Battle of Mieniany

Battle of Mieniany
Part of the Massacres of the Poles in the Volhynia and Galicia during the Polish–Ukrainian ethnic conflict in the World War II
Date 15 August 1943 Location Mieniany, Hrubieszów County, Lublin Voivodeship Result Polish victory
Belligerents
Peasant Battalions Home Army	Third Reich Ukrainian Auxiliary Police 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen–SS “Galicia”
Commanders and leaders
Stanisław Basaj Stefan Kwaśniewski	Unknown
Units involved
Battalion “Ryś” of the Peasant Battalions Company “Pogoń” of the Home Army Company “Grażyna” of the Home Army	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
1 killed 1 wounded	4–8 killed
7 Ukrainian civilians were murdered

The Battle of Mieniany (Polish: Bitwa pod Mienianami, Ukrainian: Бій під Мінянами; 15 August 1943) was fought between the Battalion “Ryś” of the Peasant Battalions and Companies “Pogoń” and “Grażyna” of the Home Army under the command of Stanisław Basaj and Stefan Kwaśniewski against the Third Reich, Ukrainian Auxiliary Police and 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen–SS “Galicia” in the Hrubieszów County of the Lublin Voivodeship.

Background

On 14.IX.1943 in Zabłocie, in the evening, near the building of "Szczygła", on the road there was an assembly of the unit. Shoes were distributed to the soldiers captured on the soldiers captured on the road near Sośnina Modryniecka. In new, creaking boots the unit was to set out on an operation to liquidate the Ukrainian police station in Mieniany. The assembly point was marked in the Witkowski forest, south of Zablocie, i.e. in a direction diametrically opposed to the post in Mieniany, which was situated in the north. was located to the north

Battle

The soldiers had some doubts about choosing the right assembly point, but it turned out that the chosen forest was the one where a group of Home Army "Pogonia" and "Grazyna" was to be reunited - there were 20 of them, and other Home Army soldiers joined them on the way, some of them in Mircze forest, west of the Warezh-Hrubie road. The whole unit, from the Mircze forest, followed the tracks of the narrow-gauge railway through the Modryń colliery to Dąbrowa, where the whole unit lodged for the day without looking out of the buildings. In the meantime, a number of scouts were sent to establish details of the post in Mieniany. one of the soldiers was to say

During the day, the commander - "Ryś" - distributed posts and tasks to each of us. I was assigned to the group storming the post. My task was, together with Jędrek Uran, set fire to the post.

On 15.IX.1943 they set off at night from Dąbrowa. and then crossed the road leading to Hrubieszów and the partisans then went into the gap between the forest of Cichobórz, which, was left in the south and Masłomęcz - from the north. coll. Mieniany going to the Mieniany forest for the starting position. The same soldier told about an assault group led by commander "Rys" (Stanislaw Basaj), which went from the Mieniany forest along the road through the fields to the south, in order to cross the track from Cichobórz to Hrubieszów and attack the post from the south (from the meadows).A nearby person described everything would have been fine, because the action was buttoned up very late. the unit at night and hid in a nearby potato field. When the dark silhouettes approached the local Home Army men hiding in the potatoes, one of them fired his rifle (obrzynka). Shots were fired and the battle began.

This brief clash in the potatoes spoiled the whole action, because it warned the post of the danger. The advantage of surprising the Ukrainian policemen, decisive for our success, was lost. Bolesław Lis was severely wounded in the field. Lis. Also wounded was the acolyte who was shooting at Lis.So a straw-covered shed was set on fire. From it, the community building, also wooden, caught fire and only from the community building did the post building catch fire. Everything burned down. Before the arson, the post was fired at by "Lynx" with a heavy machine gun and single rifles. The policemen did not respond. After the battle it turned out that they were supposed to be hiding in a neighbouring cellar. There were supposed to be six policemen.

Aftermath

After the battle, the German authorities moved the post to Chernivtsi. Lynx lost one man.