List of military units in the Warsaw Uprising

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This is a list of military units taking part in the Warsaw Uprising, a Polish insurrection during the Second World War that began on August 1, 1944.

Polish units[]

Many of the units were formed before the beginning of the Uprising (August 1); several were organised in the following days as new volunteers joined. Units were assigned to given Areas:

Units were organised into battalions, companies and platoons. Many of those became famous either before the Uprising or during it, including 'Battalion Zośka', '', 'Parasol', ''.

Armaments given to the units[]

On August 1 their state of arms was as follows:

Basically types of weapons used can be divided in:[1]

  • weapons hidden by Polish Army after Polish defense war of 1939 ( pistols: Vis wz. 35, carabine wz. 98 i 98a, subcarabine wz. 29, light machine guns Browning wz. 1928);
  • homemade weapons (machine pistols Błyskawica, flame throwers wzór K, hand grenades – „sidolówki” i „filipinki”, Molotov cocktails);
  • weapons taken from foe during fights ( pistols P08 Parabellum, carabine Mauser, machine pistols MP40);
  • weapons bought directly from foe and their paramilitary organisations/regular army or/and on "black market";
  • weapons from allied forces, mainly by direct supplies from air (pistols Colt M1911, machine pistols Sten, light machine guns Bren, grenade launchers PIAT).

Complete List of Home Army groups in the Warsaw Uprising[]

The following list does not correspond with the above area list.

Unit group or sector
Unit name
Composition
Part of
Notes
Group

Śródmieście-Północ (City Center - North)

Group 'Chrobry II'
Battalion 'Lech Żelazny'

Battalion 'Lech Grzybowski'

3 comp.

3 comp

NSZ

NSZ


Sector: north
Battalion 'Rum'
3 comp
AK

Group 'Gurt'
Battalion 'Gurt'

Battalion WSOP Group IV

3 comp.

3 comp.

AK

AK


Group 'Kiliński'
Battalion 'im. Kilińskiego'
5 comp.
AK

Group 'Harnasie'
Group 'Harnasie'

Company 'Lewera'

2 comp.

2 plat.

AK

AK

Companies: 'Genowefa', 'Żyrafa'
Group 'Bartkiewicz'
Companies 'Żmudzin', 'Andrzej',

'Lechicz', 'Bohun'

each 3 plat.

After fall of Stare Miasto

reinforced with company 'Gustaw'

Group 'Wiktor'
Company 'Wiktor'
4 plat.
AK

Disposition units
Company 'Koszta'

Company '100' WSOP
KeDyw Disposition Unit 'A'

2 plat.

3 plat.
2 plat.

AK

AK
AK

Defensive screen of Warsaw

District Headquarters

Backup units
Battalion KB
2 comp.
KB
Due to lack of weapons

disbanded, separate platoons assigned as support for main units

Group 'Hal'
Battalion 'im. Sowińskiego'
2 comp.
AK

Group

Śródmieście-Południe (City Center - South)

Sector: east 'Bogumił'
Battalion 'Ruczaj'

Battalion 'Miłosz'
Battalion 'Kryśka' WSOP
Battalion Siekiera 'Tum'
Gendarmery PAL Platoon
Company of AL and PAL

3 comp.

3 comp.
4 comp.
3 comp.
1 plat.
1 plat.

AK

AK
AK
AK
PAL
PAL/AL

known as Battalion 'of cpt. Sęp'
retreated from Stare Miasto

Sector north: 'Sarna'
Battalion WSOP 'Bełt'

Battalion 'Sokół'
Battalion 'Chrobry'

3 comp.

1 comp.
2 plat.

AK

KB
PAL

later named Battalion 'Ostoja'
Backup units
Battalion 'Iwo'

Company from Group 'Ubogi'

4 comp.

2 plat.

AK

AK


Retreated from Ochota

Sector: west 'Golski'
Battalion 'Golski'

Company 'Szafrański'

5 comp.

1 comp.

AK

AK

later incorporated Battalion

'Odwet'
backup of 'Golski'

Sector: south 'Piorun'
Battalion 'Piorun'
3 comp.
AK
Created from Battalion 'Zaremba'

and smaller units

Powiśle
Group 'Krybar'
Battalion 'Ubogi'

Battalion 'Konrad'
Group 'Elektrownia' WSOP

4 comp

4 comp
2 comp

AK

AK
AK


Group

Warszawa-Północ (Warsaw-North)

Group 'Radosław' and units of

'KeDyw' KG

Battalion 'Czata 49'

Battalion 'Miotła'
Battalion 'Pięść'
Company 'Leśnik'
Company 'Waligóra'

several comp.

4 comp.
1 comp.
3 plat.
3 plat.

AK

AK
AK
AK
AK


After Wola fights disbanded due to losses
Included 'Agaton' platoon, destroyed in Wola

Backup units
Battalion 'Chrobry I'

Brygada Koło
Charge Company 'Wyrwy'

3 comp.

4 comp.
2 plat.

AK

NSZ
AK


Construction and firefight duties

Group 'Kuba' and 'Sosna'
Battalion 'im. Łukasińskiego'

Battalion 'im. Czarnieckiego Gozdawa'
Company P20 'Edward'
Company 'Ryszard' (motorised)
Company 'Batory'
Platoon 'Roja'
Platoon of PPS Militia
Company KB 'Nałęcz'
Platoon NSZ

3 comp.

3 comp.
5 plat.
3 plat.
3 plat.
1 plat.
1plat.
3 plat.
1 plat.

AK

AK
AK
AK
AK
AK
PPS
KB
NSZ


Group 'Róg'
Battalion 'Gustaw'

Battalion WSOP 'Dzik'
Battalion 'Bończa'
Company 'Orlęta'
Company 'Lubiec'
Company 'of Syndykalists'
Battalion 'Czwartacy'
Battalion 'Wigry'
Battalion 'Antoni'

2 comp.

3 comp.
3 compt.
4 plat.
3 plat.
3 plat.
several plat.
2 comp.
2 comp.

AK

AK
AK
AK
AK
AK
AL
AK
AK

later increased to 3 comp.


later increased to 4 comp.
after retreat from Stare Miasto merged with Battalion 'Gustaw'

Żoliborz
Sector: 'Żubr'
Battalion 'Żubr'
1 comp.
AK

Sector: 'Żmija'
Battalion 'Żmija'
3 plat.
AK

Sector: 'Zaglowiec'
Company 'Żaglowiec'
3 plat.
AK

Sector AL
Company AL
2 plat
AL

Sector: 'Żyrafa'
Company 'Zyrafa'
3 plat.
AK

Puszcza

Kampinoska ()

Pułk 'Palmiry-Młociny'
III Battalion 78 pp.

I Battalion 'Janusz'
Battalion 'of cpt. Dulka'
Dywizjon 27 p.ułańow
Dywizjon 23 p. ułanów

3 comp.

3 comp.
3 comp.
4 comp.
2 comp.

AK

AK
AK
AK
AK


Group

Warszaw-Południe (Warsaw-South): Mokotów

Group 'Baszta'
Battalion 'B'

Battalion 'O'
Battalion 'K'
5 group WSOP

3 comp.

3 comp.
4 comp.
2 comp.

AK

AK
AK
AK

Mokotów sector
Group 'Ryś'
Company 'Gustaw'

Company 'Krawiec'
Company 'Granat'
Platoon AL

3 plat.

3 plat.
3 plat.
1 plat.

AK

AK
AK
AL

Czerniaków-Południe sector
Group 'Olsza'
Company 'Grochów'

Szwadron 'Jeżycki'
Company 'Sadyba'

3 plat.

3 plat.
3 plat.

AK

AK
AK


group 'Góral'
Szwadron szwoleżerów
3 plat.
AK

Forest

Chojnowski and Kabacki

Group 'Lasy Chojnowskie'
Battalion 'Grzegorz'

Battalion 'Szary'
Platoon 'Lanca'

3 comp.

3 plat.
1 plat.

AK

NSZ
NSZ


Group 'Gustaw'
Battalion 'Gustaw'
3 comp.
AK

On September 20 this structure was reorganised to fit the structure of Polish forces fighting among the Western Allies. The entire force was renamed to Warsaw Home Army Corps (Warszawski Korpus Armii Krajowej), commanded by general Antoni Chruściel (Monter) and consisted of three infantry divisions:

  • 8th Romuald Traugutt Infantry Division (8 Dywizja Piechoty im. Romualda Traugutta) commanded by col. Żywiciel-Niedzielski
  • 10th Maciej Rataj Infantry Division (10 Dywizja Piechoty im. Macieja Rataja) commanded by col. Radwan-Pleiffer
  • 28th Stefan Okrzeja Infantry Division (28 Dywizja Piechoty im. Stefana Okrzei) commanded by col. Karol-Rokicki

The names of smaller units (battalions, companies and platoons) were left intact (as in the above table).

Composition of smaller fighting forces[]

Although the vast majority of the resistance in Warsaw were members of Home Army, there was a small number of fighters who weren't members of that organisation. In the course of the Uprising some 1,700 members of other resistance organisations joined the Uprising. Those included the Armia Ludowa, Gwardia Ludowa and Narodowe Siły Zbrojne. Along with the Polish soldiers who took part in the Uprising, there were also members of other nationalities. Among them was a number of Hungarian deserters and Italian escapees from POW camps in Poland. Another ex-POW soldier was RAF Sgt. John Ward, whose numerous coded radio dispatches gave an eyewitness account of the fighting to the British government and Polish government-in-exile, as well as the London press. There was also a Slovak 535th Home Army platoon under Lt. Stanko. It was composed mostly of Slovaks, Georgians, Armenians and Azeri, and suffered heavy casualties in the course of the uprising (up to 70%). It is believed that some 25,000 Jews were hiding in Warsaw before the Uprising. The vast majority of them died together with other Polish civilians. However, many Jews (possibly as many as 1,000), including those released by Home Army from the Warsaw concentration camp (Gęsiówka), joined the Home Army. During the final stage of the battle a number of Soviet soldiers (possibly as many as 3,000, most of them members of Polish units in Soviet army) also crossed the river and fought the Germans in Powiśle area. Airdrops were carried out by allied airmen from Italy, mostly by Poles, Canadians and the British.

German units[]

As of 23 August 1944 the German units directly involved with fights in Warsaw were divided into:

  • (commanded by general major Rohr)
  • (commanded by SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinefarth)
  • Warsaw Garrison (Group of Warsaw Commandant) commanded by lieutenant general Stahel

A large section of the forces on the "German" side were, according to Norman Davies (p284), drawn from "'collaborationist forces'" including Russians who had left in the Tzar's era and Azeris. All of these forces, however, were clearly subject to the control of the German war machine

References[]

  1. ^ Kirchmayer Jerzy "Powstanie Warszawskie" op.cit. pages = 162–163
  • Jerzy Kirchmayer. Powstanie Warszawskie. Książka i Wiedza, Warsaw, 1959. ISBN 83-05-11080-X. Hardcover, 576 pages.
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