On May 2, 1945, during the battles for Berlin , Polish soldiers installed the Victory Banner on the Prussian Victory Column ( German Siegessäule ). Since 2004 it has been celebrated as “Flag Day of the Republic of Poland” ( Polish. Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ) [1] .
Content
Events
The Polish units made up the second largest group of troops participating in the assault on Berlin. The following Polish units of the 1st Army of the Polish Army participated in the Red Army in the Battle of Berlin:
- 1st Infantry Division
- 2nd Pomeranian howitzer brigade
- 6th separate Warsaw mechanized bridge-pontoon battalion
- 1st Separate Mortar Brigade,
from March 1945, they were part of the 47th Soviet Army , 1st Belorussian Front .
In total - 12 thousand soldiers and officers of the Polish Army [2] .
At first, the Polish units, as part of the 1st Belorussian Front, participated in battles 60 km north of the city. The Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, General Michal Role-Jimerski , on the evening of April 29 asked Georgy Zhukov, “in the name of the Party and Government of Poland,” to obtain consent for the participation of Polish units in the direct assault on Berlin. After obtaining the consent of the Supreme Commander , an order was issued to transfer the 1st Infantry Division to them. Tadeusz Kosciuszko , in the area of direct hostilities, and its transfer to the Soviet tank units. The transfer ended by 7:00 a.m. on April 30, and from that moment the Polish soldiers participated in the last, fierce battles for Berlin. Directly the Poles fought in the western part of Tiergarten , making their way in the direction of the Reichstag , in the area of the Polytechnic and the Brandenburg Gate . They occupied 56 city blocks, 7 factory complexes, 4 metro stations and most of the buildings of the Polytechnic. 2550 prisoners were taken [3] .
May 2, 1945, during the offensive through Tiergarten Park, conducted by the 2nd battalion and part of the 1st battalion of the 3rd infantry regiment and the tank battalion of the 66th tank brigade, soldiers of the 7th battery of the 1st regiment of light artillery, division Kosciuszko, installed in the middle of the third floor of the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park, a white-red flag . Another flag, on the balustrade of the second floor, according to the recollections of Lieutenant Peter Potapsky, was hung out by soldiers of the 8th battery of the 3rd division. The third flag was raised by five soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division (they were Lieutenant Mikolai Troitsky, Senior Sergeant Kazimir Otap, Corporal Anthony Yablonsky, as well as Gunners Alexander Karpovich and Eugeniusz Meezhievsky). After surrender, white and red flags hung side by side with the red Soviet flags on the Zigishaul column and the Brandenburg Gate . Hitlerite Germany was defeated [4] [5] [6] [7] .
The flag at the Brandenburg Gate, according to the recollections of Colonel Gordievsky, was set by Polish self-propelled guns. Without claiming to be superior in the installation, they nevertheless proudly hoisted the Polish flag next to the Soviet ones. Polish inscriptions also appeared on the pediment of the Reichstag [8] .
Notes
- ↑ Ustawa z dnia 20 lutego 2004 o zmianie ustawy z 1980 o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Dz. U. z 2004 r. Nr 49, poz. 467 - art. 1, ust. 3)
- ↑ Sławomir Gowin: Berlin 1945 . Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Edipresse, 2005. ISBN 83-60160-11-2
- ↑ Oblicza Wojny, 24 - Bitwa o Berlin . Warszawa: Marshall Cavendish Polska, 1999. ISBN ISSN 1505-7321
- ↑ Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - 2 maja Archived December 27, 2011 on Wayback Machine - Portal Edukacyjny edu.info.pl
- ↑ Leszek Nawrocki: Kalendarium wydarzeń historycznych na ziemi sochaczewskiej . Sochaczew: 2000. ISBN 83-91-50-50-0-6 .
- ↑ 2 maja 1945 - Berlin
- ↑ Orzeł nad Berlinem
- ↑ Grandpa
Sources
Literature
- Gazeta Wyborcza z 05/07/2010 roku, Bartosz T. Wieliński "Biała i czerwona, spięte agrafką" relacja Ludwika Skokunia
- Gazeta Wyborcza z 03/01/2006 roku, Arkadiusz Adamkowski "Biało-czerwona flaga była pierwsza" (link not available)
- Sławomir Gowin: Berlin 1945 . Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Edipresse, 2005. ISBN 83-60160-11-2 .
- Janusz Piekałkiewicz : Kalendarium wydarzeń II wojny światowej . Janki k. Warszawy: Agencja Wydawnicza Morex. ISBN 83-86510-78-1 .
- Oblicza Wojny, 24 - Bitwa o Berlin . Warszawa: Marshall Cavendish Polska, 1999. ISBN ISSN 1505-7321.