Antoni Burzyński

Antoni Burzyński nom de guerre Kmicic (11 June 1911 – August/September 1943) was an officer of the Second Polish Republic's Polish Army, the Home Army and commander of the first Polish partisan unit in the Vilnius Region.

Antoni Burzyński was a native of Vilnius, where he received his education and served in the 5th Legions' Infantry Regiment. After fighting in September 1939, he was interned in Lithuania, where he became involved in the Polish underground. He was briefly arrested by the Lithuanian Saugumas. In late 1942 and early 1943 he began forming a partisan unit. Finally formed in March 1943, it was the first partisan unit of the Home Army in the Vilnius Region. By August 1943, the unit had undertaken a number of actions against the German occupiers. On August 26, 1943, Antoni Burzyński went to talks with the command of the Soviet partisans. During them he was treacherously captured and then murdered. His unit was broken up by the Soviets, and about 80 soldiers of the unit were murdered.

Biography He attended the King Sigismund Augustus Gymnasium in Vilnius and the Divisional Infantry Reserve Cadet Course of the 5th Legions' Infantry Regiment, which he completed, obtaining the ranks of reserve officer cadet and platoon-leader with censure. He then attended the School of Political Science at the Scientific and Research Institute of Eastern Europe in Vilnius, from which he graduated in 1939. In 1938, he was promoted to second lieutenant.

World War II After the outbreak of World War II, he was an aide-de-camp to Colonel Stanisław Szyłejko, commander of the southern section of the defense of Vilnius. After the Soviet invasion began the day before, he retreated towards Lithuania. He was interned there on September 18 and placed in a camp, from where he escaped, making his way back to the Vilnius, which was handed over by Soviets to Lithuania on October 29, 1939. The units of the Soviet partisan under the command of Colonel also had their encampments in this area. Relations between Polish and Soviet partisans were relatively good until June 1943. At that time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia issued an order to combat Polish partisan units.