Battle of Murowana Oszmianka

Part of World War II

Date	May 13–14, 1944
Location	Murowana Oszmianka and Tołminowo (present-day Belarus) 54°27′28″N 25°46′43″E / 54.45778°N 25.77861°E / 54.45778; 25.77861Coordinates: 54°27′28″N 25°46′43″E / 54.45778°N 25.77861°E / 54.45778; 25.77861
Result	Polish victory

Belligerents

Polish Underground State (Home Army)

Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force

Commanders and leaders

mjr Czesław Dębicki "Jarema"

Strength

5 partisan brigades (3rd, 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th) of the Home Army
about 600 strong

elements of the 301st Battalion of the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force
about 750 strong

Casualties and losses

13 killed, 25 wounded
15 killed, 6 wounded

over 50 killed, over 60 wounded, over 300 taken prisoner
60-70 killed, 130 wounded, 150 taken prisoner (the rest escaped)

The Battle of Murowana Oszmianka of May 13–May 14, 1944 was the largest clash between the Polish resistance movement organization Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) and the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force (LTDF); a Lithuanian volunteer security force subordinated to Nazi Germany occupational administration. The battle took place in and near the village of Murowana Oszmianka in Generalbezirk Litauen Reichskommissariat Ostland (modern Muravanaya Ashmyanka, Belarus, former Murowana Oszmianka, Second Polish Republic). The outcome of the battle was that the 301st LTDF battalion was routed and the entire force was disbanded by the Germans soon afterwards.

In late April and early May 1944, the German authorities decided to transfer a significant part of the police duties in Lithuania to the newly created LTDF formation, which was ordered to initiate a wide anti-partisan operation against the Polish and Soviet partisans in the area. Three Lithuanian battalions were dispatched to man garrisons in and around the town of Oszmiany (modern Ashmyany, Belarus). The AK commander for the Vilnius (Wilno) region Aleksander "Wilk" Krzyżanowski mobilized the region's partisan troops in response, but they were ordered not to engage the German allied LTDF in order to prevent the escalation of Polish-Lithuanian hostilities. The Lithuanian troops, however, satisfied by their perceived superiority, started suppressing the local Polish communities suspected of harboring the anti-Nazi partisans; numerous war crimes were committed by the LTDF, notably atrocities against Polish civilians in Pawłów, Graużyszki and Sieńkowszczyzna. Faced with the need to protect Polish civilians, the AK decided to fight back in early May, and organized a concentrated assault against the fortified Lithuanian positions around the village of Murowana Oszmianka. On May 10, AK units were ordered to prepare an assault against one of the larger LTDF units in the region.

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Wikipedia