Działania Armii Czerwonej na Śląsku Cieszyńskim wiosną 1945 roku a kwestia powojennej przynależności państwowej Zaolzia

• Authors: Kasztura Grzegorz

Title variants

EN

Red Army Actions in Cieszyn Silesia in the Spring of 1945 and the Question of Post-War National Affiliation of Zaolzie

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

Soviet troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front reached the borders of Cieszyn Silesia as early as late January of 1945. After fierce battles in February and March, the first half of April saw favourable conditions for the 1st Guards Army to crush the German defense, cross the Vistula and Olza rivers, and invade Zaolzie. The Soviet command however did not take advantage of that opportunity. The author posits that the decision not to invade was not informed by military factors, but rather by political considerations. The Polish-Czechoslovak dispute over the Zaolzie region, which was raging since World War I, would be easier to settle in conditions more favourable to the Soviets – namely after a definitive cessation of hostilities. The Nazi occupation effectively prevented the Polish majority of Zaolzie from seizing power and rejoining their motherland. Therefore, in April 1945 the Soviet command did not actively support an advance towards Skoczów and Cieszyn. An analysis of documents from various levels of command of the 1st Guards Army shows that Soviet forces operating in Cieszyn Silesia and the Żywiec Beskids (between Ochaby on the Vistula river and Koniaków in the Silesian Beskids) were being systematically reduced in order to strengthen other sections of the front. The 127th Light Mountain Rifle Corps, before it was withdrawn from the area and moved to the Moravian town of Ostrava on April 29th, did not advance from their foothold in Ochaby on the left bank of the Vistula towards the west, but rather used the majority of their forces to conduct attacks on their southern flank, in the direction of Nierodzim, Lipowiec, and the Brennica valley. Independent flamethrower battalions, which as early as April 7th 1945 occupied convenient positions on the edge of Ustroń and Koniaków, were withdrawn from the areas they captured. The army leadership made a similar decision regarding the relieving forces – subunits of the 69th Mountain Rifle Brigade of the 127th Light Mountain Rifle Corps. It was not until May 1st that Soviet troops moved from their positions near the Vistula towards Zaolzie, after the Germans began their final withdrawal from Cieszyn Silesia, an area which they occupied since the early days of World War II.

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne Oddział w Cieszynie
• Journal: Pamiętnik Cieszyński
• Year: 2016
• Volume: T. 21
• Pages: 107-125

Contributors

author

Kasztura Grzegorz

• Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne Oddział w Cieszynie