Northern Group of Forces

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The Northern Group of Forces or Group of Soviet Forces in Poland was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the Second World War reorganization to the fall of Soviet Union, from 1945 to 1993.

Contents 1 History 2 Structure 3 Personnel 3.1 Soviet 3.1.1 Commanders of Northern Group of Forces 3.2 Polish 3.2.1 Representative of Polish Council of Ministers 3.2.2 Delegates of Economical Committee of Council of Ministers 3.2.3 Representatives of Polish People's Army in the matter of stay of Soviet forces in Poland 4 Aftermath 5 Notes 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 9 Further reading

[edit] History

The Soviet forces entered Poland as they were advancing towards Germany during the last year of Second World War; and in the course of the Red Army Lvov-Sandomierz (Summer 1944} and Vistula-Oder offensives (early-1945) the entire Polish territory was seized by Soviets from Nazis. While the formal Polish sovereignty was almost immediately restored when the forces of Nazi Germany were expelled, the territory of Poland fell under de-facto Soviet control as the Soviet military and security forces acted to ensure that Poland will be ruled by Soviet installed communist puppet government of Poland.

As the war ended, the structure of the Soviet military was reorganized from the war-time to the peace-time order. Directive nr 11097 of 10 June 1945 created several new formations, known as Groups of Forces, equivalent to military districts but organizing Soviet forces outside Soviet Union. One of those new formations, at that time 300,000-400,000 strong, was to be stationed in Poland. It was mostly based on the 2nd Belorussian Front of General Konstantin Rokossovsky (formely stationed around Mecklenburg and Brandenburg).^[1][2] With the exception of Szczecin (Stettin), which fell under the operational territory of the Western Group of Forces, the Northern Group of Forces would operate on the territory of Poland.

The Polish communist government, which largely owed its existence to the Soviets (see Polish Committee of National Liberation, Polish people's referendum, 1946, Polish legislative election, 1947),^[3] signed several agreements with the Soviet Union regulating the status and purpose of the Soviet troops. By 1949 the Soviet Union had concluded twenty-year bilateral treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with Poland and several other countries which usually granted the Soviet Union rights to a continued military presence on their territory.^[4] On December 17, 1956, as one of the agreements of Polish October, the Polish and Soviet governments signed the dedicated treaty that would finally fully regulate the Soviet military presence in Poland, the "Agreement on Legal Status of Soviet Troops Temporarily Stationed in Poland".^{[5][6][1][7][3]} According to the 1956 treaty, the Soviet military in Poland was limited to 66,000 troops, although the Soviets never fully disclosed the actual number of personnel of the Northern Group to the Polish government.^[3] The treaty also limited the number of Soviet bases in Poland to 39, while the actual number of bases reached 79.^[7][1] The treaty's name declared the Soviet military presence to be temporary, while in fact the treaty did not contain the limitations to the duration of the stay, or any provisions on withdrawal.^[8][1][7] Until the 1956 agreement, the Soviet troops stationed in Poland were seen by some as occupying Polish territory;^[3] even afterwards they were de-facto exempt from any Polish oversight^[1][9][7] and their role of an 'allied force' stationed in the territory was viewed by many as a mere propaganda claim.^[9][3] The issue of Polish-Soviet military cooperation was further regulated the next year, and in the 1965 Polish-Soviet friendship treaty that reflected the Soviet domination of Polish military policy;^[10].

The Northern Group of Forces had several objectives. With the beginning of the Cold War, it was to act, together with other Groups of Forces, as a counterpart to the Western Allies (particularly the United States) forces in Europe. Later, in that regard it represented part of the Warsaw Pact forces, balancing NATO troops. Its second objective was much less stressed in public Soviet sources, but nonetheless crucial: it was to ensure the loyalty of the Polish communist government of the People's Republic of Poland, and its Polish People's Army; a policy consistent with that of the Brezhnev Doctrine and enforced during events such as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Prague Spring of 1968.^{[4][9][10][3]} Furthermore, particularly in the early years, the Soviet forces also aided Polish Communists in establishing their government and combating anti-communist and nationalist resistance, such as the Polish cursed soldiers, or the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (see Vistula Action).^[3] Finally, in the first post-war years, the major task of the Northern Group was to organize and transport war reparations from the former territories of Nazi Germany attached to Poland to the Soviet Union;^{[3][9][11][12]} those actions, often involving complete stripping down of industrial facilities, sometimes also took place on the traditional Polish territories. This caused tensions between the Soviets and the Polish government, which intended to use the resources of those territories to rebuild Poland.^[3][9] All of the objectives of the Northern Group were shared with the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in the German Democratic Republic and to a lesser extent with the two Groups with a shorter history: the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia and the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary and Romania.

The presence of Soviet forces on Polish territory caused several problems, in addition to the "war reparations" issue. Although not supported by the Soviet High Command, excesses by individual soldiers of the Red Army led to mounting tensions between Soviet forces and the Polish population.^[13][14] Contemporary archives contained many reports of mugging, burglary, rape and murder attributed to Soviet soldiers;^[15] even Polish Communists were uneasy, as in 1945 the future Chairman of the Polish Council of State, Aleksander Zawadzki, worried that "raping and looting of the Soviet army would provoke a civil war".^[16] In the early years, the Red Army appropriated any resources it needed from the Polish government with no thought of compensation, or treating Poles as their allies - for example, when the Northern Group commander, Konstantin Rokossovsky, decided that it should be headquartered in Legnica, he ordered all Poles, including communist officials who were organizing the city and provincial government, to vacate one third of the city within 24 hours, later requisitioning any of their private belongings (like furniture) left behind. This incident was perceived by contemporaries as a particularly brutal action, and rumors circulated exaggerating its severity.^[17] Many Polish settlements in which Soviet garrisons were placed were inconvenienced in this or other ways, for example by being removed from all official maps.^[7] The Soviet army often refused to pay for municipal resources it consumed, particularly water, gas or electricity.^[3][9]

After the fall of communism in Poland, and with the signs of the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Polish government wanted the Russian troops to leave Poland. By that time the Northern Group had already shrunk to 58,000 troops^[10] and its military installations were spread over about 700 square kilometres of Polish territory.^[7] After a new treaty in late 1991 and May 1992, and Poland's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet troops begun leaving Poland, with the first group exiting in 1991. All troops left Poland by the end of 1993; the last transport left on 18 September.^[1] Symbolically, Polish President Lech Wałęsa saw them off on 17 September, the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.^[1] The Red Army was stationed in Poland for 48 years; it is estimated that its stay cost the Polish state 62.6 billion złoty (in 1993 prices, approx. 3.5 billion US dollars, not counting items removed from Polish territory after WWII); however, the Polish government decided to waive any claims to ensure a quicker evacuation of Soviet troops.^[18][9]

[edit] Structure

The formation was headquartered in Legnica, Lower Silesia, where Soviet military took over 1/3 of the city as their extraterritorial enclave (although for six years the headquarters was in Świdnica).^[1] Other major Soviet military bases were located in Świdnica, Borne Sulinowo, Przemków-Trzebień, Bagicz, Brzeg, Burzykowo, Chojna, Dębice, Żagań, Wschowa, Oława, Białogard, Świnoujście (military harbor).

On the NGF's formation in the late 1940s its forces included:

• 43rd Army (Soviet Union) was stationed in the region Gdańsk - Świnoujście - Szczecinek; one of its corps was stationed on the Danish island of Bornholm. However it was disbanded in the summer of 1946.
• Soviet 65th Army was stationed in the region Łódź - Poznań - Wrocław. 7th Red Banner Tank Army was created in 1946 from HQ, 65th Army and in 1947 was brought out into Belorussia.
• Soviet 52nd Army was stationed in the region Kielce - Częstochowa - Kraków.
• Soviet 96th Rifle Corps was stationed in the region Łomża - Mława - Pułtusk.
• Soviet 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps was stationed in Lublin.
• Soviet 3rd Guards Tank Corps was stationed in Kraków.
• Soviet 5th Tank Corps was stationed in Białystok.
• 10th Tank Corps was stationed in Krotoszyn.
• 20th Tank Corps was stationed in Wrocław. This formation became the 20th Tank Division later in 1945.
• Elements of the Soviet 4th Air Army were also stationed in Poland: Soviet 8th Fighter Corps, Soviet 4th Air Assault Corps and Soviet 5th Bomber Corps.

Altogether the Northern Group of Forces had 4 tank corps (from July 1945 reorganized into tank divisions), 30 rifle divisions, 12 air divisions, 1 cavalry corps and 10 artillery divisions. The formation had a strength of around 300,000-400,000 soldiers.

This large number of formations was quickly reduced as the post war demobilisations took place. By 1955 the force had been reduced to the 18th, 26th, and 27th Rifle Divisions, the 20th Tank Division, and the 26th Mechanised Division - probably numbering no more than 100,000 troops.

Much later, after many reorganisations and reductions, the 6th Motor Rifle Division and 20th Tank Division were the principal Soviet formations stationed in the Group in the 1980s and early 1990s.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Soviet

[edit] Commanders of Northern Group of Forces

• June 1945 - October 1949: Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky
• October 1949 - August 1950: colonel general Kuzma Trubnikov
• September 1950 - July 1952: lieutenant general Alexei Radziyevsky
• July 1952 - June 1955: lieutenant general Mikhail Konstantinov
• June 1955 - February 1958: army general Kuzma Galitsky
• February 1958 - March 1963: colonel general Georgi Khetagurov
• March 1963 - June 1964: colonel general Sergei Maryakhin
• June 1964 - October 1964: lieutenant general Alexander Rudakov
• October 1964 - June 1967: colonel general Gleb Baklanov
• June 1967 - November 1968: army general Ivan Shkadov
• December 1968 - May 1973: colonel general Magamet Tankayev
• June 1973 - July 1975: colonel general Ivan Gerasimov
• July 1975 - January 1978: colonel general Oleg Kulishev
• February 1978 - August 1984: colonel general Yuri Zarudin
• August 1984 - February 1987: colonel general Alexander Kovtunov
• February 1987 - June 1989: colonel general Ivan Korbutov
• July 1989 - June 1992: colonel general Viktor Dubynin
• June 1992 - September 1993: colonel general Leonid Kovalyov

[edit] Polish

[edit] Representative of Polish Council of Ministers

• June 1945 - 1946: colonel Antoni Alster

[edit] Delegates of Economical Committee of Council of Ministers

• December 1946 - July 1947: colonel Julian Tokarski
• July 1947 - May 1949: colonel Wojciech Wilkoński
• May 1949 - 1952: colonel Teodor Kusznierek
• 1952 - 1957: colonel Jan Kogut

[edit] Representatives of Polish People's Army in the matter of stay of Soviet forces in Poland

• April 1957 - April 1968: brigade general Leszek Krzemień (also known as Maks Wolf)
• April 1968 - November 1972: division general Czesław Jan Czubryt-Borkowski
• November 1972 - March 1977: division general Józef Stebelski
• April 1977 - 1986: division general Michał Stryga
• 1986 - December 1988: division general Zbigniew Ohanowicz
• January 1989 - October 1990: brigade general Mieczysław Dębicki
• October 1990 - February 1995: brigade general Zdzisław Ostrowski

[edit] Aftermath

Some of the Soviet administered areas were polluted (oil products, unexploded ordnance).

[edit] Notes

The Northern Group had its own newspaper, the Znamia Pobiedy.

Soviet (Red Army) troops also entered Poland during the Polish-Soviet War (1918-1921) and the Soviet invasion of 1939.

The Northern Group had nuclear weapons deployed in at least three bases.^[1] Poland was home to 178 nuclear assets, growing to 250 in the late eighties.

[edit] See also

• Central Group of Forces
• Southern Group of Forces
• Western Group of Forces

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Group of Soviet Forces in Poland Northern Group of Forces (NGF)
• Partial order of battle in 1989
• (Polish) Informacje ogólne związane z pobytem PGWAR w Polsce
• (Polish) Okupacja w imię sojuszu. Armia sowiecka w Polsce 1944-1956
• (Polish) Mirosław Golon, Północna Grupa Wojsk Armii Radzieckiej w Polsce w latach 1945-1956. Okupant w roli sojusznika, 2004, Historicus - Portal Historyczny

[edit] Further reading

• Północna Grupa Wojsk Armii Radzieckiej w Polsce w latach 1945-1956. Okupant w roli sojusznika, Czasy Nowożytne, t. VI, Wyd. Fundacja „Pomerania” i Fundacja Uniwersytecka KUL, Toruń 1999, s. 37-115.