Kuty (Kąty) defence: Difference between revisions

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| date = May 1943
| date = May 1943
| place = [[Vilnius Region]], [[Liauda|Kaunas Region]]
| place = [[Vilnius Region]], [[Liauda|Kaunas Region]]
| result = Polish victory
| result = Ukraine victory
*Successful evacuation of civilians
*Successful evacuation of civilians
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Polish Self–Defense
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Polish Self–Defense
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]
{{flagicon image|OUN-M-03.svg}} [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists|OUN]]<br>
{{flagicon image|OUN-M-03.svg}} [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists|OUN]]<br>
| commander1 = [[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Edward Wawrzykowski
| commander1 = [[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Edward Wawrzykowski
[[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Stanisław Jasiński
[[File:Flag of Poland (1928–1980).svg|24px|border|link]] Stanisław Jasiński
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} Ivan Klymyshin
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.svg}} Ivan Klymyshin
| strength1 = Unknown
| strength1 = Unknown
| strength2 = Bigger than polish
| strength2 = Bigger than polish

Revision as of 10:36, 12 June 2024

Kuty Defense
Part of
Polish–Ukrainian ethnic conflict
The self-defense centres in the Volhynia Voivodship in 1943
The self-defense centres in the Volhynia Voivodship in 1943
DateMay 1943
Location
Vilnius Region, Kaunas Region
Result

Ukraine victory

  • Successful evacuation of civilians
Belligerents
link Polish Self–Defense

Ukrainian Insurgent Army

OUN

Commanders and leaders

link Edward Wawrzykowski

link Stanisław Jasiński		 Ivan Klymyshin
Strength
Unknown Bigger than polish
Casualties and losses
53 poles killed Unknown

Kuty (Kąty) defence – was a skirmish between Polish self-defense units and

Andriy Melnyk's supporters in the village of Kuty (Polish Kąty) located in Volhynia, Krzemieniec (Kremenets) county, Shumsk commune 3 or 4 May 1943. During the fight no less than 53 Poles were killed, although the assault was repelled by self-defense forces. After the battle Poles abandoned the village, and escorted by Germans went to Shumsk and later to Kremenets
.

Prelude

Kuty was a Polish village with 234 Polish families (919 people) and 12 Ukrainian families. During the

Soviet occupation some Poles were deported to Siberia. On November 14, 1942, Ukrainians killed a local leader, Władysław Giżycki, an organizer of the local Riflemen's Association
.

After assassinations of individual Poles in late 1942, inhabitants of Kuty formed a self-defense unit. Leaders of the self-defense force included: Jan Jasiński, Feliks Jasiński, former accountant and

hand grenades. The rest of men, in the event of an attack armed themselves with pitch-forks and scythes
.

The line of defense in the center of the village included a bricked houses and a church with a tower. Since February 1943, when the

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
had started, inhabitants who were afraid of attacks, began gathering in the centre of the village at night.

On May 2, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) planned to attack the Polish village. This information leaked out to the villagers who began defence preparations, although many inhabitants did not believe that the UIA was a threat.

Assault

On 3 (or 4) May about 10:20 pm UIA members and Melnyk supporters attacked the village from the north. In the village two thousand Poles from Kuty and nearby villages gathered. Houses at the village's perimeter were robbed, people who were not able to escape were butchered, and houses were burned down. Poles formed a defence line using rifles, safe from fire inside bricked houses. The church tower became the main point of the resistance. The battle lasted until 3:30 the next day when the Ukrainian command decided to withdraw all forces. At least 53 Poles perished.

Aftermath

The self-defense forces decided to abandon the village due to a lack of

OST-Arbeiter
. The abandoned village was razed except for the Ukrainian households. Bricked houses were disassembled. Poles who returned to Kuty after a few days were killed. The total number of Polish deaths due to the skirmish was 67 people.

See also

  • Historiography of the Volyn tragedy
  • Massacres of Poles in Volhynia
  • Przebraże Defence

Sources

  • (in Polish)
    ISBN 83-87689-34-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  • (in Polish)
    ISBN 978-83-08-04576-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )

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