The Przebraże Defence – defensive fights in the village of Przebraże (now Гайове, Ukraine) belonging to the Trościaniec cluster, in Lutsk poviat, voivodeship in Volhynia between July 1943 and January 1944. In Przebraże, Polish civilians from Volhynia organized defense against the UPA. The village was never conquered by UPAs.
Location
The Przebraże settlement was located south of Troscianiec and north-east of Lutsk, the capital of Polish Volhynia before the Soviet invasion of Poland in agreement with Nazi Germany. The geographic area featured numerous peat bogs and forests. The Konopla river was to the west of the settlement. The population consisted of Poles, who had settled there in the 17th century. They were descendants of several szlachta (Polish nobility) families, that came to Volhynia from Mazowsze. The surrounding villages were inhabited mostly by ethnic Ukrainians. In 1938, Przebraże had 200 houses and some 1,150 inhabitants.
Background
In late 1942, Ukrainian nationalists began attacks on Polish settlements in Volhynia (see: Massacres of Poles in Volhynia). Throughout 1943, these incidents moved westwards from one county to another, reaching the area of Kowel in May. The Polish population and the weak Volhynian units of the Polish Home Army were taken by surprise. After the initial shock, however, the Poles started to organize their own units to attack Ukrainians in turn. The Polish 27th Home Army Infantry Division was created out of these units.
Creation
Some time in April 1943, Poles in Przebraże under former officers 'Harry' Henryk Cybulski and Ludwik Malinowski (a veteran of the Polish–Soviet War), decided to create a self-defence force, which would help them to resist future Ukrainian attacks. The area in question was vast, with several surrounding smaller settlements, such as Cholopiny, Jazwiny, Mosty and Zagajnik. Sentries were posted, armed with weapons found in the fields after the border battles of the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union and Sten guns made by the Prżebraze gunsmithery. The regional Armia Krajowa also supplied arms and money so that Poles could buy weapons from corrupt Hungarian soldiers stationed in Volhynia. Two 45mm cannons were salvaged from Soviet tanks that had been destroyed in June 1941 and mounted on carriages. A train driver with AK contacts also delivered arms to the Polish railwaymen at Kiwerce, which were then transported to Przebraze.
To avoid clashes with the Germans, a weapon permit from local German authorities in Kiwerce was obtained. According to the memoirs of Henryk Cybulski, the German commander of Kiwerce was bribed with a pig and gold jewelry, after which he signed a document that stated: "Hereby authorized inhabitants of the village of Przebraże are allowed to use weapons to fight forest gangs, which harm [the] interests of the German Reich".
Polish units in Przebraże numbered some 500 men, they were divided into four companies and a mounted scouts platoon. In mid-1943 their number grew to 1,000. Reconnaissance patrols would check the surrounding area by day and at night, so that the settlement would not be caught by surprise. A defence line was created around Przebraże and neighbouring settlements, which consisted of foxholes and barbed wire. The length of barbed wire totalled around and the size of the “camp” - from east to west and from north to south.
Population in 1943
As news of atrocities spread across Volhynia, up to 28,000 Poles from neighbouring villages and settlements came to Przebraże. The number of refugees grew day by day; several houses accommodated up to five families, others had to live in temporary mud huts. A field hospital was organized and as skirmishes with Ukrainians were frequent, beds were usually full.
In June 1943 Polish units from Przebraże scouted the area, telling all Poles to leave their houses and move to the fortified settlement. Unfortunately, not all agreed to move and their reluctance later proved to be fatal.
Ukrainian UPA attacks
At the beginning of the summer of 1943, local Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) commanders suggested that Henryk Cybulski, Ludwik Malinowski and their men should meet and talk. Delegates of both sides met four times, the Poles grew suspicious. Reportedly, the talks were a trap, the Ukrainians wanted to kill Cybulski. Thus, negotiations were terminated.