had been stationed in eastern and western Poland.
The plan was partly implemented. Beginning in 1943, Home Army units were grouped into larger units bearing the names and numbers of prewar Polish divisions, brigades and regiments.
"Allies' ally"
In early 1943, after the German defeat at StalingradBattle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
, it was clear that the western Allies had made relatively little progress toward an invasion of the European continent, and that the planned Polish rising would face a still powerful German army rather than units retreating to an already defeated homeland.
In February 1943, the Home Army chief, General Stefan Rowecki
Stefan Rowecki
Stefan Paweł Rowecki was a Polish general, journalist and the leader of the Armia Krajowa. He was murdered by the Gestapo in prison, probably on the direct order of Heinrich Himmler.-Life:Rowecki was born in Piotrków Trybunalski...
, amended the plan. The Uprising would take place in three stages. The first stage would be an armed rising in the east (with main centers of resistance at Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
) in advance of the approaching Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. In preparation, the "Wachlarz
Wachlarz
Wachlarz |folding fan]]) was a Polish World War II resistance organization formed by the Armia Krajowa for sabotage duties behind the German Eastern Front, outside of the Polish borders. Its commanders were Lt.Col. Jan Włodarkiewicz and Lt.Col...
" organization was formed. The second stage would be an armed struggle in the zone between the Curzon Line
Curzon Line
The Curzon Line was put forward by the Allied Supreme Council after World War I as a demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and Bolshevik Russia and was supposed to serve as the basis for a future border. In the wake of World War I, which catalysed the Russian Revolution of 1917, the...
and the Vistula River; and the third stage would be a national rising over the rest of Poland.
On April 25, 1943, Polish-Soviet diplomatic relations were broken by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
due to Polish inquiries about the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
s, and it became clear that the advancing Red Army might not come to Poland as a liberator but rather, as General Rowecki put it, "our allies' ally." On November 26, 1943, the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
issued instructions that, if diplomatic relations had not resumed with the Soviet Union before the Soviets entered Poland, Home Army forces were to remain underground pending further decisions.
The Home Army's commander on the ground, however, took a different approach, and on November 30, 1943, a final version of the plan was drafted.
Overview of the operation
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
and by the Polish underground parliament (Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna).
On January 2, 1944, Red Army forces of the 2nd Belarusian Front crossed the prewar Polish border. At the same time, massacres of Poles in Volhynia
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were part of an ethnic cleansing operation carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army West in the Nazi occupied regions of the Eastern Galicia , and UPA North in Volhynia , beginning in March 1943 and lasting until the end of...
reached their peak and the 27th Polish Home Army Infantry Division was formed. Thus began Operation Storm. The Division managed to contact the commanders of the advancing Red Army and began successful joint operations against the Wehrmacht. Together they retook Kowel
Kovel
Kovel is a city located in the Volyn Oblast , in northwestern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kovelskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 65,777.Kovel gives its name to one of the...
(April 6) and Włodzimierz
Volodymyr
Volodymyr may refer to:* Volodymyr-Volynskyi - Ukrainian town* Volodymyr - Ukrainian given name...
. The Division was, however, soon forced to retreat west, and in the Polesie area was attacked by both German and Soviet forces. Polish soldiers taken prisoner by the Soviets were given the choice of joining the Red Army or being sent to Soviet forced-labor camps
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. The remnants of the Division crossed the Bug River
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
, where they were attacked by Soviet partisan units. After liberating the towns of Lubartów
Lubartów
Lubartów is a town in eastern Poland, with 23,000 inhabitants , situated in Lublin Voivodeship. It is the capital of Lubartów County and the Lubartów Commune.-History:...
and Kock
Kock
Kock is a town in eastern Poland, about 45 km north of Lublin and 120 km south-east of Warsaw. It lies in Lublin Voivodeship, in Lubartów County. It is the capital of the Kock Commune.As of 2004, its population numbered 3,509.-History:...
, the Division (reduced to some 3,200 men) was surrounded by the Red Army and taken prisoner.
Operation Ostra Brama
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and Nowogródek Home Army districts (some 13,000 men under Colonel Aleksander Krzyżanowski
Aleksander Krzyzanowski
Aleksander "Wilk" Krzyżanowski was a Polish officer, major, member of the Polish resistance movement in World War II and Commandant of the Armia Krajowa in the Vilnius Region.- Biography :...
) launched an attack on German-held Vilnius, although the attack stalled until the arrival of Soviet forces. The AK and Soviet armies then jointly took the city on July 13. Prior to the assault, the surrounding countryside had also been liberated by Polish and Soviet partisans. Cooperation ended almost immediately after the liberation of Vilnius; on July 14, Krzyżanowski and his officers were disarmed and imprisoned, and AK units who resisted being disarmed were violently crushed by Soviet forces, with dozens of Polish fatalities.
Lwów Uprising
On July 23, Home Army forces in Lwów (now LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
) began an armed rising in cooperation with advancing Soviet forces. In four days the city was liberated. The Polish civil and military authorities were then summoned to "a meeting with Red Army commanders" and taken prisoner by the Soviet NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. Colonel Władysław Filipkowski
Wladyslaw Filipkowski
Władysław Filipkowski was a Polish military commander and a professional officer of the Polish Army. During World War II he was the commanding officer of the Armia Krajowa units in the inspectorate of Lwów and the commander of the Lwów Uprising...
's men were forcibly conscripted into the Red Army or sent to forced-labor camps
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, or went back underground.
Warsaw Uprising
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
and the Home Army's current commander, General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, decided that the last chance for regaining Poland's independence was to open an uprising in Warsaw. On July 21, 1944, Bór-Komorowski ordered that the Warsaw Uprising begin at 17:00 hours on August 1, 1944. The political goal was to emphasize for the Allies the existence of the Polish government and Polish civil authorities. Warsaw was to be taken in order to allow the legitimate Polish government
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
to return from exile to Poland.
At the same time, other Home Army districts were also mobilized. Units of the Kraków area were preparing an uprising, similar to the one in Wilno, Lwów and Warsaw, but it was cancelled due to several reasons (see: Krakow Uprising (1944)
Krakow Uprising (1944)
The Kraków Uprising was a planned but never realized uprising of the Polish Resistance against the German occupation in the city of Kraków during World War II.- Background :...
). In the Kielce
Kielce
Kielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...
and Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
area, the 2nd Polish Home Army Division was formed and took control of the entire area except for the cities. Other units were also mustered in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Łódź and Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
.
Outcome
The Germans' suppression of the Warsaw Uprising, in the absence of Soviet assistance to the insurgents, marked the end of Operation Storm. Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
would not let the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
return and instead created a puppet Moscow-backed government, while arresting or killing Home Army personnel and members of the civil authorities. Also the strategic priority was focused to the south to oil fields in Romania. In autumn 1944 many Home Army units were disbanded, while remaining forces returned underground.
See also
- Polish Secret StatePolish Secret StateThe Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
- Polish government in exilePolish government in ExileThe Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
- Polish government in exile
- History of Poland (1939–1945)History of Poland (1939–1945)The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses the German invasion of Poland as well as the Soviet invasion of Poland through to the end of World War II. On 1 September 1939, without a formal declaration of war, Germany invaded Poland...
- Polish contribution to World War IIPolish contribution to World War IIThe European theater of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army was defeated after over a month of fighting. After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile , armed forces, and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland....