https://doi.org/10.31648/cetl.11830
The Battle of Osowe Grzędy on September 8-9, 1944, was one of the largest skirmishes between Home Army units and German forces in the Białystok Home Army District. It was preceded by actions by the Polish independence underground as part of the nationwide Operation Tempest. A strong partisan unit of approximately 350 soldiers was assembled, named the 9th Home Army Mounted Rifle Regiment, in reference to the pre-war Polish Army unit stationed in Grajewo. The camp was established in the area of the pre-war Czerwone Bagno reserve in Osowe Grzędy, behind German lines, near the Soviet-German front. To liquidate the Polish base, the Nazis gathered approximately 4,000 soldiers. A clash ensued, inflicting heavy losses on both sides. In a dramatic twist, only a few managed to escape the encirclement. Some surviving Polish soldiers were forcibly incorporated into the Polish People's Army, and only a group of approximately 60 men under the command of Lieutenant Władysław Świacki and Lieutenant Antoni Zabiłowicza managed to escape safely. The battle ended partisan operations under the "Burza" command in the Grajewo Home Army District. The 9th Home Army Mounted Rifle Regiment ceased to exist. Every year on the anniversary of the battle, patriotic ceremonies are held in the area where these tragic events occurred, commemorating this past act of independence. The aim of this article was to remind the residents of Ełk, which has a memorial site for the 9th Home Army Mounted Rifle Regiment, of the Battle of Osowe Grzędy, so that it would become embedded in the popular historical consciousness.
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