Post by Bonobo on Feb 21, 2010 23:20:50 GMT 1
Władysław Raginis (June 27, 1908 – September 10, 1939) was a Polish military commander during the Polish Defensive War of 1939. He commanded the defence of Polish fortified positions in the Battle of Wizna.
Raginis was born in Dźwińsk, Russia, now Daugavpils in Latvia. Soon after graduating from a gymnasium he joined the Infantry NCO School and then Infantry Officers School. After graduating on July 15, 1930, he was assigned to the 76th Infantry Regiment stationed in Grodno, where he was a platoon commander. He was advanced to lieutenant and then to captain, and assigned to the elite Border Defence Corps (KOP) Regiment "Sarny", where he commanded a machine gun company.
In anticipation of the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, his unit was moved to the Wizna Fortified Area where he took command over all Polish forces in the region as of September 2. On September 7 his forces (numbering 720 men) were attacked by more than 42,000 German soldiers. To keep the morale of his men high, Captain Raginis pledged that he would not leave his post alive.
The defence of Wizna against overwhelming odds lasted for three days. On September 10, 1939, the bunker commanded by Raginis was the last remaining pocket of resistance. Although heavily wounded, Raginis was still commanding his troops. At noon, the German commander, Heinz Guderian, threatened that all Polish POWs would be shot if the defence of the bunker did not cease.[citation needed] Raginis decided to end the resistance and committed suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.
His symbolic grave is located next to the ruins of the bunker he died in. The local primary school is named after him, as well as several streets in Poland. On May 13, 1970, Raginis was posthumously awarded with the Virtuti Militari medal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Raginis
A metal song about Wizna defenders
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wizna
First phase
On September 1, 1939, the Polish Defensive War and World War II started. The German 3rd Army was to advance from East Prussia towards Warsaw, directly through the positions of Polish Narew Corps. On September 2 Captain W³adys³aw Raginis was named the commander of the Wizna area. As his command post he chose the "GG-126" bunker near the village of Góra Strêkowa. The bunker was located on a hill in the exact centre of the Polish lines. His forces numbered approximately 700 soldiers and NCOs and 20 officers armed with 6 pieces of artillery (75mm), 24 HMGs, 18 machine guns and two Kb ppanc wz.35 anti-tank carbines.
After initial clashes at the border, the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade operating in the area, during the night of 3/4 September was ordered to withdraw and on September 5 it left the area and marched toward Ma³y P³ock to cross the river Narew. On September 3 Polish positions were spotted from the air and strafed with machine gun fire from enemy fighters.
On September 7, 1939, the reconnaissance units of the 10th Panzer Division of general Nikolaus von Falkenhorst captured the village of Wizna. Polish mounted reconnaissance squads abandoned the village after a short fight and retreated to the southern bank of Narew. When German tanks tried to cross the bridge, it was blown up by Polish engineers. After dark, patrols of German infantry crossed the river and advanced towards Gie³czyn, but were repelled with heavy casualties.
On September 8 general Heinz Guderian, commander of the XIX Panzer Corps, was ordered to advance through Wizna towards Brze¶æ. By early morning of September 9 his units reached the Wizna area and were joined with 10th Panzer Division and "Lötzen" Brigade already present in the area. His forces numbered some 1 200 officers and 41 000 soldiers and NCOs, equipped with over 350 tanks, 108 howitzers, 58 pieces of artillery, 195 anti-tank guns, 108 mortars, 188 grenade launchers, 288 heavy machine guns and 689 machine guns. Altogether, his forces were some 60 times stronger than the Polish defenders.
[edit] Second Phase
Ruins of one of the bunkers, now a memorial site.
In the early morning German planes dropped leaflets asking the Poles to give up and claiming that most of Poland is already in German hands and that further resistance is futile. In order to strengthen the morale of his troops, W³adys³aw Raginis swore that he would not leave his post alive and that the defence would continue. Soon after that an artillery barrage started. Polish artillery was several times weaker and soon was forced to retreat towards Bia³ystok. After the preparations, the Germans attacked the northern flank of the Polish forces. Two platoons defending several bunkers located to the north of Narew were attacked from three sides by German tanks and infantry. Initially the losses among German infantry were high, but after heavy artillery fire commander of the Gie³czyn area First Lieutenant Kiewlicz was ordered to burn the wooden bridge over Narew and withdraw to Bia³ystok. The remnants of his forces broke through the German encirclement and reached Bia³ystok, where they joined the forces of general Franciszek Kleeberg.
At the same time an assault on the southern part of Polish fortifications came to a stalemate. Polish bunkers were lacking adequate anti-tank armament, but were able to rain the German infantry with machine gun fire. However, at 6 o'clock in the evening the infantry was forced to abandon the trenches and field fortifications and retreat into the bunkers. The German tanks could finally cross the Polish lines and advance towards Tykocin and Zambrów. However, the German infantry was still under heavy fire and was pinned down in the swampy fields in front of Polish bunkers.
Although Raginis was subordinate to Lt.Col. Tadeusz Tabaczyñski, commander of the Osowiec fortified area located some 30 kilometres to the north, he could not expect any reinforcements. On September 8 Marshal of Poland Edward ¦mig³y-Rydz ordered the 135th Infantry Regiment that constituted the reserves of both Osowiec and Wizna, to be withdrawn to Warsaw. When the order was withdrawn and the unit returned to Osowiec, it was already too late to help the isolated Poles at Wizna.
Heavy fights for each of the—now isolated—bunkers continued. Several assaults were repelled during the night and in the early morning of September 10. At approximately 12 o'clock the German engineers with the help of tanks and artillery finally managed to destroy all but two Polish bunkers. Both of them were located in the centre of Góra Strêkowa and continued the defence despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of the machine guns destroyed. It is alleged that Heinz Guderian, in an attempt to end the Polish resistance, threatened the Polish commander that he would shoot the POWs if the remaining forces did not surrender. (No captives were shot.[citation needed]) The symbol of Polish defence was a Captain W³adys³aw Raginis who, being seriously injured at the time, committed honorable suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.
Casualties
Exact Polish losses are unknown, mostly because very little is known of the soldiers that were taken POW by the Germans. It is estimated that most of Polish soldiers were killed in action, with some 40 successfully withdrawing and additional 40 taken POW. Those numbers however are not certain.
German losses are not known either. In his diaries general Heinz Guderian noted that 900 German soldiers were killed in action, although that number is probably underrated. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.[citation needed]
[edit] In popular culture
Battle of Wizna is the theme of one of the songs on the The Art of War[1] album by the Swedish Metal band Sabaton, entitled "40:1", for an estimated ratio of forces on both sides of battle (in fact, with 42,200 Germans and 720 Poles, it is 59:1, then counting support could be well beyond 80:1). 40:1 may refer to the casualty ratio of Polish to German soldiers, though as noted above none of those numbers are well documented.
Raginis was born in Dźwińsk, Russia, now Daugavpils in Latvia. Soon after graduating from a gymnasium he joined the Infantry NCO School and then Infantry Officers School. After graduating on July 15, 1930, he was assigned to the 76th Infantry Regiment stationed in Grodno, where he was a platoon commander. He was advanced to lieutenant and then to captain, and assigned to the elite Border Defence Corps (KOP) Regiment "Sarny", where he commanded a machine gun company.
In anticipation of the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, his unit was moved to the Wizna Fortified Area where he took command over all Polish forces in the region as of September 2. On September 7 his forces (numbering 720 men) were attacked by more than 42,000 German soldiers. To keep the morale of his men high, Captain Raginis pledged that he would not leave his post alive.
The defence of Wizna against overwhelming odds lasted for three days. On September 10, 1939, the bunker commanded by Raginis was the last remaining pocket of resistance. Although heavily wounded, Raginis was still commanding his troops. At noon, the German commander, Heinz Guderian, threatened that all Polish POWs would be shot if the defence of the bunker did not cease.[citation needed] Raginis decided to end the resistance and committed suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.
His symbolic grave is located next to the ruins of the bunker he died in. The local primary school is named after him, as well as several streets in Poland. On May 13, 1970, Raginis was posthumously awarded with the Virtuti Militari medal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Raginis
A metal song about Wizna defenders
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wizna
First phase
On September 1, 1939, the Polish Defensive War and World War II started. The German 3rd Army was to advance from East Prussia towards Warsaw, directly through the positions of Polish Narew Corps. On September 2 Captain W³adys³aw Raginis was named the commander of the Wizna area. As his command post he chose the "GG-126" bunker near the village of Góra Strêkowa. The bunker was located on a hill in the exact centre of the Polish lines. His forces numbered approximately 700 soldiers and NCOs and 20 officers armed with 6 pieces of artillery (75mm), 24 HMGs, 18 machine guns and two Kb ppanc wz.35 anti-tank carbines.
After initial clashes at the border, the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade operating in the area, during the night of 3/4 September was ordered to withdraw and on September 5 it left the area and marched toward Ma³y P³ock to cross the river Narew. On September 3 Polish positions were spotted from the air and strafed with machine gun fire from enemy fighters.
On September 7, 1939, the reconnaissance units of the 10th Panzer Division of general Nikolaus von Falkenhorst captured the village of Wizna. Polish mounted reconnaissance squads abandoned the village after a short fight and retreated to the southern bank of Narew. When German tanks tried to cross the bridge, it was blown up by Polish engineers. After dark, patrols of German infantry crossed the river and advanced towards Gie³czyn, but were repelled with heavy casualties.
On September 8 general Heinz Guderian, commander of the XIX Panzer Corps, was ordered to advance through Wizna towards Brze¶æ. By early morning of September 9 his units reached the Wizna area and were joined with 10th Panzer Division and "Lötzen" Brigade already present in the area. His forces numbered some 1 200 officers and 41 000 soldiers and NCOs, equipped with over 350 tanks, 108 howitzers, 58 pieces of artillery, 195 anti-tank guns, 108 mortars, 188 grenade launchers, 288 heavy machine guns and 689 machine guns. Altogether, his forces were some 60 times stronger than the Polish defenders.
[edit] Second Phase
Ruins of one of the bunkers, now a memorial site.
In the early morning German planes dropped leaflets asking the Poles to give up and claiming that most of Poland is already in German hands and that further resistance is futile. In order to strengthen the morale of his troops, W³adys³aw Raginis swore that he would not leave his post alive and that the defence would continue. Soon after that an artillery barrage started. Polish artillery was several times weaker and soon was forced to retreat towards Bia³ystok. After the preparations, the Germans attacked the northern flank of the Polish forces. Two platoons defending several bunkers located to the north of Narew were attacked from three sides by German tanks and infantry. Initially the losses among German infantry were high, but after heavy artillery fire commander of the Gie³czyn area First Lieutenant Kiewlicz was ordered to burn the wooden bridge over Narew and withdraw to Bia³ystok. The remnants of his forces broke through the German encirclement and reached Bia³ystok, where they joined the forces of general Franciszek Kleeberg.
At the same time an assault on the southern part of Polish fortifications came to a stalemate. Polish bunkers were lacking adequate anti-tank armament, but were able to rain the German infantry with machine gun fire. However, at 6 o'clock in the evening the infantry was forced to abandon the trenches and field fortifications and retreat into the bunkers. The German tanks could finally cross the Polish lines and advance towards Tykocin and Zambrów. However, the German infantry was still under heavy fire and was pinned down in the swampy fields in front of Polish bunkers.
Although Raginis was subordinate to Lt.Col. Tadeusz Tabaczyñski, commander of the Osowiec fortified area located some 30 kilometres to the north, he could not expect any reinforcements. On September 8 Marshal of Poland Edward ¦mig³y-Rydz ordered the 135th Infantry Regiment that constituted the reserves of both Osowiec and Wizna, to be withdrawn to Warsaw. When the order was withdrawn and the unit returned to Osowiec, it was already too late to help the isolated Poles at Wizna.
Heavy fights for each of the—now isolated—bunkers continued. Several assaults were repelled during the night and in the early morning of September 10. At approximately 12 o'clock the German engineers with the help of tanks and artillery finally managed to destroy all but two Polish bunkers. Both of them were located in the centre of Góra Strêkowa and continued the defence despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of the machine guns destroyed. It is alleged that Heinz Guderian, in an attempt to end the Polish resistance, threatened the Polish commander that he would shoot the POWs if the remaining forces did not surrender. (No captives were shot.[citation needed]) The symbol of Polish defence was a Captain W³adys³aw Raginis who, being seriously injured at the time, committed honorable suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.
Casualties
Exact Polish losses are unknown, mostly because very little is known of the soldiers that were taken POW by the Germans. It is estimated that most of Polish soldiers were killed in action, with some 40 successfully withdrawing and additional 40 taken POW. Those numbers however are not certain.
German losses are not known either. In his diaries general Heinz Guderian noted that 900 German soldiers were killed in action, although that number is probably underrated. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.[citation needed]
[edit] In popular culture
Battle of Wizna is the theme of one of the songs on the The Art of War[1] album by the Swedish Metal band Sabaton, entitled "40:1", for an estimated ratio of forces on both sides of battle (in fact, with 42,200 Germans and 720 Poles, it is 59:1, then counting support could be well beyond 80:1). 40:1 may refer to the casualty ratio of Polish to German soldiers, though as noted above none of those numbers are well documented.
