Battle of Radovychi
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The Battle of Radovychi (Ukrainian: Битва під Радовичами, , 7–9 September 1943) was one the largest battles between Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and German forces during World War II.[6] It took place near the village of Radovychi in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine. Around 1,000 Ukrainian partisans defeated 1,570 Germans.[citation needed]
| Battle of Radovychi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Second World War | |||||||
Place of the battle of the OUN—UPA against the Germans in the village of Radovychi | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ukrainian Insurgent Army |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Oleksa Shum “Vovchak” Leonid Povidzon “Baida” Tykhon Zynchuk “Kubyk” |
Bach-Zelewski Hans-Adolf Prützmann Wilhelm Günther | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1,000[1] |
420[2]–1,570[citation needed] 3 armored vehicles[3] 1 armored train[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
16 killed[1] 3 wounded[1] |
106–300+ killed[4][5] 11 captured[4] 1 armored train damaged[3] | ||||||
Background
In the village of Zasmyki there was a large Polish self-defence base, where the population who survived the UPA massacres against Poles, carried out mainly in July and August 1943, took shelter.[7][6] UPA partisans from the "Turiv" group intended to destroy this Polish resistance point. To this end, they first carried out a purge of Poles in the village of Radovychi (Radowicze) on 5 September 1943, located a few kilometres south-west of Zasmyki.[6]
Battle
However, while preparing the attack on 7 September, the UPA encountered German soldiers, who were taken by surprise and suffered a severe defeat, losing five dead and eleven captives.[6] The next day, the Germans sent an infantry battalion against the UPA, supported by an armoured train, three armoured cars and artillery, which the Ukrainian partisans also had at their disposal. As a result of the bloody clash, the UPA units were apparently forced to withdraw, losing 16 dead and three wounded.[8] However, the UPA avoided being broken up and inflicted heavy losses on the Germans, which was considered a success.[6] According to Ukrainian sources, the Germans lost 208 killed and wounded.[6] This figure is believed to be an overestimate. Wincenty Romanowski reported only 26 killed Germans, who were buried in the cemetery in Kovel.[9]
