The Operation Arsenal, code name: "Meksyk II" (Polish: Akcja pod Arsenałem) was the first major operation by the Szare Szeregi (Gray Ranks) Polish Underground formation during the Nazi occupation of Poland. It took place on March 26, 1943 in Warsaw. Its name was coined after the Warsaw Arsenal, in front of which the action took place.
The plan was to free the troop leader Jan Bytnar "Rudy", who was arrested together with his father by the Gestapo. 28 scouts led by Warsaw Standard Commander Stanisław Broniewski "Orsza" taking part. The initiator and the commander of the "Attack Group" was Tadeusz Zawadzki "Zośka".
The successfully conducted operation led to the release of Jan Bytnar and 24 other prisoners, including another Storm Group troop leader, Henryk Ostrowski "Henryk", and 6 women, in an attack on the prison van that was taking the inmates from Pawiak Prison to Gestapo Headquarters at Szucha Avenue.
Jan Bytnar died four days later on account of injuries sustained due to German torture. Both of his "interrogators" were assassinated by Szare Szeregi within two months.
| Sections | Commander | Members | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander of the operation: Commander of the "Attack Group": Commander of the "Cover Group": |
"Orsza" Stanisław Broniewski "Zośka" Tadeusz Zawadzki "Giewont" Władysław Cieplak |
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| Attack Group | |||||||||||||
| "Bottles" | "Anoda" Jan Rodowicz | "Bolec" Tadeusz Hojko "Heniek" Henryk Kupis "Stasiek" Stanisław Pomykalski |
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| "STEN I" | "Maciek" Sławomir Maciej Bittner | "Kołczan" Eugeniusz Koecher "Sem" Wiesław Krajewski |
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| "STEN II" | "Słoń" Jerzy Gawin | "Buzdygan" Tadeusz Krzyżewicz (died, due to wounds) "Cielak" Tadeusz Szajnoch |
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| "Grenades" | "Alek" Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski (died, due to wounds) | "Hubert" Hubert Lenk "Mirski" Jerzy Zapadko |
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| Cover Group | |||||||||||||
| "Signalisation" | "Kuba" Konrad Okolski | "Kadłubek" Witold Bartnicki "Jur" Andrzej Wolski |
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| "Old Town" | "Katoda" Józef Saski | "Kopeć" Stanisław Jastrzębski "Rawicz" Żelisław Olech |
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| "Ghetto" | "Tytus" Tytus Trzciński | "Felek" Feliks Pendelski "Ziutek" Józef Pleszczyński "Pająk" Jerzy Tabor |
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| "Cars" | "Jeremi" Jerzy Zborowski "Jurek TK" Jerzy Pepłowski |
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Famous quotes containing the words operation and/or arsenal:
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—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)
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