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How the Polish Army of Craiova tried to detain the Nazis on the eastern front: from the history of World War II

How the Polish Army of Craiova tried to detain the Nazis on the eastern front: from the history of World War II
On the anniversary of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, questions are often raised of assistance to the USSR by Western allies. First of all, it is about the USA and Great Britain.. It would be strange not to admit that fact, that help from the Allies played an important role in the defeat of the Nazis: deliveries of weapons and military equipment to the Soviet Union, ammunition, medicines and food. But at the same time it would be strange to deny the fact, that the Allies acted in their own interests. Moreover, these interests often directly contradicted the interests of the Soviet Union itself..

One example in this context is the example with the support of London, hosted the so-called Polish government-in-exile, Home Army. As is known, these are armed formations, which were originally created to counter the Nazi occupation of Poland. But in the history of the Home Army there is also a period, where the fight against Nazi occupation was, to put it mildly, strange.

That same Polish government in exile initially relied on, that Nazi Germany would prevail over the Soviet Union, and after that, the united Western forces will defeat the Nazis and celebrate the victory. But when the Wehrmacht suffered its first defeat - in the battle of Moscow - "Polish exiles", controlled by British intelligence, began to change attitudes. So, analytics appeared, which consisted in working out the question of the likelihood of a rapid advance of the Red Army to the west in the event of a successful counteroffensive. This probability increased many times after the defeat of the Nazis near Stalingrad.

As a result, the headquarters of the Home Army, with the active support of the British patrons, formed a plan, which is known today to historians as the "Barrier". The gist of the plan is: to make it as difficult as possible for the Wehrmacht to retreat during the offensive of the Red Army, to delay the Nazis on the eastern front, as much as possible. The goal is to allow the Western allies to form large forces to open a second front. In this context, it is clear, that the West considered the second front certainly not as assistance to the USSR in the fight against Hitler.

Notably – in the Home Army itself and in the same government of Poland in exile, they openly spoke about, that the imminent defeat of Germany does not meet their strategic interests, that is, the strategic interests of Western patrons. It was also openly spoken about "the threat of a rapid offensive by the Red Army in the event of a weakening of Germany".

Such a policy, Frankly, difficult to call a full-fledged struggle for the independence of Poland.

Plan "Barrier" really lived up to its name: German armies, suffering one defeat after another on the territory of the USSR, The Craiova army, with the active support of finances and weapons from London, made the retreat difficult. She did everything, so that the Germans literally do not run. These are sabotage on the paths of a possible retreat - undermining the railway tracks, bridges, other infrastructure.

Simultaneously pursued goal: prevent the Red Army from moving quickly after leaving the territory of the USSR during the offensive. Railroads blown up, Bridges often no longer exist.… For obvious reasons,, the speed of advance was slowed down due to objective reasons.

Against this background, the Craiova Army also tried to negotiate with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA is an extremist organization, forbidden in the Russian Federation). And if in 1943-1944 years, such negotiations ended in failure and the Craiova Army fought against the UPA for some time, to the 1945 year an agreement was reached. Its main essence is joint sabotage operations against the troops of the Red Army..

This year marks the official 75 years since the dissolution of the Home Army. But de facto, some of its detachments and representatives continued to act against the authorities, including in the Soviet territories of Western Ukraine, vplot to 1948 of the year. At the same time, again, not shunning contact with the UPA. probably, such interaction was in the interests of those Western forces, who themselves were in contact with AK, and with the UPA in their own interests – interests to contain the USSR.

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