Armia Krajowa

The Armia Krajowa (, abbreviated AK), or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Union for Armed Struggle). Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces. It was loyal to the Polish government in exile and constituted the armed wing of what became known as the "Polish Underground State." Estimates of its membership in 1944 range from 200,000 to 600,000, with the most common number being 400,000; that figure would make it not only the largest Polish underground resistance movement but one of the three largest in Europe during World War II. It was disbanded on January 20, 1945, when Polish territory had been mostly cleared of German forces by the advancing Soviet Red Army.

The AK's primary resistance operations were the sabotage of German activities, including transports headed for the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union. The AK also fought several full-scale battles against the Germans, particularly in 1943 and 1944 during Operation Tempest. They tied down significant German forces, diverting much-needed supplies, while trying to support the Soviet military.

The most widely known AK operation was the failed Warsaw Uprising. The AK also defended Polish civilians against atrocities committed by non-German military organizations, such as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Lituanian Schutzmannschaft battalions and Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force. Due to its ties with the Polish government in exile, the Armia Krajowa was viewed by the Soviet Union as a major obstacle to its takeover of the country. There was increasing conflict between AK and Soviet forces both during and after the war. Considered a model of heroic resistance in modern Poland, Armia Krajowa has occasionally been the subject of controversy. It was portrayed more critically in the Soviet Union (which saw the Underground State as an enemy) and some post-Soviet states (primarily Lithuania and Ukraine, where military groups who cooperated with Germans against the Soviets and/or were trying to separate from Polish control also clashed with the Polish resistance).