Udział 12 Szczecińskiej Dywizji Piechoty w akcji „Wisła”. Z warsztatów badawczych

Abstract

Operation Vistula was one of the largest military and repressive operations carried out after the war by the Polish Army. It was attended, among others, by 12th Combined Infantry Regiment, which was formed on the basis of the 12th Szczecin Infantry Division. The 12th Combined Infantry Regiment was a military reserve of the Vistula Operational Group and from the first days of its operation it was used mainly against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army units manoeuvring in the field. The moderate successes achieved by the regiment compared to other units focusing on the displacement of civilians made the commander of the Vistula Operational Group, General S. Mossor, present this tactical unit as a model for other units. The source analysis carried out by the author forces us to revise this analysis of events. Compared with those of other units, the successes of the 12 Combined Infantry Regiment were not as great as Mossor claims, particularly when we consider that this unit was released from a time-consuming deportation action. The 12th division of the Polish Armed Forces is stationed in Western Pomerania to this day, continuing the tradition of the 12th Infantry Division of the Polish People’s Army. It is important to remember that participation in the largest repressive operation of Stalinist Poland brought no glory to this unit.