Polish 5th Rifle Division - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This unit should not be confused with the 5th Rifle Division (II Polish Corps in Russia).

Polish 5th Siberian Rifle Division was a Polish

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 unit formed in 1919 in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The division fought during the Polish-Bolshevik War, but as it was attached to the White Russian

White movement

The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...

formations, it is considered to have fought more in the Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

. Its tradition was continued in the Polish Army as the 30th Infantry Division.

Early days

During World War I

World War I

Russia entered a period of rapid decline. Internal problems led to an outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

. Initially the revolutionists promised new world order and putting a bloody war to an end. However, their rule provoked many protests and uprisings led by a variety of generals and political parties, from monarchists through anarchists to republicans.

In the turmoil of the Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

many nations started to form their own military units. Among them was a large number of Czechs and Slovaks that defected on the Russian front or were taken POW and formed the Czechoslovak Legion. The unit started an armed rebellion in Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

and managed to effectively liberate much of the area from the Reds. At the same time Poles present in Russia also started to form their own units. In accordance with treaties with France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

signed the year before, the units formed in Russia were to be a part of the Allied Polish Army.

The action of forming a new unit was started on July 1, 1918 by major Walerian Czuma

Walerian Czuma

Walerian Czuma was a Polish general and military commander. He is notable for his command over a Polish unit in Siberia during the Russian Civil War and the commander of the defence of Warsaw during the siege of that city in 1939.-Biography:...

, a veteran from the 2nd brigade of the Polish Legions

Polish Legions in World War I

Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...

who was taken POW during the World War I

World War I

. Soon a new division was formed. The unit was composed of three infantry regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

s, supported by an assault battalion, Uhlan

Uhlan

Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....

s regiment, artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

regiment, battalion of engineers, tabors and medical corps. The volunteers came from a variety of places: the core of the new unit was formed of POW

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

s of the former Austro-Hungarian

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

Army and local Poles. Some of the latter were descendants of Poles forcibly resettled to Siberia

Siberia

after failed November Uprising

November Uprising

The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...

, January Uprising

January Uprising

The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...

and other struggles with Imperial Russia.

Since the division was formally a part of the Blue Army

Blue Army

The Blue Army, or Haller's Army, are informal names given to the Polish Army units formed in France during the later stages of World War I. The army was created in June 1917 as part of the Polish units allied to the Entente. After the Great War ended, the units were transferred to Poland, where...

(Polish Army in France), it was named the 5th Polish Rifle Division. The other Polish divisions at that time were 1st, 2nd and 3rd fighting with the Blue Army

Blue Army

formed by general Józef Haller de Hallenburg

Józef Haller de Hallenburg

Józef Haller de Hallenburg was a Lieutenant General of the Polish Army, legionary in Polish Legions, harcmistrz , the President of The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association , political and social activist, Stanisław Haller de Hallenburg's cousin.Haller was born in Jurczyce...

in France

France

and the Polish 4th Rifle Division of general Lucjan Żeligowski

Lucjan Zeligowski

Lucjan Żeligowski , was a Polish general, and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and as head of a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania.-Biography:...

fighting in Kuban River

Kuban River

The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....

region in southern Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Civil War in Russia

The newly-formed division joined the ranks of the White Guard

White movement

of admiral Alexander Kolchak. Together with the Entente

Triple Entente

The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....

expedition force and the White Russians, and elements of the Czechoslovak Legion, the unit defended Siberia against the 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 defence of the Trans-Siberian Railway

Trans-Siberian Railway

The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...

that was vital to counter-revolutionist supply, the division fought numerous battles against the Red forces. The unit of Major Walerian Czuma

Walerian Czuma

also had to fight with the harsh winter and logistic problems. Matériel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

and food transports were scarce, but the Poles made up lack of supplies with ingenuity, constructing three armoured train

Armoured train

An armoured train is a train protected with armour. They are usually equipped with railroad cars armed with artillery and machine guns. They were mostly used during the late 19th and early 20th century, when they offered an innovative way to quickly move large amounts of firepower...

s. Also, several vessels were turned into patrol boats and artillery monitors to defend the Ob River

Ob River

The Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...

crossings. These were the first ships flying the banner of the Polish Navy

Polish Navy

The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...

since 1863 and the first Polish warships since 1792.

The division was first formed in Samara

Samara, Russia

Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

. After the Czechs and Slovaks had taken Ufa

Ufa

-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...

, the headquarters was moved there. Finally, the division finished its training in Buguruslan

Buguruslan

Buguruslan is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population:...

. Since the volunteers for the division were mostly uneducated (Polish language

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

and Polish history were banned from schools in all Russian Empire), Major Czuma ordered organisation of public schools, libraries and theatres for the recruits. There were also Scouting

Zwiazek Harcerstwa Polskiego

Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego is the coeducational Polish Scouting organization recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It was founded in 1918 and currently is the largest Scouting organization in Poland...

groups organised for the children of the local Polish diaspora. On August 15, 1918 the first regiment was named after Tadeusz Kościuszko

Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...

and the following day was moved to the front. The other regiments joined soon afterwards.

The offensive of admiral Kolchak ended with a failure in the summer of 1919. When the Red Army seized Petropavlovsk at the beginning of November 1919, the front was broken open and the Siberian Army began to disintegrate. Kolchak's government hastily ordered the evacuation of Omsk 6 November 1919, but this quickly turned into a disorderly rout along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Entente had determined the order of the withdrawal, with the echelons of the Allied Forces first - Czechs, Serbs Romanians and Poles, and then the masses of Russian refugees and remaining White Armies. However the trains soon crawled to a halt in icy conditions of a terrible Siberian winter and began to break down.

As the forces of the Red Army approached the log jam of trains backed up before Novo-Nikolaevsk (Novosibirsk) in early December, the Poles had to put down a local revolt by White troops. Soon after this the last Polish forces left the area and joined the withdrawal. At Taiga 22 December 1919 the Polish Legion made a stand against the Red Army but were badly beaten losing many of their trains. After this defeat the Polish Legion began to disintegrate. Many of their trains began to break down, and the Poles were forced to abandon them and join the exodus that streamed along the frozen tracks beside the railway. Fights broke out between the Poles, Romanians and Serbs for any engines that still worked. As the remaining trains limped towards Krasnoyarsk, the town was occupied by the Siberian Partisans of Shchetinkin 4 January 1920, even though the Poles still controlled the station. The leading echelons got away but ran out of fuel and supplies at Klyukvennaya (now Uyar) east of Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...

. Their commander General Jasinski-Stakhurek asked General Syrovy of the Czech Legion to allow his trains of sick and wounded to go on ahead but he refused. The Czechs were better equipped and strong enough to later fight their way through Kansk to Irkutsk where in conference with the Allies and the new Soviet they were allowed to withdraw without further destruction of the railway (17 February 1920). However the Polish Legion had no choice but to negotiate with the Red Army and asked to be allowed to return to Poland through Russia, but the Bolsheviks demanded that they surrender. Some then mutinied and killed their officers and went over to the Red Army, others who had wives and children surrendered: formal surrender of the remaining 5000 strong force was agreed 8 January 1920, and all the trains that had left Krasnoyarsk were captured by the Reds. The Poles were interned at the Viona Gorodock P.O.W camp at Krasnoyarsk, where many subsequently died in the typhus epidemic that was devastating Siberia at that time. The Soviet authorities put them to work clearing the railway yards of refuse. Others were marched off to perish in forced labour in the mines. Those that survived were later repatriated under the terms of the Treaty of Riga in March 1921.

Evacuation

A large part of the once 16,000 men strong division were taken as POWs. However a group of about 900 led by Colonel Kazimierz Rumsza managed to evade capture and reached Irkutsk and from there escaped to Manchuria arriving at Harbin

Harbin

Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...

(February 21, 1920) and Irkutsk

Irkutsk

Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...

, from where they found safe passage to the port of Vladivostok and various ports of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...

. On June 1, 1920, the first organised group of Polish soldiers arrived to the port of Gdańsk

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

. After three months on-board British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

ships, 120 officers and more than 800 soldiers and 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...

reached Poland. Some of them saw it for the first time.

Polish-Bolshevik War

The General Staff of the Polish Army initially wanted to demobilise all the veterans. However, all of them volunteered and were finally accepted. They were transferred to 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...

where they were formed into an infantry battalion and an "Officers Legion". Soon they were joined by approximately 5 000 volunteers from Kalisz

Kalisz

Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...

, Kutno

Kutno

Kutno is a town in central Poland with 48,000 inhabitants and an area of 33,6 km2. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , previously in Płock Voivodeship . It is the capital of Kutno County....

, Łódź, Włocławek and other towns of Western Poland and the "Officers Legion" became a core of the reformed Siberian Brigade formed on July 12, 1920.

The new unit was composed of two regiments: the 1st Siberian Infantry Regiment under Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz and the 2nd Siberian Infantry Regiment under Józef Werobej. The brigade was put under command of one of the Siberian veterans, colonel Kazimierz Rumsza.

Although the training of the new recruits was not finished, the extremely difficult situation on all fronts of the Polish-Bolshevik War forced the General Staff to transfer it to the front. The brigade was transferred to the area of the Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw...

and on August 13 joined the 5th Army under general Władysław Sikorski. The Siberian Brigade became a core of the Polish defence lines in the area and managed to hold out all assaults on the fortress organised by the Red Army

Red Army

. After the Battle of Warsaw

Battle of Warsaw (1920)

The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...

the brigade started a pursuit after the fleeing enemy forces and broke through the enemy front in the battles of Borków, Zawady and Joniec. Between August 22 and August 24, 1920, the Brigade fought heavy battles against the Red 4th Army and 3rd Cavalry Corps under Gay Dimitrievich Gay. Its elements took part in the later Battle of the Niemen and several skirmishes 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...

n forces occupying the region of Suwałki.

Interbellum

After the Peace of Riga

Peace of Riga

The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War....

had been signed the 2nd regiment was demobilised, while the 1st regiment remained in the Polish Army. On August 22, 1921 it was renamed to 82nd Siberian Infantry Regiment . It was stationed in Brześć Litewski. In 1937 the name of Tadeusz Kościuszko

Tadeusz Kosciuszko

, the original patron of the regiment, was added to the name of the unit.

World War II

Before the outbreak of the 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...

the 82nd regiment was attached to the Polish 30th Infantry Division

Polish 30th Infantry Division

The 30th Polesie Infantry Division , was a unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was stationed in Kobryn, as well as other towns of the Polesie Voivodeship - Brzesc nad Bugiem and Pinsk...

commanded by brigadier general

Brigadier General

Brigadier 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...

Leopold Cehak. It was secretly mobilized between March 23 and March 27, 1939, and moved to the village of Szczerców

Szczerców

Szczerców is a village in Bełchatów County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Szczerców. It lies approximately west of Bełchatów and south-west of the regional capital Łódź....

where it formed a defensive line at the Widawka

Widawka

Widawka is a river, located in central Poland , a tributary of the Warta. Its length is 95.8 kilometers and its basin's area is 2385 km2....

River. After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

of 1939 it was attacked on September 2.

The regiment fought in the ranks of the "Piotrków Corps" of the Polish Łódź Army under general Juliusz Rómmel

Juliusz Rómmel

Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. During the Polish-Bolshevik War, he gained great fame for achieving a decisive victory in the Battle of Komarów, the largest cavalry engagement of the 20th century...

Early days

Civil War in Russia

Evacuation

Polish-Bolshevik War

Interbellum

World War II

See also