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Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in 1920., photo MKiDN, 2017
Licence: all rights reserved
Photo montrant Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war
Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in 1920., photo MKiDN, 2019
Licence: all rights reserved
Photo montrant Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war
Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in 1920., photo MKiDN, 2017
Licence: all rights reserved
Photo montrant Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war
Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in 1920., photo MKiDN, 2017
Licence: all rights reserved
Photo montrant Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war
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ID: WOJ-000087-W (UA-1593)

Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war

Dytiatyn | Ukraine
ukr. Dytiatyn (Дитятин)
ID: WOJ-000087-W (UA-1593)

Cemetery of Polish Army soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik war

Dytiatyn | Ukraine
ukr. Dytiatyn (Дитятин)

On 16.09.1920, on the hills around Dytiatyn, a tough 8-hour battle took place between the 13th Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 8th Infantry Division, under the command of Capt. General Jan Gabryś, and the 8th Soviet cavalry division, the so-called "Red Cossacks", under the command of Commander V.M. Primakov, together with the 123rd Rifle Brigade and artillery. Most of the Polish soldiers were killed during the four assaults. Those who were taken prisoner were bestially murdered by the Cossacks. Thanks to the heroic fight of the Poles, the long-term objective was achieved - the 8th Infantry Division, shielded by the breastworks of a handful of defenders, was able to continue its flanking march and later made a major contribution to the pogrom of the Bolshevik army in eastern Lesser Poland. The 4th battery of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment (hereafter; pag), which took part in this battle, was named the 'Battery of Death' on the battlefield by the commander of the 8th Infantry Division. The battlefield at Dytiatyn was dubbed the "Polish Thermopylae", and soldiers' ashes were taken from this place to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw in 1925. Approximately 240 soldiers died in this battle, the names of 59 of them are known. The dead Polish soldiers were buried at the site of the battle. The local Committee of the Polish Society for the Care of Heroes' Graves took care of cleaning the graves. In December 1925, the corpses were transported to a common grave, which became an object of national veneration. In 1927, St Theresa's Church was built as a memorial in its vicinity and an iron cross with the inscription "To the fallen in the field of glory" was erected on the spot where the 4th battery had stood. This cross was destroyed in 1948. - Prisoners from Stanislavov were brought in to remove it. The cross could not be removed with a tractor, so it was cut down with an acetylene torch. Local people moved the cross and placed it next to the church in Dytiatyn. In 1991, the local authorities placed a reconstructed cross on the battlefield. In 2015, the war cemetery was reconstructed. The project was designed by Studio BB Architekci based on the concept of Wiesława Holik, Szymon Hatłas and Zdzisław Iwański. In the following years, the site was supplemented with further elements - among others, a metalwork sculpture of an eagle was placed on the gate, and in 2019 the outline of the foundations of the destroyed St Teresa's chapel was reconstructed. All this work was financed by the Council for the Protection of Remembrance of Struggle and Martyrdom, and after its liquidation in 2016. - Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The cemetery is looked after by the Franciscan Fathers from the monastery in nearby Bolshovce. Every year in September, anniversary celebrations are held in Dytiatyn, attended by soldiers of the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade from Swietoszow - a unit that cultivates the combat traditions of the 4th battery of the 1st pag, which fought at Dytiatyn in 1920.

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List of buried persons

59

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