The first of September 1943 in occupied Poland was an extremely sad day. It was the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, the end of which was still in sight. However, in Końskie, hardly anyone despaired. On the contrary! People were bursting with joyful excitement. The reason was the night action of the Home Army.
Końskie is a small district town in the Świętokrzyskie Province. Currently, it does not stand out with anything special. It was different during World War II. The city itself and its surroundings were a region of extremely increased activity of the pro-independence guerrilla.
It was in the nearby forests of Konec, at the end of July 1943, that the 2nd Home Army Partisan Grouping "Ponury" found shelter. It was commanded by the quiet second lieutenant Waldemar Szwiec "Robot". Immediately after reaching the place, he began subversive activities. This did not appeal to the occupant who had enough problems in the area anyway.
Confidants spend 400 patriots
In order to get the situation under control, on August 20, the Germans organized a large-scale manhunt in Końskie. The city was surrounded by over a thousand gendarmes and the Gestapo started mass arrests.
Based on information provided by informers, over 400 people were detained. As Kacper Śledziński writes in his latest book, Cichociemni. The elite of Polish diversion ”:
The circuit command group crashed. Jan Rusinowski, once the head of the district, later the motorization officer of the Kielce District of the Home Army, second lieutenant engineer Józef Sapetto and second lieutenant Stanisław Strzemieczny, commandant of the "Miasto" facility, were among the most important people on the Gestapo list.
Most of those arrested were sent to KL Auschwitz. Those who might have had any valuable information were transported to the Gestapo headquarters in Radom.
Fortunately, the misfortune was that none of the "Robot" people came by, who carried out another action on the night of August 19-20. As soon as Second Lieutenant Szwiec found out about what happened in the city, decided to show the Germans that their success did not break the spirit of resistance in the Poles.
Konskie, now a quiet poviat town with a population of several thousand, in the Świętokrzyskie Province. However, during the Second World War a lot happened here
Something spectacular should have been done. In fact, the plan was ambitious. In a report, Szwiec wrote to his superior, Lieutenant Jan Piwnik "Ponury":
In order to convince the Germans that the diversion is indeed outside the city, to raise the spirit of the poviat's population and to depress the gendarmerie, I decided to jump to Konskie . The attack had one more goal, namely: to demonstrate to our own soldiers the low moral and combat value of the military police and our superiority over them in this direction in hand-to-hand combat.
As Kacper Śledziński rightly observes, such a plan could only arise in the head of someone with a truly uhlanic fantasy. This Szwiec could not miss, because he had previously served in the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade.
However, fantasy alone is not enough. It was also necessary to perfectly plan the entire action. It was all the more important when we take into account that the "Robot" unit consisted of only 64 people. In turn, in Końskie and the surrounding area - according to the estimates of Marek Jedynak, included in the book "Robotowcy 1943. Monograph of the II Zgrupowanie Partisanckich AK» Ponury «" - about 1,800 Germans and Ukrainians were stationed.
The disproportion was therefore enormous, reaching nearly thirty to one! This, however, by no means discouraged the well-trained Cochonite. After drawing up a precise plan of action, it was decided that the attack would be launched on the night of August 31 to September 1. Of course, the date was not accidental.
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Attack in the dark and spectacular success
Shortly before 10.00 p.m., Second Lieutenant Szwiec and his men began to take their positions. Obviously, the most important element of the whole plan was the use of the element of surprise. Therefore, the detachment was divided into several groups, striking simultaneously. This was to give the impression that not a few dozen, but several hundred partisans were taking part in the action.
Three platoons took part in the operations, each of which had a clearly defined purpose. The first one was waiting at the eastern Konskie tollbooths for the start of the action, which was to last from 23.50 to 2.00. Another group of twenty members of the Home Army soldiers went through the fields towards the northern border of the city. Their task was to block the gendarmerie barracks with machine gun fire.
In turn, "Robot" with the third platoon headed towards the transformer station to turn off the electricity throughout the city . It was also a signal to the other soldiers that it was time to start.
Everything went as planned, and a few minutes before midnight, Końskie was plunged into darkness. This was just what the partisans were waiting for. They immediately opened fire on the gendarmerie barracks, checking the Germans. The commandant of the station tried to summon the Ostlegion platoon stationed near the city.
Little did he know, however, that the telephone line had been cut in advance . In addition, at the moment when he was reaching for the receiver, a stray bullet shattered his hand. His people were also not lucky. Attempts to counterattack several times failed. Several Germans died at the same time.
Meanwhile, second lieutenant Szwiec and the rest of the Home Army went to the warehouses of the Społem cooperative. The goods stored there were the goal. There were some problems, as they were adjacent to a heavily guarded prison. Ultimately, however, after a short exchange of fire, the Poles took control of the situation, then proceeding to load clothes, textiles and food onto the captured truck.
This is what Waldemar Szwiec looked like a few years before the war ... he did not know yet how heroic actions would fall to him (source:public domain).
No mercy for… informers
Immediately after the conquest of the transformer station, a three-person liquidation group also set out . It was commanded by Stanisław Janiszewski "Dewajtis". Her task was to eliminate five informers , sentenced to death by the Special Court. All sentences have been carried out .
After almost two hours of fighting, the Home Army began to withdraw from the city. They headed south-east towards the village of Czerwony Most, from where they were only a step away from the Konec forests, where a safe haven awaited them.
The plan was implemented in one hundred percent. None of the attackers died . The much needed supplies were obtained and five dangerous informers were liquidated at the same time. Moreover, the Germans lost six gendarmes, and the impression caused by the action was simply electrifying.
Officers of the Home Army Grouping "Ponury". First from the right, second lieutenant Waldemar Szwiec "Robot". The photo comes from Śledziński's book "Cichociemni. The elite of Polish diversion ”(SIW Znak, 2012)
This was best evidenced by a report sent to the Military District Command in the General Government, where it was written that: On August 31st at night several hundred bandits attacked the town of Konskie .
As Kacper Śledziński notes in his book: Such a difficult action as controlling Końskie had no equivalent in SOE actions [British Special Operations Command - article author's note] in the West . Lieutenant Jan Piwnik "Ponury" could be proud of his subordinate.