Wladtslaw Raginis | polishexiles

Wladyslaw RAGINIS

Border Protection Corps (KOP)

Władysław Raginis was born on 27 June 1908 in Zariņi village near Dźwińsk, Russian Empire (present-day Latvia) to a landowning family with patriotic traditions. Soon after graduating from high school in 1927, he joined the Infantry NCO School in Komorowo near Ostrów Mazowiecka. He completed his studies in 1928. He then enrolled at the Infantry Officers School in Ostrów Mazowiecka.

After graduating on 15 July 1930, he was assigned to the 76th Infantry Regiment stationed in Grodno, where he was a platoon commander and instructor-lecturer at the Cadet Corps School. In 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant and then to captain and assigned to the elite Border Defence Corps (KOP). He led the 3rd company, heavy machine gun battalion, of the Border Defence Corps Regiment "Sarny" under the command of Lt-Colonel Nikodem Sulik.

In the late summer of 1939, the "Sarny" Regiment sent the bulk of its forces to Upper Silesia, while Raginis went to Osowiec Fortress, near the border with East Prussia.

On 2 September 1939, Major Jakub Fober gave Raginis command of the entire Wizna Fortified Area, a buffer of 9 kilometres between the Narew River and Biebrza River, which was part of defensive line of the "Narew" Independent Operational Group. This secured a major artery of communication: the Łomża-Białystok road and the Zambrów-Osowiec railway.

It is worth noting that some of the shelters were incomplete as war broke out, some had little to no ventilation, many of them were not camouflaged and some were not fitted with armored observation domes. The incomplete state of the shelters significantly reduced the combat capability of the positions.

The Battle of Wizna:

On 7 September 1939, Raginis' forces (approximately 720 men, out of which roughly 650 were killed) were attacked by more than 42,000 German soldiers. To keep the morale of his men high, Raginis pledged that he would not leave his post alive.

The defense of Wizna against overwhelming odds lasted for three days. On 10 September 1939, the bunker commanded by Raginis was the last remaining pocket of resistance. Although heavily wounded, Raginis was still commanding his troops. At noon, the German commander, Heinz Guderian, threatened that all Polish POWs would be shot if the defense of the bunker did not cease. Turning to his men in the shelter, Raginis thanked them for their bravery, and for doing their duty. He then ordered them to surrender and leave the shelter - he would keep his word and not surrender. Raginis died by throwing himself on a grenade.

900 German soldiers were killed in this action, although that number is probably a low estimate. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.

The defense of Wizna, despite the clear imbalance of forces, was significant. It had pinned down the German forces for two days, allowing the remnants of Polish troops in western Poland to defend Warsaw. It helped gain time for many Polish units and the government leadership to conduct an orderly withdrawal to the Romanian border.

The Germans agreed to allow burial of the corpses of Raginis and Lieutenant Stanisław Brykalski, next to the bunker where a tree was planted as an impromptu memorial. When the Red Army entered Wizna, the Soviet authorities ordered the bodies to be dug up and moved to the Łomża - Białystok road, where an obelisk stands today.

The family of Raginis was officially notified of his death in Wizna three years later in 1943 when his sister, Maria Morawska, received a notice through the Red Cross.

Posthumous honors:

The local primary school is named after him, as well as several streets in Poland, including one in Białystok, Rzeszów and Warsaw.
The 31st Council of the Polish Scouting Association in Białystok, chose Raginis as their patron in 1969.
On 13 May 1970, Raginis was posthumously awarded the Virtuti Militari - Gold Cross (IV Class) medal.
On 28 August 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta (Grand Cross).
On 21 August 2012, Raginis was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major.