Throughout the war, Kresy was occupied first by the Soviets then in 1942 by the Germans followed again in 1944 by the Soviets. The Soviet policy towards the population was to remove the intelligentsia, military, police, judiciary, landowners and religious.
Their war years were spent first in compulsory labour camps in Siberia. Those who survived were released to face arduous journeys to army enlistment posts in southern USSR and evacuation to freedom in Persia. From there, men and women undertook military training in locations throughout the Middle East and then joined the fighting in Italy. Mothers with children, orphans, elderly and disabled went to refugees camps around the world.

The Opening shots of the Second World War , happened on the 1st September at 4.45 am , when when the Kriegsmarine’s battleship Schleswig-Holstein opens fire on the Polish military fort at Westerplatte which lies on the approach into Danzig (Gdansk) harbour on the Baltic Sea. The remainder of the German forces crossed the Polish border at various locations , en- masse, at 6am .

Invasion tracks from Germany , Prussia ………

Year DateEvent
1939 01 SeptemberWorld War II breaks out. Germany attacks Western Poland.
193917 SeptemberThe Red Army invades Kresy (Eastern Borderlands of Poland).
194009-10 FebruaryFirst deportation of Poles from their homes in Kresy takes place.
194012-13 AprilSecond deportation
194028-29 JuneThird deportation
194113-22 JuneFourth deportation
194130 JulyThe Polish-Soviet Agreement [Sikorski-Maisky pact] is signed.
194112 AugustAmnesty is granted for all Poles in the Soviet Union; the formation of Polish units in the USSR begins.
1942MarchA total of 45,000 Polish soldiers and 25,500 civilians are taken by train and by ship from Central Asia to Iran.
194224 MarchThe first ship leaves Krasnovodsk in Turkistan.
194208-30 AugustThe second evacuation begins and continues for a couple of months: a total of 33,000 military but only 11,000 civilians leave.
1943 – 1944December 1943 –  mid-April 1944The Polish 2nd Corps, under the command of General W Anders, lands in Italy.
194426 AprilThe Polish Heavy Artillery Corps is moved into position on Monte Cassino.
194404 MayThe Polish 2nd Corps reaches Monte Cassino in Italy.
194411-18 MayThe offensive starts with an artillery barrage at 23.00; the Polish 2nd Corps engages in the 4th Battle of Monte Cassino which ends in the capture of the Monastery Hill, thus securing the opening of the road to Rome for the Allied forces.
194418 MayAt 09.50 a banner of the 12th Podolski Cavalry Regiment is placed on the highest point of the ruins of the Monastery at Monte Cassino.
194418 MayEmil Czech of the 12th Podolski Cavalry Regiment plays the ‘Mary Bugle’ (Hejnal Mariacki) in front of the Monastery at Monte Cassino.
194416 June-18 JulyThe Battle of Ancona leads to the capture of this port by the Polish 2nd Corps.
1944November-
December		Tehran Conference takes place.
1945JanuaryThe Polish 2nd Corps reaches the River Senio, initiating three months of static warfare in preparation for the assault on Bologna.
194504-11 FebruaryYalta Conference takes place.
194509-21 AprilBologna is taken by the Polish 2nd Corps.
194508 MayWorld War II ends! V-E Day.
Scroll to Top